Sambir ( uk, Самбір, pl, Sambor, yi, סאמבאָר, Sambor) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in Sambir Raion,

Lviv Oblast Lviv Oblast ( uk, Льві́вська о́бласть, translit=Lvivska oblast, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna ( uk, Льві́вщина, ), ). The name of each oblast is a wikt:Appendix:Glossary#relational, relational adjective—in Englis ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. It serves as the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...

of Sambir Raion (

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

) and is located close to the border with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Sambir hosts the administration of

Sambir urban hromada Sambir ( uk, Самбір, pl, Sambor, yi, סאמבאָר, Sambor) is a city in Sambir Raion, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Sambir Raion (district) and is located close to the border with Poland. Sambir hosts t ...

, one of the

hromada A hromada ( uk, територіальна громада, lit=territorial community, translit=terytorialna hromada) is a basic unit of administrative division in Ukraine, similar to a municipality. It was established by the Government of Ukra ...

s of Ukraine. Population:

Location

Sambir is situated on the left bank of the

Dniester river The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

. The city stands at the crossroads. It is the cultural, industrial and tourist center of modern

. The fifth largest city in

. Distance to the regional center by rail for 78 miles, by road 76 km length of the city from the South-West to North-East is 10.5 km, and from North-West to South-East 4.5 km from the hotel. The area is 24 km².
The center is located at the height of 305,96 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. The city is an important road connecting Eastern and

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

, North and South. Through Sambor electrified railway tracks, trunk pipelines and power lines.

History

The history of the cities Sambir and Staryi Sambir, which are both situated in

Halychyna Galicia ()"Galicia"
''

), in

by the

Dnister river The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

, begins in a place currently known as Staryi Sambir ("Old Sambir"). This was founded in the 12th century and served as an important center of the Halych Princedom. In the 13th century, the

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

destroyed it, and in the year 1241 it was burnt down. Part of the Stariy Sambir population, especially the

weavers Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainment ...

, moved to a village called Pohonich, at a distance of some twelve kilometers from the old town, and it was called Novyi Sambor (New Sambor) to distinguish it from old Sambor. The latter began to be called Staryi-Sambor, or the old city. The village of Pohonicz was first under the rule of

Rus Rus or RUS may refer to: People and places * Rus (surname), a Romanian-language surname * East Slavic historical territories and peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia ** Rus' people, the people of Rus' ** Rus' territories *** Kievan ...

; in 1340 became part of the Kingdom of Poland. The foundations of the future city of Sambir were laid in 1390 by the voivode of Kraków, Spytek of Melsztyn, a companion and adviser to the Polish king

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło ()He is known under a number of names: lt, Jogaila Algirdaitis; pl, Władysław II Jagiełło; be, Jahajła (Ягайла). See also: Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło. w ...

(1396–1434) in his war expeditions. The king granted his loyal companion, for his military services, enormous pieces of land, from Dobromyl to

Stryi Stryi ( uk, Стрий, ; pl, Stryj) is a city located on the left bank of the river Stryi in Lviv Oblast (region) of western Ukraine 65 km to the south of Lviv (in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains). It serves as the administrative cen ...

. Spytek (also Spytko), evaluating the importance of Pohonicz, left a document dated 13 December 1390 addressed to the Wojt (Mukhtar), Henrik from Landshut, permitting him to establish a city in Pohonicz to be called Novyi-Sambor, granting it the rights of Magdeburg. It is not possible to determine exactly when the village of Pohonicz was founded because of the lack of historical sources. It may be assumed that, it being on the important commercial and strategic crossroads near the Dniester and its tributary Mlinuvka, it served as a worth center for fortification and defense. Despite the fact that the village of Pohonicz was raised to the status of a city and its name changed to Novi-Sambor, we find in official documents up to the year 1450 that the city was called by two names: Sambor or Novi-Sambor, formerly Pohonicz. Sambir Magistrate RB

Sambir is situated on what is almost an island formed between two parallel rivers, the one distant from the other by a few kilometers – the Dniester on one side and the Strwiaz on the other – which come together after Sambir in the vicinity of Dolubova. In the pre-historic period the Dniester, at a distance of about three kilometers from Sambor, created a special kind of tributary called Mlinuvka, which, separating completely from the Dniester, falls into the river Strwionz. The Dniester and the Mlinuvka add a natural charm to Sambor. The grant of municipal rights led to people flocking to the city – Poles, Germans, Russians and Jews. From the city's founding, Spytko saw to its development and granted it many rights. In January 1394, King Wladyslaw Jagiello, at Spytko's request, exempted the inhabitants from paying various taxes. Not for very long, however, did Sambor benefit from his actions for the good of the city. In 1399 Spytko participated in the war against the Tatars, in which he was killed on 12 August 1399 near the river Worskla (see: Battle of the Vorskla River). After his death, the Sambor properties passed to his wife, Elzbieta Melsztynska. In the earliest times, Sambir had natural conditions for development of commerce, lying as it did on the important commercial route where the Baltic Sea, through the river San, and the Black Sea, through the river Dniester, are connected. The Dniester had already played an important role as a natural water route leading to Akerman near the Black Sea. From there, the Greek merchants reached the land of Scythia with their products. Through Sambor, an important dry land route also led to Hungary, and by this passage to the borders of Poland, merchandise was brought such as timber, salt, cattle, fox and bear skins, honey, and from Hungary, particularly wines. The Sambor merchants would purchase from the Hungarian merchants wines, horses, leather, cloth and various fruits. From Sambir there was also a road to

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

through Rudki and Komarno, which connected it with the commercial center of goods from the east, making Sambor an important commercial juncture. Sambir was rebuilt several times. In 1498, when Poland was attacked by the Turks and the Tatars, it was burnt down completely. And before the population had recovered from this disaster, the city was threatened, in 1515, by an invasion by the Tatars. In the 16th century, a new Sambor was established on the ruins of the burnt-out wooden houses. SamborUniwersytet

In 1530, in view of all the invasions and attacks on the city, the

Starosta The starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', german: link=no, Starost, Hauptmann) is a term of Slavic origin denoting a community elder whose role was to administer the assets of a clan or family estates. Th ...

(district governor) Krzysztof Odrowaz Szydlowski surrounded it with a thick wall and deep trenches, to enable it to be defended. For two hundred and fifty years, Sambor, thus enclosed, was compelled to shrink, limiting itself to narrow streets, without any possibility of expanding and developing naturally. The city was frozen into restricting borders until the first years of the Austrian conquest in 1772 (see:

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

). The city's walls, gates and towers were of much concern to the city fathers, who imposed heavy taxes on the population to cover the costs of safeguarding them for defense. Furthermore, each of the eleven artisans' guilds in the city had to take upon itself the obligation to guard and defend a certain part of the wall, as well as provide arms at its own expense. In the center of the market place stood ''Ratusz'' (City Hall), with a clock tower on it. This building, the most important in the rebuilt city, was entirely destroyed in 1637 in a fire that wiped out almost all of Sambor. The new ''Ratusz'' was completed only in 1668, and then, for the first time, at the top of the tower the city emblem was unfurled: a deer with an arrow in its throat.

The Royal Palace

Second in importance for defense was the royal palace, which was situated outside the city walls, in the suburb of Blich. At first it was built of wood and was burnt down in 1498. When the Starosta Shidlovski rebuilt it in 1530, near the Dniester, he built it as a fortress, surrounded by moats, behind which were earthen walls. In the royal palace, which was the seat of the Starosta, there was, besides the service workers numbering sixty-five in 1569, a garrison composed of infantry and cavalry. This army was intended not only to protect the palace, but also to safeguard the peace and security of Sambor and the vicinity. Furthermore, it was needed to stamp out gangs which would infiltrate from Hungary and spread panic in the neighborhood. The royal palace of Sambor had the honor to host within it almost all the kings of Poland and heads of state; many splendid receptions were held there with the participation of the city's notables.

Church of Nativity of the Theotokos

Church of Nativity of the Theotokos in Sambir built of wood in the late 1570s, in the town of Sambir, ( in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth), commissioned by the Ruthenians ( pl, rusini), Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania Bona. pl, Sambor: Gmina miasta, 1891 (s.l.): Druk. Schwarza i Trojana, pages 21-22
/ref> This decision provoked protests and complaints in a multi-confessional environment of the community of Sambir. However, the "dispute was successfully resolved in favor of the Lord" and a wooden The Church of Nativity of the Theotokos was built, which served until 1738, when it was rebuilt in stone. The stone church, preserved with minor rearrangements and side-chapels (see photo) was built in 1738. Funds for its construction and design were donated by a wealthy family of Galician nobles, the Komarnickis. The architectural lines of the building have a simple and clear form. On the facade, a balcony and loft house statues of guardian angels. Inside, there is a painting by the artist-painter Yablonski.

Jewish community

There were around 8,000 Jews living in the town of Sambor in 1939, predominantly in the city-centre. There was a Jewish school and a synagogue. The Jews were merchants, craftsmen and artisans. The German occupation of Sambor began on June 30, 1941. In March 1942, an open

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

was established in the village. In May, there were around 6,500 Jews in the ghetto because a lot of Jews had managed to flee before the German occupation. Between August and October 1942, there were four Jewish actions carried out in the village. The first action took place on August 4, 1942. A selection was organized in the stadium by the German gendarmerie, Ukrainian police and a team of the Security police. 150 Jews were murdered. On August 6, these Jews were transferred to Lviv. Other Jews were brought to the camp. During this action which lasted three days, 4,000 Jews were shot. The second action took place on September 25–26, 1942. The Jewish Council selected 300 Jews who were shot in the forest of Ralivka, also called Radlowicze. On October 17–18 and 22, 1942, a third and then fourth action was perpetrated by the German gendarmerie, Schutzpolizei, and the Ukrainian police. Jews were collected from the jail and from nearby villages. During the third action, 1,000 Jews were sent to Belzec extermination camp and during the fourth action, 460 Jews were sent to Belzec. During the four actions which were perpetrated from August to October 1942, 5000 Jews were sent from Sambir to Belzec. The open ghetto became a closed ghetto in December 1942. Several actions took place in the ghetto from February to June 1943. During the first action, on February 13, 1943, 500 Jews were executed in the forest of Ralivka. On April 14, 1943, a second action was carried out during which 1,200 Jews were selected and 900 were shot in the cemetery. On May 20–22, 1943, a third ghetto action was carried out and several hundreds of Jews “incapable of working” were shot in the forest of Ralivka. The liquidation of the ghetto took place on June 5, 1943 and 1,000 Jews were shot in the forest of Ralivka. Market Square, Sambir (01)

There were about 160 Jewish survivors, many of them hidden by local farmers, both Poles and Ukrainians.

Independent Ukraine

Until 18 July 2020, Sambir was incorporated as a city of oblast significance and served as the administrative center of Sambir Raion though it did not belong to the raion. In July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Lviv Oblast to seven, the city of Sambir was merged into Sambir Raion. Today the

704th Detached Regiment of Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Protection The 704th Separate Regiment of Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Protection (704th DR RCBP, Unit #A0807) - is the only separate (independent) formation of the Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops within the Armed Forces of U ...

of the

Ukrainian Armed Forces , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...

is located in the town.

Climate

The average annual temperature in Sambir is between . There is a fairly mild winter, with thaws, sometimes without snow cover (for winter precipitation typical minimum amount per year, although they are in the form of rain and snow falls often), in Sambor. Spring is long, sometimes lengthy, windy, cool, and very wet. Summer is warm, hot, a little wet and a little rainy. Autumn is warm, sunny and dry (usually lasts until the first of November). The average temperature of the coldest month (January ) is , the average temperature in July . The winter 2013-2014 was extremely warm. The average temperature in December stood at , minimum , and maximum . Also, the snow cover at all this month was observed.

Time zone

In Sambir and throughout

there's one

time zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, Commerce, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between Country, countries and their Administrative division, subdivisions instead of ...

: the official

Kyiv time Time in Ukraine is defined as UTC+02:00 and in summer as UTC+03:00. Part of Eastern European Time, it is locally referred to as Kyiv Time ( uk, Київський час, Kyivskyi chas). The change for the summer time takes place in the last Su ...

. Every year there is a transition to summer and winter time on the last Sunday of March at 3:00, which is 1 hour ahead and the last Sunday of October at 4:00 on 1 hour ago.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Sambir is twinned with: * Sloviansk; *

Brzozów Brzozów ( uk, Березів, ''Bereziv''; yi, ברעזשוב ''Brezhov''; lat. ''Brozovia'', or ''Prozzow'') is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 7,336 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated in Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 19 ...

; *

Kostrzyn nad Odrą Kostrzyn nad Odrą (literally Kostrzyn upon Oder) (; german: Küstrin ) is a town in Gorzów County, Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland, close to the border with Germany. Geography The town is situated within the historic Lubusz Land (''Ziemia ...

; *

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; german: Auschwitz ; yi, אָשפּיצין, Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland ( pl, Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rive ...

; *

Breisach am Rhein Breisach (formerly Altbreisach; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach'') is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about halfway b ...

Kerpen Kerpen (; Ripuarian: ''Kerpe'') is the most populated town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). It is located about 20 kilometres southwest from Cologne. Division of the town The town of Kerpen was created in 1975, whe ...

Küstriner Vorland Küstriner Vorland (literally " Küstrin's foreland") is a municipality in the district Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany at the border with Poland. History It was established on January 1, 1998 by the merger of Küstrin-Kietz with the v ...

Notable people

* Wladyslaw Abraham (1860 - 1941) - Polish lawyer and scientist, father of

Roman Abraham Roman Józef Abraham (28 February 1891, Lwów – 26 August 1976, Warsaw) was a Polish cavalry general, commander of the Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade during the German and Soviet Invasion of Poland in September 1939, and Battle of Bzura comman ...

, *

Wiktor Biegański Wiktor Julian Biegański (16 November 1892 – 19 January 1974) was a Polish actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in 24 films between 1919 and 1966. He also directed eleven films between 1921 and 1929. Selected filmography Act ...

(1892 – 1974) - Polish actor, film director and screenwriter, *

Valeriy Borzov Valeriy Pylypovych Borzov ( uk, Валерій Пилипович Борзов; russian: Валерий Филиппович Борзов, Valeriy Filippovich Borzov; born 20 October 1949) is a former Soviet sprinter. He is a two-time Olympian, ...

(born 1949) - Ukrainian sprint athlete, * Wladyslaw Byrka (1878 - 1945) - Polish lawyer, economist and politician. Chairman of PKO Bank Polski, deputy speaker of the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

, * Ernst Eichel (1907 - ca. 1956) - violinist, as a conductor assumed the name of 'Ernest Borsamsky', * Maria Wanda Jastrzębska (1924 – 1988)

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

electronics engineer and academic * Stefan Kaczmarz (1895 - 1939) - Polish mathematician, * Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny *

Les Kurbas Oleksandr-Zenon Stepanovych Kurbas ( ua , Олександр-Зенон Степанович Курбас; 24 February 1887– 30 November 1937), was a Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something rel ...

(1887–1937) - Ukrainian movie and theater director *

Henry Lehrman Henry Lehrman (March 30, 1881 – November 7, 1946) was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. Lehrman was a very prominent figure of Hollywood's silent film era, working with such cinematic pioneers as D. W. Griffith and Mack S ...

(1881–1946) - motion picture director * Juliusz Makarewicz (1872 - 1955) - senator in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

, legal expert, professor of

Lwow University The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...

Tadeusz Pankiewicz Tadeusz Pankiewicz (November 21, 1908, in Sambor – November 5, 1993, buried in Kraków), was a Polish Roman Catholic pharmacist, operating in the Kraków Ghetto during the Nazi German occupation of Poland. He was recognized as "Righteous ...

(1908 - 1993) - Polish Pharmacist - Holocaust Rescue - awarded recognition as a "Righteous Among the Nations" for his wartime activities in rescuing Jews * Jozef Skowyra (born 1941) - Polish politician, deputy to the Sejm *

Eduard Steuermann Eduard Steuermann (June 18, 1892 in Sambor, Austro-Hungarian Empire – November 11, 1964 in New York City) was an Austrian (and later American) pianist and composer. Steuermann studied piano with Vilém Kurz at the Lemberg Conservatory and Fer ...

(1892 - 1964) - pianist, pupil of

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

Zygmunt Steuermann Zygmunt Steuermann (5 February 1899 – December 1941) was a Polish footballer who played as a forward and is one of the most renowned members of the Hasmonea Lwów Football Club. Life Born in Sambor, then in Austro-Hungarian Galicia, Steuerm ...

(1899–1941), football player *

Kasper Twardowski Kasper Twardowski (ca. 1592 – ca. 1641) Most widely held works ...

(1583 - 1641) - Polish poet *

Salka Viertel Salka Viertel (15 June 1889 – 20 October 1978) was an Austrian Jewish actress and Hollywood screenwriter. While under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1933 to 1937, Viertel co-wrote the scripts for many movies, particularly those starr ...

(1889-1978) - Hollywood screenwriter and memoirist.

References

External links

Sambor
in Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland (1889)
Sambor history

Sambor history and photos (in Polish)

* {{Authority control Cities in Lviv Oblast Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Lwów Voivodeship Ruthenian Voivodeship Shtetls Cities of regional significance in Ukraine Populated places on the Dniester River in Ukraine Sambir Raion History of Lviv Oblast Holocaust locations in Ukraine