Halych (, ; ; ; ; , ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; ) is a historic

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

on the

Dniester River 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 Uk ...

western Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine (, ) refers to the western territories of Ukraine. There is no universally accepted definition of the territory's boundaries, but the contemporary Ukrainian administrative regions ( oblasts) of Chernivtsi, I ...

. The city gave its name to the

Principality of Halych The Principality of Galicia (; ), also known as Principality of Halych or Principality of Halychian Rus, was a medieval East Slavs, East Slavic principality, and one of the main regional states within the political scope of Kievan Rus', establi ...

, the historic province of Galicia (Halychyna), and the

Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia The Principality or, from 1253, Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, also known as the Kingdom of Ruthenia, Kingdom of Rus', or Kingdom of Russia, also Halych–Volhynian Kingdom was a medieval state in Eastern Europe which existed from 1199 to 1349. I ...

, of which it was the capital until the early 14th century, when the seat of the local rulers moved to

Lviv 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 ...

. Nowadays, Halych is a small town located only on one part of the territory of the former Galician capital, although it has preserved its name. It belongs to Ivano-Frankivsk Raion (

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

) of

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna () or simply Frankivshchyna, is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. It has a pop ...

(

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

). It hosts the administration of Halych urban hromada, one of the

hromada In Ukraine, a hromada () is the main type of municipality and the third level Administrative divisions of Ukraine, local self-government in Ukraine. The current hromadas were established by the Cabinet of ministers of Ukraine, Government of Uk ...

s of Ukraine. Halych lies north of the oblast capital,

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...

. Population:

Name

The city's name, though spelled identically in modern

East Slavic languages The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of the Slavic languages, distinct from the West Slavic languages, West and South Slavic languages. East Slavic languages are currently spoken natively throughout Eastern Europe, ...

(Галич), is pronounced ''Halych'' in Ukrainian and ''Galich'' in Russian. The Russian transliteration should not be confused with the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n town of Galich. In Polish the name is rendered ''Halicz''; in the

Yiddish language Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

''Helitsh'' or ''Heylitsh'' (העליטש); in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, ''Galic''; in Hungarian, ''Halics''; in Romanian, ''Halici''. Local folk legend would have it that the name "Halych" comes from a legendary "Prince Halychyna", the first ruler of these lands. In fact, a

kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus (burial mound) constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons, and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into mu ...

referred to by locals as "Halychyna's tomb", excavated in 1996, contained a ritual

cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

site and a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

weapon A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

disc that could have belonged to a noble leader.

Max Vasmer Max Julius Friedrich Vasmer (; ; 28 February 1886 – 30 November 1962) was a Russian and German linguist. He studied problems of etymology in Indo-European, Finno-Ugric and Turkic languages and worked on the history of Slavic, Baltic, ...

and modern

Slavist Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic peoples, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was ...

s generally agree that "Halych" is an adjective derived from the East Slavic word for "

jackdaw Jackdaws are two species of bird in the genus ''Coloeus'' closely related to, but generally smaller than, crows and ravens ('' Corvus''). They have a blackish crown, wings, and tail, with the rest of their plumage paler.Madge & Burn (1994) 136� ...

" ("''halka''"). This bird featured in the town's old

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

History

The oldest archaeological artifacts from the territory of Halych are classified to Paleolithic period 40,000 years ago. More systematic findings from a wide number of archaeological cultures dated from 5500 BC, indicate continuous occupation of the region for the past 7,000 years, and suggest the population of Halych increased significantly in the 7th and 8th centuries BCE. Local officials attribute the first written mention of Halych to the year 896. This date is supported by a record found in the ''

Gesta Hungarorum ''Gesta Hungarorum'', or ''The Deeds of the Hungarians'', is the earliest book about Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian history which has survived for posterity. Its genre is not chronicle, but ''gesta'', meaning "deeds" or "acts", which is a medie ...

'', court chronicles of the Hungarian king Béla III dating from the beginning of the 13th century. The chronicles describe a stay of Hungarian tribes led by Prince Álmos in Halych on their way through Slavic land to

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

. The claim is not supported by serious scholars. Similarly, another curious date for the first written mention, 290 AD (with a reference to "''

Getica ''De origine actibusque Getarum'' (''The Origin and Deeds of the Getae''), commonly abbreviated ''Getica'' (), written in Late Latin by Jordanes in or shortly after 551 AD, claims to be a summary of a voluminous account by Cassiodorus of the ori ...

''" by Goth

Jordanes Jordanes (; Greek language, Greek: Ιορδάνης), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat, claimed to be of Goths, Gothic descent, who became a historian later in life. He wrote two works, one on R ...

) is not accepted by majority.

Old Halych (Princely Halych)

The most comprehensive records about Halych are found in the Hypatian Codex of the

Primary Chronicle The ''Primary Chronicle'', shortened from the common ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (, commonly transcribed ''Povest' vremennykh let'' (PVL), ), is a Rus' chronicle, chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110. It is believed to have been or ...

. The Old Halych is also being referred to as Princely Halych (, Knyazhyi Halych) in some Ukrainian sources in order to distinguish it from the contemporary city. Today Old Halych as a settlement of the Old

Ruthenia ''Ruthenia'' is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin, as one of several terms for Rus'. Originally, the term ''Rus' land'' referred to a triangular area, which mainly corresponds to the tribe of Polans in Dnieper Ukraine. ''Ruthenia' ...

(Rus) is an archaeological landmark on a territory of

.Baran, V.D.
Halych (Ancient) (ГАЛИЧ (ДАВНІЙ))
'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. Located in confluence of

Dniester 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 Uk ...

and its tributaries, the Old Halych appeared on the basis of several early settlements and trading sites of

White Croats The White Croats (; ; ; ), also known simply as Croats, were a group of Early Slavs, Early Slavic tribes that lived between East Slavs, East Slavic and West Slavs, West Slavic tribes in the historical region of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia n ...

, that in 12–13th centuries merged into a single

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

. The central part of the human settlement with the Dormition Cathedral and princely chambers, fortified with powerful ramparts and moats, was located over Lukva River (Dniester's tributary) at the place of contemporary village of Krylos. The first dynasty of Halych, descending from Vladimir of Novgorod, a Rurik family branch known as Rostislavichi, culminated in Yaroslav Osmomysl (1153–1187) – after whose rule

Béla III of Hungary Béla III (, , ; 114823 April 1196) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1172 and 1196. He was the second son of King Géza II of Hungary, Géza II and Géza's wife, Euphrosyne of Kiev. Around 1161, Géza granted Béla a du ...

briefly conquered the Principality in 1188—before going extinct in 1199. The same year

Roman the Great Roman Mstislavich ( – 19 June 1205), also known as Roman the Great, was Prince of Novgorod (1168–1170), Volhynia (1170–1189; 1189–1205), and Galicia (1189; 1198/99–1205). He founded the ''Romanovichi'' branch of Rurikids, which wou ...

founded the new

Rurikid The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...

dynasty, uniting

Halychyna Galicia ( ;"Galicia"
''

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

into the more powerful principality of Halych-Volhynia. In 1141 Prince (

knyaz A , also , ''knjaz'' or (), is a historical Slavs, Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language, English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical c ...

) Volodymyrko Volodarovych (1104–1152) who united the competing principalities of

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 ...

, Zvenyhorod and Terebovlya into the state of Halychyna transferred his capital from Zvenyhorod to Halych making it the seat of his

dynasty and considerably expanding the settlement. The

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

under

Batu Khan Batu Khan (–1255) was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire established after Genghis Khan's demise. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. His '' ulus'' ruled over the Kievan ...

took the capital in 1241, when the famous King Danylo was its ruler. Thereafter the town steadily declined, eventually ceding supremacy to the newly founded

. The excavations of 1933–42 ( Yaroslav Pasternak), 1951–52 (Karger M.K., Aulikh V.), and 1955 uncovered remains of houses, workshops, fortifications, and ten churches built of white stone. Pasternak's excavations established that ancient Halych originated on the spot of today's village Krylos (located 5 km south of modern Halych) as early as the 10th century. In 1936 Pasternak also discovered remains of an 11th to 12th century three-

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

cathedral with burial tomb of Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl in it. The cathedral is ascribed to the Cathedral of the Dormition previously known only from Chronicles, known to have been a sepulchre of the earliest Halychian princes. The sheer size (37,5 by 32,4 m) of the cathedral (the second largest mediaeval church on the territory of 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 ...

, smaller only to St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv), suggests that ancient Halych was the seat of a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

. Most likely the cathedral was built in 1157 and destroyed in 1241 by hordes of

, then rebuilt again and last time mentioned in 1576. It is believed that the early Halychian architectural style, thoroughly permeated with Romanesque influences from the West, had been transferred further north-east. The builders of temples in Halych are believed to have also been responsible for the extant Pereslavl Cathedral and Church of Intercession upon Nerl.