Stryi
Encyclopedia
Stryi is a city located on the left bank of the river Stryi
in the Lviv Oblast
(province
) of western Ukraine
(in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains
). Serving as the administrative center
of the Stryi Raion
(district
), the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast. Thus, the city has two administrations - the city and the raion. Stryi considers to be the first city in Ukraine to bear the blue over yellow Ukrainian National Flag
when it was hoisted on the flagpole of the Town Hall on March 14, 1990 before the fall of the Soviet regime.
, one of the tributaries of Dniester
. Obviously, the name of the river is older than the city that was founded later.
Stryi, as a name of river is a very old name and means "stream". Its etymology stems from an Indo-European root *sreu. Words that have the same root can be found in modern Ukrainian - струм, струя, Polish - struga, strumien, Irish (Celtic) - sruami, German - Strom (large river), Persian - struth (river), Hindu - sravati (to flow), Latvian - straume, Lithuanian - sriatas, strautas (stream, the thing that flows) and several other languages.
In different times the name was written differently, although it has always sounded the same. In various old documents we can find such names: Stryg, Stry, Stryj, Stryjn, Stryjia, Strig, Strigenses, Stryi, Strey, Striig, Strya, Sthryensis, Sthrya, Stryei, Stri. The inhabitants take pride in the fact that the city has managed to keep its original name over time.
). Already then its territory was incorporated in the Kingdom of Poland
after the decline of Ruthenian Kingdom. In 1387 the Polish king Jogaila
gave the city as the present to his pro-Russian brother Švitrigaila
. In 1431 it was given the Magdeburg Rights
, and it was located in the Ruthenian Voivodeship
, which from the 14th century until 1772 was a part of Poland. The city was governed by the local magistrate
headed by a burgomaster
.
Its geographical location had a positive influence on its development and growth. The town became a flourishing trade center being located on the major trade route between Halych
and Lviv
and especially during the 15th to 16th century due to support from the Polish king Jan III Sobieski. It also was destroyed during one of the Tatars raids in 1523. The city was later rebuilt and included a castle for defense purposes which later in 18th century was demounted by the Austrian authorities. In 1634 the city was destroyed once again by another Tatar raid. In times of the Khmelnytsky Uprising the Cossack Hetmanate army was reinforces here by the Hungarian regiments of prince Rákóczi
of Transylvania
. After the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
in 1772 the city became a part of the Austro-Hungary (see: Partitions of Poland
). During the revolutionary times in the empire the Ruthenian Council is created in the city in 1848. During 1872-1875 the city was connected to a railroad network. Its first wooden train station was built in 1875. During these times it starting to industrialize. Among the most influencing citizens of the city were Doctor Yevhen Olesnytsky, Father Oleksa Bobykevych, and Father O.Nyzhankivsky.
In 1886, a large fire burned almost the entire city to the ground. From October 1914 to May 1915 the city was occupied by the Russian Empire
. In 1915 a bloody World War I battle took place in the Carpathian Mountains
, around the peak of Zwinin
(992 metres above sea level
), a few kilometres south of Stryi in which some 33,000 Russian soldiers perished.
On November 1, 1918 an armed uprising took place in the city after which it became a part of the West Ukrainian People's Republic. Stryi was passed to Poland in May 1919, and becomes part of Poland first by the Warsaw treaty of 1920 and then the Riga Peace treaty of 1921. In 1939 Stryi is part of the Soviet Union (Ukrainian SSR
) (see: Polish September Campaign). In interbellum Poland, it was the capital of the Stryj County (area 2081 km²., pop. 152600) of the Stanisławów Voivodeship. According to the Polish census of 1931
its population consisted of 35.6% Jews, 34.5% Poles, 28% Ukrainians and 1.6% Germans. The Nazis exterminated many of the Jews and sent almost all of the remaining Jews to concentration/work camps. During the Cold War
it was home to Stryy air base.
soldier that was installed by the local Communist regime in the city of Stryi and move it to a museum of the Soviet totalitarianism, saying that the statue carries no historical or cultural value to the city. The next day Lyubov Sliska
, deputy speaker of Russia`s lower house of parliament
, stated that such decisions could only be made by a "criminal regime". In her opinion the Ukrainian government chooses not to recognize the Soviet achievements in the liberation of the local territory.
Nowy Sącz
in Poland Bălţi
in Moldova
(since 1980)
Stryi River
The Stryi River starts in the Carpathian mountains in western Ukraine. It snakes through the mountains running for 144 miles . After 120 miles it passes Stryi...
in the Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Lviv.-History:The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on December 4, 1939...
(province
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
) of western Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
(in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
). Serving as the administrative center
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of the Stryi Raion
Stryi Raion
Stryi Raion is a raion in Lviv Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Stryi. It has a population of 67 700.It was established in 1939.-See also:* Subdivisions of Ukraine* Lviv Oblast...
(district
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
), the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast. Thus, the city has two administrations - the city and the raion. Stryi considers to be the first city in Ukraine to bear the blue over yellow Ukrainian National Flag
Flag of Ukraine
The flag of Ukraine is the national flag of Ukraine. The national flag was officially adopted for the first time in 1918 by a short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic. At that time the commonly used yellow–blue flag had already turned into blue and yellow and sported a trident in the upper left...
when it was hoisted on the flagpole of the Town Hall on March 14, 1990 before the fall of the Soviet regime.
Population
- 1843 - 8,000 inhabitants
- 1880 - 12,600 inhabitants
- 1900 - 22,600 inhabitants
- 1910 - 27,400 inhabitants
- 1931 - 30,500 inhabitants
- 1959 - 36,200 inhabitants
- 1970 - 48,000 inhabitants
- 1976 - 55,000 inhabitants
- 1989 - 67,000 inhabitants
- 2001 - 63,000 inhabitants
- 2006 - 61,700 inhabitants
Name
Most likely the city got its name from the name of the river StryiStryi River
The Stryi River starts in the Carpathian mountains in western Ukraine. It snakes through the mountains running for 144 miles . After 120 miles it passes Stryi...
, one of the tributaries of Dniester
Dniester
The Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
. Obviously, the name of the river is older than the city that was founded later.
Stryi, as a name of river is a very old name and means "stream". Its etymology stems from an Indo-European root *sreu. Words that have the same root can be found in modern Ukrainian - струм, струя, Polish - struga, strumien, Irish (Celtic) - sruami, German - Strom (large river), Persian - struth (river), Hindu - sravati (to flow), Latvian - straume, Lithuanian - sriatas, strautas (stream, the thing that flows) and several other languages.
In different times the name was written differently, although it has always sounded the same. In various old documents we can find such names: Stryg, Stry, Stryj, Stryjn, Stryjia, Strig, Strigenses, Stryi, Strey, Striig, Strya, Sthryensis, Sthrya, Stryei, Stri. The inhabitants take pride in the fact that the city has managed to keep its original name over time.
History
Stryi was mentioned for the first time in 1385 (see: Red RutheniaRed Ruthenia
Red Ruthenia is the name used since medieval times to refer to the area known as Eastern Galicia prior to World War I; first mentioned in Polish historic chronicles in the 1321, as Ruthenia Rubra or Ruthenian Voivodeship .Ethnographers explain that the term was applied from the...
). Already then its territory was incorporated in the Kingdom of Poland
Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)
The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Jogaila , Grand Duke of Lithuania, to the Polish throne in 1386. The Union of Krewo or Krėva Act, united Poland and Lithuania under the rule of a single monarch...
after the decline of Ruthenian Kingdom. In 1387 the Polish king Jogaila
Jogaila
Jogaila, later 'He is known under a number of names: ; ; . See also: Jogaila : names and titles. was Grand Duke of Lithuania , king consort of Kingdom of Poland , and sole King of Poland . He ruled in Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle Kęstutis...
gave the city as the present to his pro-Russian brother Švitrigaila
Švitrigaila
Švitrigaila Švitrigaila Švitrigaila (ca 1370 – 10 February 1452; was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1430 to 1432. He spent most of his life in largely unsuccessful dynastic struggles against his cousins Vytautas and Sigismund Kęstutaitis.-Struggle against Vytautas:...
. In 1431 it was given the Magdeburg Rights
Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg Rights or Magdeburg Law were a set of German town laws regulating the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages granted by a local ruler. Modelled and named after the laws of the German city of Magdeburg and developed during many centuries of the Holy Roman Empire, it was...
, and it was located in the Ruthenian Voivodeship
Ruthenian Voivodeship
Ruthenia Voivodeship was an administrative division of the Kingdom of Poland . Together with Bełz Voivodeship, it formed Lesser Poland Province with its capital city in Kraków. Part of Lesser Poland region...
, which from the 14th century until 1772 was a part of Poland. The city was governed by the local magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
headed by a burgomaster
Burgomaster
Burgomaster is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration...
.
Its geographical location had a positive influence on its development and growth. The town became a flourishing trade center being located on the major trade route between Halych
Halych
Halych is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The town gave its name to the historic province and kingdom of Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, of which it was the capital until the early 14th century, when the seat of the local princes was moved to Lviv...
and Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
and especially during the 15th to 16th century due to support from the Polish king Jan III Sobieski. It also was destroyed during one of the Tatars raids in 1523. The city was later rebuilt and included a castle for defense purposes which later in 18th century was demounted by the Austrian authorities. In 1634 the city was destroyed once again by another Tatar raid. In times of the Khmelnytsky Uprising the Cossack Hetmanate army was reinforces here by the Hungarian regiments of prince Rákóczi
George II Rákóczi
György Rákóczi II , a Transylvanian Hungarian ruler, was the eldest son of George I and Susanna Lorantffy....
of Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. After the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
in 1772 the city became a part of the Austro-Hungary (see: Partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
). During the revolutionary times in the empire the Ruthenian Council is created in the city in 1848. During 1872-1875 the city was connected to a railroad network. Its first wooden train station was built in 1875. During these times it starting to industrialize. Among the most influencing citizens of the city were Doctor Yevhen Olesnytsky, Father Oleksa Bobykevych, and Father O.Nyzhankivsky.
In 1886, a large fire burned almost the entire city to the ground. From October 1914 to May 1915 the city was occupied by the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. In 1915 a bloody World War I battle took place in the Carpathian Mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
, around the peak of Zwinin
Zwinin
The Zwinin is a mountain a few kilometers south of Stryi, Ukraine, in the Outer Eastern Carpathians.The peak is 992 meters above sea level and the ridge is 10 kilometers long...
(992 metres above sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
), a few kilometres south of Stryi in which some 33,000 Russian soldiers perished.
On November 1, 1918 an armed uprising took place in the city after which it became a part of the West Ukrainian People's Republic. Stryi was passed to Poland in May 1919, and becomes part of Poland first by the Warsaw treaty of 1920 and then the Riga Peace treaty of 1921. In 1939 Stryi is part of the Soviet Union (Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
) (see: Polish September Campaign). In interbellum Poland, it was the capital of the Stryj County (area 2081 km²., pop. 152600) of the Stanisławów Voivodeship. According to the Polish census of 1931
Polish census of 1931
The Polish census of 1931 or Second General Census in Poland was the second census taken in Poland, performed on December 9, 1931 by the Main Bureau of Statistics...
its population consisted of 35.6% Jews, 34.5% Poles, 28% Ukrainians and 1.6% Germans. The Nazis exterminated many of the Jews and sent almost all of the remaining Jews to concentration/work camps. During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
it was home to Stryy air base.
Recent history
On April 9, 2009 the Lviv Oblast council decided to remove a Soviet-era statue to the Red ArmyRed Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
soldier that was installed by the local Communist regime in the city of Stryi and move it to a museum of the Soviet totalitarianism, saying that the statue carries no historical or cultural value to the city. The next day Lyubov Sliska
Lyubov Sliska
Lyubov Konstantinovna Sliska is a Russian politician.Since January 2000, she has been a deputy of the State Duma and a First Deputy Speaker of it ....
, deputy speaker of Russia`s lower house of parliament
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
, stated that such decisions could only be made by a "criminal regime". In her opinion the Ukrainian government chooses not to recognize the Soviet achievements in the liberation of the local territory.
Famous people
People born in Stryi who are famous:- Louis BegleyLouis BegleyLouis Begley is an American novelist.-Early life:Begley was born Ludwik Begleiter in Stryj at the time part of Poland and now in Ukraine, as the only child of a physician...
(born 1933), American novelist, - Jan KociniakJan KociniakJan Kociniak , was a Polish film and theatre actor.Jan Kociniak was born in Stryj, Poland that before the WWII belonged to Poland. He graduated from The Warsaw Higher Theatrical School in 1961 and he most of his professional career acted in The Atheneum Theatre in Warsaw...
, popular Polish actor, - Józef Koffler (1896–1941), Polish composer,
- Józef KustrońJózef KustrońJózef Rudolf Kustroń was a Brigadier General of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic, commandant of the 21st Mountain Infantry Division.-Early life:Kustroń spent his childhood in the southern town of Nowy Sącz, where his family had settled...
(1892–1939), General of the Polish Army, - Kornel MakuszynskiKornel MakuszynskiKornel Makuszyński was a Polish writer of children's and youth literature.-Life:Makuszyński attended the Jan Długosz gymnasium in Lviv . While in school he wrote occasional poetry , and had his first poem published in 1902 in the newspaper Słowo Polskie , for which he soon became a theatrical critic...
, Polish writer, - Kazimierz NowakKazimierz NowakKazimierz Nowak – was a Polish traveller, correspondent and photographer, born in Stryi. After the First World War he lived in Poznań....
(1897–1937), Polish traveller, - Julian StryjkowskiJulian StryjkowskiJulian Stryjkowski was a Polish journalist and writer, notable for his social prose of leftists character.He was born April 27, 1905 in Stryj , to a family of Hasidic Jews...
, Polish writer, - Zygmunt SzendzielarzZygmunt SzendzielarzZygmunt Szendzielarz was commander of the Polish 5th Wilno Home Army Brigade.-Early life:...
, one of commandants of the Home Army, - Mendel Wolf Hacker Diesendruck (1902–1974), Rabbi,
- Tea Weintraub Sternklar (1904–1997), Artist,
- Solomon J. Buchsbaum (1929–1993), Polish-American Physicist.
- Zbigniew MessnerZbigniew MessnerZbigniew Messner was a Communist economist and politician in Poland. In 1972, he became Professor of Karol Adamiecki University of Economics in Katowice...
(1929 -), Prime Minister of Poland (1985–1988) - Sviatoslav ShevchukSviatoslav ShevchukSviatoslav Shevchuk is the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church since 25 March 2011.-Life:Sviatoslav Shevchuk was born in 1970, in Stryi, Ukrainian SSR. He was ordained as a priest on 26 June 1994. From 2002 to 2005 he worked as head of the secretariat of Patriarch Lubomyr Husar...
(1970 - ), Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyč.
Twin towns — Sister cities
Stryi is twinned with:Nowy Sącz
Nowy Sacz
Nowy Sącz is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County, but is not included within the powiat.-Names:...
in Poland Bălţi
Balti
Balti can refer to:* Balti language, a language spoken in Baltistan in Pakistan and Ladakh in Kashmir* Balti people, Muslims of Ladakhi/Tibetan origin from Baltistan in Pakistan and Ladakh in Kashmir...
in Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
(since 1980)
External links
- Stryi City Counsel official web-site
- Stryi Unofficial web-site
- ShtetLinks page - Stryy Stryj (Stryi) in the Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland (1890)