LEMBERG, lem'berg, Austria, the capital of the crownland of Galicia, and the fourth city of Austria, on the Peltew, 470 miles by rail northeast of Vienna. Founded in the 13th century and formerly surrounded by walls, the city notwithstanding has a modern appearance, the walls having been replaced by boulevards and promenades. It is the seat' of the crown land government, and of the important courts and public offices connected with it, also of three metropolitan sees, Greek, Armenian and Roman Catholic. The Greek church of Saint Nicholas dates from 1292, and the cathedral is a basilica (1740-79); the Armenian cathedral, in the Armenian-Byzantine style, dates from 1437; the Roman Catholic church of Saint Mary from 1363, and the cathedral is a Gothic structure of date 1480. The Dominican church contains a fine monument by Thorwaldsen. The university founded in 1784 and reorganized in 1817 is attended by over 5,000 students, and has a library of over 230,000 volumes. Since 1871 the language of instruction has been Polish; prior to that it was German. There is a botanical garden and a school of forestry.
National Institute founded in 1817 by Ossolinsk has a library of over 180,000 volumes and 3,000 MSS. chiefly of Polish literature, and there is a museum of antiquities. The manu factures are extensive and varied, and there is a large trade, mostly in the hands of Jews. There is an electric street railway. The fair of the Three Kings is held here each January. The heterogeneous population consisting of Jews (57,587), Poles, Ruthenians and Germans numbered approximately 206,113. Over 85 per cent of the population speak the Polish lan guage. Lemberg was from 1432-1772 the capital of the Polish province of Reussen. It was captured by the Turks in 1672, and by the Swedes in 1704, and fell to Austria in the first partition of Poland. At the outbreak of the European War in August 1914, a move ment was made by the Russians to overrun eastern Galicia, and Lemberg was captured by them on 3 September; but was retaken by the Austro-German forces on 22 June of the fol lowing year. See WAR, EUROPEAN.