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Lviv Oblast Львівська область L’vivs'ka oblast’
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname: {{{Nickname}}}
Location of Lviv Oblast (red) on the map of Ukraine (blue).
Administrative center	Lviv
Largest cities
Governor	Petro Oliynyk (?)
Oblast council
– Chairman	? (?)
– № of seats	?
Established
Subdivisions
– Raions	20
– Cities of oblast subordinance	9
– Cities (total)	44
– Towns	34
– Villages	1,849
Area	Ranked 17th
– Total	21,833 km²
– Land	? km²
– Water	? (?%)
Population	Ranked ?
– Total (2006)	2,555,834
– Density	119.54 p/ km²
– Average salary	UAH ? (?%)
Time zone	EET +2
– Summer (DST)	EEST +3
Abbreviations
– Postal code	?
– ISO 3166-2	UA-46
– FIPS 10-4	UP15
– Telephone code	+380-32
– Licence plate	(ukr)
Official website	www.loda.gov.ua
Verkhovna Rada site

Lviv Oblast (Ukrainian: Львівська область, translit. L’vivs’ka oblast’; also referred to as L’vivshchyna - Ukrainian: Львівщина) is an oblast (province) in western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Lviv.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Subdivisions 4 Economy 5 Demographics 6 Religion 7 Historical and Cultural Sites 8 Nomenclature 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on December 4, 1939. The territory of the former Drohobych Oblast was incorporated into the Lviv Oblast in 1959.

The oblast's strategic position at the heart of central Europe and as the gateway to the Carpathians has caused it to change hands many times over the centuries. It was ruled variously by Great Moravia, Kievan Rus', and by one of its successors, the state of Halych-Volynia (circa 1200 to 1400), then by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (circa 1400 to 1795), the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1795 to 1918), and Poland (1918 to 1939), when it was part of the Lwów Voivodship of the Second Republic of Poland. The region's historically dominant Ukrainian population declared the area to be a part of an independent West Ukrainian People's Republic in 1918 but this endured only briefly. Local autonomy was provided in international treaties but later on those were not honoured by the Polish government and the area experienced much ethnic tension between the Polish and Ukrainian population.

The region only became part of the Soviet Union under the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1939, when it was annexed to the Ukrainian SSR. It was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944 and remained in Soviet hands after World War II as was arranged during the conferences Teheran and Yalta. Thanks to its historical development, Lviv Oblast is one of the least Russified and Sovietized parts of Ukraine, with much of its Habsburg heritage still visible today.

The region and its capital city take their name from the time of Halych-Volynia, when Danylo, the King of Rus' founded Lviv, naming the city after his son, Lev (Leo). During this time, the general region around Lviv was known as Red Ruthenia (Cherven' Rus').

The terrain of Lviv Oblast is highly varied, ranging from open steppes to dense forests, with intensively cultivated river basins and forested mountains.

The Lviv Oblast is administratively subdivided into 20 raions (districts), as well as 9 city (municipalities) which are directly subordinate to the oblast government: Boryslav, Chervonohrad, Drohobych, Morshyn, Novyi Rozdil, Sambir, Stryi, Truskavets, and the administrative center of the oblast, Lviv.

Raions of the Lviv Oblast

	In English	In Ukrainian	Administrative Center
	Brodivskyi Raion	Бродівський район Brodivs'kyi raion	Brody (City)
	Buskyi Raion	Буський район Bus'kyi raion	Busk (City)
	Drohobytskyi Raion	Дрогобицький район Drohobyts'kyi raion	Drohobych (City)
	Horodotskyi Raion	Городоцький район Horodots'kyi raion	Horodok (City)
	Kamyanka-Buzkyi Raion	Кам'янка-Бузький район Kamyanka-Buz'kyi raion	Kamyanka-Buzka (City)
	Mostyskyi Raion	Мостиський район Mostys'kyi raion	Mostyska (City)
	Mykolaivskyi Raion	Миколаївський район Mykolayivs'kyi raion	Mykolaiv (City)
	Peremyshlianskyi Raion	Перемишлянський район Peremyshlians'kyi raion	Peremyshliany (City)
	Pustomytivskyi Raion	Пустомитівський район Pustomytivs'kyi raion	Pustomyty (City)
	Radekhivskyi Raion	Радехівський район Radekhivs'kyi raion	Radekhiv (City)
	Sambirskyi Raion	Самбірський район Sambirs'kyi raion	Sambir (City)
	Skolivskyi Raion	Сколівський район Skolivs'kyi raion	Skole (City)
	Sokalskyi Raion	Сокальський район Sokal's'kyi raion	Sokal (City)
	Starosambirskyi Raion	Старосамбірський район Starosambirs'kyi raion	Staryi Sambir (City)
	Stryiskyi Raion	Стрийський район Stryis'kyi raion	Stryi (City)
	Turkivskyi Raion	Турківський район Turkivs'kyi raion	Turka (City)
	Yavorivskyi Raion	Яворівський район Yavorivs'kyi raion	Yavoriv (City)
	Zhovkivskyi Raion	Жовківський район Zhovkivs'kyi raion	Zhovkva (City)
	Zhydachivskyi Raion	Жидачівський район Zhydachivs'kyi raion	Zhydachiv (City)
	Zolochivskyi Raion	Золочівський район Zolochivs'kyi raion	Zolochiv (City)

The chief industries are agriculture, cattle and sheep farming and forestry. Significant mineral extraction also occurs, and the region also possesses oil and natural gas deposits which are piped to the city of Lviv and used locally. Numerous factories were built in the Soviet times, including the Lvovskiy Avtomobilnyi Zavod which produced buses. Significant amount of smaller factories exist.

• Male/female ratio: 48%/52%
• Nationalities: 90% of region's population are Ukrainians; 200,000 people are Russians; there are also smaller German, Polish, Jewish, and Gypsy minorities.

Fifty-six percent of the religious organisations active in the Lviv Oblast adhere to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church is the second largest religious body. The followers of the Roman Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchy) are mostly from the Polish, and Russian or non-Galician Ukrainian minorities respectively.

The city of Lviv contains a well-preserved main square (Rynok) and numerous historical and beautiful churches. Other sites of interest are the historic Lychakivskiy Cemetery, the local museum of folklore, and the high castle ruins. There is also a museum of military artifacts, the "Arsenal".

Well-preserved local wooden churches can be found in the surrounding countryside, as can the Olesky Zamok (castle). A local museum of Ukrainian art and an institution of higher learning (Ivan Franko State University) are also present.

Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their capital cities, officially referred to as "oblast centers" (Ukrainian: обласний центр, translit. oblasnyi tsentr). The name of each oblast is a relative adjective, formed by adding a feminine suffix to the name of respective center city: L'viv is the center of the L'vivs'ka oblast' (Lviv Oblast). Most oblasts are also sometimes referred to in a feminine noun form, following the convention of traditional regional place names, ending with the suffix "-shchyna", as is the case with the Lviv Oblast, Lvivshchyna.

See also: Romanization of Ukrainian

• Subdivisions of Ukraine

• Source for statistics used: L'viv Regional State Administration Web Site - accessed February 29, 2004.

• L'viv Regional State Administration Web Site
• Symbols and flags

Administrative divisions of Lviv Oblast, Ukraine
Administrative center:  Lviv
Raions	Brodivskyi · Buskyi · Drohobytskyi · Horodotskyi · Kamianka-Buzkyi · Mostyskyi · Mykolaivskyi · Peremyshlianskyi · Pustomytivskyi · Radekhivskyi · Sambirskyi · Skolivskyi · Sokalskyi · Starosambirskyi · Stryiskyi · Turkivskyi · Yavorivskyi · Zhovkivskyi · Zhydachivskyi · Zolochivskyi
Cities	Belz · Bibrka · Boryslav · Brody · Busk · Chervonohrad · Dobromyl · Drohobych · Dubliany · Hlyniany · Horodok · Kamianka-Buzka · Khodoriv · Khyriv · Komarno · Lviv · Morshyn · Mostyska · Mykolaiv · Novoiavorivske · Novyi Kalyniv · Novyi Rozdil · Peremyshliany · Pustomyty · Radekhiv · Rava-Ruska · Rudky · Sambir · Skole · Sokal · Sosnivka · Staryi Sambir · Stebnyk · Stryi · Sudova Vyshnia · Truskavets · Turka · Uhniv · Velyki Mosty · Vynnyky · Yavoriv · Zhovkva · Zhydachiv · Zolochiv
Urban-type settlements	Slavske · Olesko · more...
Villages	Hai · Pidhirtsi · Rykhtychi · Sianky · Skelivka · more...

v • d • e Administrative divisions of Ukraine
Capital: Kiev
Oblasts	Cherkasy · Chernihiv · Chernivtsi · Dnipropetrovsk · Donetsk · Ivano-Frankivsk · Kharkiv · Kherson · Khmelnytskyi · Kiev · Kirovohrad · Luhansk · Lviv · Mykolaiv · Odessa · Poltava · Rivne · Sumy · Ternopil · Vinnytsia · Volyn · Zakarpattia · Zaporizhia · Zhytomyr
Cities with special status	Kiev City · Sevastopol City
Autonomous Republic	Autonomous Republic of Crimea
Administrative centers	Cherkasy · Chernihiv · Chernivtsi · Dnipropetrovsk · Donetsk · Ivano-Frankivsk · Kharkiv · Kherson · Khmelnytskyi · Kiev City · Kirovohrad · Luhansk · Lutsk · Lviv · Mykolaiv · Odessa · Poltava · Rivne · Sevstopol City · Simferopol · Sumy · Ternopil · Uzhhorod · Vinnytsia · Zaporizhia · Zhytomyr

Coordinates: 49°43′03″N 23°57′01″E / 49.7175, 23.95028