The Galician Transversal Railway (German: Galizische Transversalbahn, Polish: Galicyjska Kolej Transwersalna) was a railway system, opened in 1884 in the province of Galicia (

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

). It was operated by a state-owned enterprise. The line ran from west to east, along the northern side of the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

from Zwardoń to Zagórz, passing through the oil fields in the Carpathians. The line was constructed to connect already existing lines into a continuous east-west route parallel to the main

Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis The Imperial and Royal privileged Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis (, ) was a privately owned railway company in the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia operating during the time of the partitions of Poland in the second half of the 1 ...

route

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, which would be less exposed to attacks in a war with the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The railway was also supposed to activate underdeveloped mountainous areas of Galicia. The Transversal Railway started at

Čadca Čadca (; until 1918 Čatca, Czača, , ) is a district town in northern Slovakia, near the border with Poland and the Czech Republic. Etymology The name is derived from a word ''čad'' (smoke, soot; Proto-Slavic: ''čadъ'', Slovak/ Czech: ''ča ...

(present-day

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

), and ended in

Husiatyn Husiatyn (; ) is a rural settlement in Chortkiv Raion, Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Husiatyn settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Husiatyn is located on the west bank of the Zbruch River, which o ...

(present-day

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

), with a total length of around . The main towns located along the route are: *

Żywiec Żywiec () is a town on the River Soła in southern Poland with 31,194 inhabitants (2019). It is situated within the Silesian Voivodeship, near the Żywiec Lake and Żywiec Landscape Park, one of the eight protected areas in the voivodeship. H ...

, *

Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; ; ; ; ) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. With a population of 83,116 as of 2021, it is the largest city in the Beskid S ...

, *

Jasło Jasło is a county town in south-eastern Poland with 36,641 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2012. It is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), and it was previously part of Krosno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in Lesser ...

, *

Krosno Krosno (in full ''The Royal Free City of Krosno'', ) is a historical town and Krosno County, county in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in southeastern Poland. The estimated population of the town is 47,140 inhabitants as of 2014. The functional ...

, *

Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — , , ''Sanok'', , ''Sianok'' or ''Sianik'', , , ''Sūnik'' or ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of southeastern Poland with 38,397 inhabitants, as of June 2016. Located on the San ...

, *

Zagórz Zagórz (; ) is a town in Sanok County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, on the river Osława in the Bukowsko Upland mountains, located south-east of Sanok on the way to Ustrzyki Dolne, distance. The nearest towns in northeastern Slovakia ...

, *

Chyrów Khyriv (, ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Sambir Raion, Lviv Oblast (oblast, region) of Ukraine with a population of around It hosts the administration of Khyriv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. It became known princip ...

, * Sambor, *

Drohobycz Drohobych ( ; ; ) is a city in the south of Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. In 1939–1941 and 1944–1959 it was ...

, * Stryj, * Stanisławów. Before construction of the Transversal Railway began, several connections had already existed, such as: * Zagórz – Krościenko – Chyrów (part of the

Łupków Łupków is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Komańcza, within Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (province) of south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately south of Komańcza, sout ...

–

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

connection of the

First Hungarian-Galician Railway First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

, 1872), * The

Dniestr Railway The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Ukr ...

, Chyrów – Sambor – Stryj (1872), * The Archduke Albrecht Railway, Stryj – Dolina – Stanislawów (1873). * Nowy Sącz – Stróże (part of the

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

– Plaveč connection, 1876) The lines built within the Transversal Railway project totaled and these were: * Čadca –

Zwardoń Zwardoń is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Rajcza, within Żywiec County, Silesian Voivodeship, in the Żywiec Beskids mountain range in southern Poland, on the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately west of Rajcza, so ...

– Żywiec –

Sucha Beskidzka Sucha Beskidzka (before 1961 called only ''Sucha'') is a town in the Żywiec Beskids mountain range in southern Poland, on the Skawa river. It is the county seat of Sucha County. It has been in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999; previously ...

–

Chabówka Chabówka is a village located on the outskirts of the southern Poland, Polish town of Rabka-Zdrój, Rabka, in the Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship. With population of 1,600 (as for 2006), Chabówka is a popular tourist attraction becau ...

–

Limanowa Limanowa is a town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is the capital of Limanowa County and had a population of 15,132 in 2012. History Mentions of the town date back to 1496, when it was documented as Ilmanowa, a rural es ...

– Nowy Sącz (together with side lines Suchá –

Skawina Skawina is a town in southern Poland with 27,328 inhabitants (2008). Situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Kraków Voivodeship (1975–1998), Kraków Voivodeship (1975–1998). The town is located on the Skawinka ri ...

– Kraków-Plaszów, and Skawina –

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; ; ; ) is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rivers. Oświęcim dates back to the 12th century, when it was an im ...

), * Stróze – Jasło – Sanok – Zagórz (together with a branch line to

Gorlice Gorlice () is a town and an urban municipality ("gmina") in south-eastern Poland with around 29,500 inhabitants (2008). It is situated south east of Kraków and south of Tarnów between Jasło and Nowy Sącz in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (sinc ...

), * Chryplin (near Stanisławów) –

Buczacz Buchach (, ; ; or ; ; ; ) is a city located on the Strypa River (a tributary of the Dniester) in Chortkiv Raion of Ternopil Oblast (province) of Western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Buchach urban hromada, one of the hromadas of ...

–

Czortków Chortkiv (, ; ; ) is a city in Chortkiv Raion, Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Chortkiv Raion, housing the district's local administration buildings. Chortkiv hosts the administration of Chortkiv urban hrom ...

–

References

International railway lines Railway lines in Poland Railway lines in Slovakia Railway lines in Ukraine 1520 mm gauge railways in Ukraine 1520 mm gauge railways in Slovakia 1520 mm gauge railways in Poland Defunct railway companies of Austria Establishments in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria {{Ukraine-transport-stub

See also

References