This city has known many masters, and many names. Founded as Lvihorod, named after the son and heir of its founder, it was known for centuries by the Polish name of Lwów. Under the rule of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Lwów became a prosperous - and increasingly ethnically Polish - city. This prosperity was not interrupted by Austria-Hungary's acquisition of the city in 1772, though it was given the new name of Lemberg.

However, the twentieth century has not been kind to Lemberg. Its nadir began with its occupation by the Russians in the First World War - during which it was known by yet another name, Lvov - and continued during Galicia's bloody absorption into the Second Polish Republic. Subjected to ethnic conflict between Ukrainians, Russians, Poles and Germans, the city's days of prosperity seemed very long ago indeed.

Under the Generalgouvernement, Lemberg ekes out a precarious existence. Ever eager to exploit ethnic tensions for their own gain, the Generalgouvernement is relatively kind to the aspirations of Ukrainian nationalists, who now rule the Distrikt Galizien from the city. With continuing tensions between the city's Polish and Ukrainian inhabitants, though, the city's future looks far from bright.