Sambir

Sambir Самбір
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 49°31′0″N 23°12′10″E
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Lviv Oblast
Raion	Sambir Raion
Population (2011)
• Total	35,054
Time zone	+2 GMT
Postal code	81400
Area code(s)	+380-3236

Sambir (Ukrainian: Самбір, Polish: Sambor) is a city in the Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Sambir Raion (district), the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast. It is located at around 49°31′0″N 23°12′10″E, close to the border with Poland.

History

Main article: History of Sambir

The settlement called Pohonych was first mentioned in the 13th century, when it was destroyed by the Tatars. The inhabitants founded a new village, called New Sambir, about two kilometres from the old place. On 13 December 1390, the village was granted the Magdeburg rights, and was then owned by voivode Spytek of Melsztyn. On 5 June 1419 Polish King Władysław Jagiełło built there a wooden castle. In 1498, the city was destroyed by the Tatars, and because of that, King Jan I Olbracht released it from taxes. In 1637, the city partly burnt down, together with a local church. Famous Ukrainian cossacks - hetman Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny and Yuriy Kulchytsky were born 7 km (4.35 mi) away from the city - in the village of Kulchytsi. Petro Sagaydachnyi played a major role in helping the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth win battle of Khotyn (1621), and led a large Cossack regiment in the war with Moscow.

In 1772, Sambir was annexed by the Austrian Empire (see: Partitions of Poland), and it remained part of that country until 1918, when the area of the city saw Polish - Ukrainian fights over Eastern Galicia.

Austrian 10 heller stamps cancelled in 1901 with the Polish name

In 1919, Sambir, known in Polish as Sambor, became part of the Second Polish Republic, until its 1939 annexation by the Soviet Union (see Polish September Campaign). From 1941 to 1944, Nazi Germany occupied the town and in June 1943 declared it 'Judenrein'. After World War II, it was taken over by the Soviets, formally joining the Ukrainian SSR. It was home to Sambir air base during the Cold War. It has been part of independent Ukraine since 1991.

Sambir was home for number of famous Ukrainian writers, poets, and actors, including:

• Hryhoriy Samborchyk
• Andriy Chaykovskyi
• Les Kurbas
• Filaret Kolessa
• Ivan Fylypchak
• Andrij Shkurhan

Notable people

• Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Ukraine

Twin towns — Sister cities

Sambir is twinned with:

Brzozów, Poland Kostrzyn nad Odrą, Poland Oświęcim, Poland Ustrzyki Dolne, Poland Snina, Slovakia

External links

• (Polish) Sambor (Sambir) in Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland (1889)
• Sambor history
• Sambor history and photos (in Polish)
• The Book of Sambor and Stari Sambor; a Memorial to the Jewish Communities