Galicia-Lodomiera
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| + | |Approx 78 855 km² | ||
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| + | |'''Population''' | ||
| + | | About 8 millions | ||
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Revision as of 15:46, 17 May 2009
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| Official Languages | German, Polish | |||
| Capital | Lvov | |||
| Head of State | Otto I von Habsburg, represented by Governor Karl-Stephen von Habsburg | |||
| Head of Government | Jakub Bojko | |||
| Establishment - 1867 Ausgleich | May 29 1867 | |||
| - Autonomous Region | 1927 | |||
| Government | Parliamentary monarchy, secondary constituent state of Austria-Hungary under the control of the Austrian Crown | |||
| Currency | Austro-Hungarian krone | |||
| Area | Approx 78 855 km² | |||
| Population | About 8 millions | |||
Galicia-Lodomiera (also known simply as Galicia) is a secondary constituent of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy under the control of the Austrian Crown. It borders Romania to the south, Ukraine to the east, White Ruthenia to the north-east, Poland to the north and Germany to the north-west. Within the Dual Monarchy, it also borders the areas of Bohemia and Hungary.
Contents |
History
The kingdom of Galicia-Lodomeria has been a part of Austria since the First Partition of Poland in 1772. Initially just another province of the great Empire, its status changed in 1860. A regional Sejm (diet) was established, and the country gained a great extent of autonomy. This, combined with acknowledging Polish as an official language on the same terms as German, allowed the Polish population to organise itself and create an illusion of independece. In the first days of the Weltkrieg Jozef Pilsudski, a former socialist and an influential personality within the military, organised the Polish Legions - a military force which was supposed to be used against Russia in order to reunite Polish lands under Central Powers' protection, thus allowing a possibility of ressurecting Poland as a state. Pilsudski's plan turned out to be successful, and the combined German-Austrian-Galician campaign managed to seize Warsaw by 1st of August, 1915. The Act of November 5th of 1916 and the subsequent formation of Regency Council under a noble Zdzislaw Lubomirski in the occupied capital gave the Polish a hope for complete independence. Those views have been shattered when Wilhelm II and Karl I of Austria rejected both the regent's proposition to unite Poland with Galicia and the choice of Karl Stephan Habsburg, the governor of Galicia, as king. After the Weltkrieg, Galicia remained under Austrian control, but following the renegotiations of the Ausgleich in 1927 it has been recognized as an autonomus country within Austria-Hungary.
Politics
Galicia-Lodomiera is a parliamentary monarchy, as a constituent part of Austria-Hungary. Emperor Otto I von Habsburg is represented by Governor Karl-Stephen von Habsburg and the government is led by Minister-President Jakub Bojko.
The political scene has been divided between three parties. The biggest one was the Polish Peoples' Party (PSL), which divided into two groups in 1913: conservative "Piast", appealing to wide peasant masses, and "Wyzwolenie" (Liberation), which decided to follow a much more radical approach, sometimes very close to pre-war socialism. PSL was closely followed in popularity by the Polish Social-Democratic Party of Galicja and Cieszyn Silesia (PPSD) under the leadership of Ignacy Daszynski. PPSD remained in the opposition, but contrary to PSL "Wyzwolenie", avoided using illegal activities, proposing an evolutionary transformation of Galicia into a socialist state. The third, smallest force was the National Right Party (SPN), led by Julian Ignacy Nowak. This party enjoyd quite a lot of support from former Legions' officers, at least from those who decided to stay in Galicia after the Weltkrieg.
Until 1936, Galicia was a politically stable, yet poor region of the Habsburg Empire. However, with the newspaper 'Czas' publishing news about minister-president Jakub Bojko's defraudation of public money, the fall of PSL "Piast" goverment seems almost certain. The upcoming Ausgleich conference of 1937 also sparks numerous discussions, as there are opinions that the Empire should become centralised, with Galicia being part of either Austria or Hungary. Finally, it is also possible that the Polish Regency Council will make one more attempt to put Karol Olbracht, son of Karl Stephan on the throne, thus unifying Galicia with Poland.
Military
Galicia-Lodomiera is under the military authority of Austria. However, it has a certain degree of autonomy as it has a small army, comprised of two infantry units, for defense purposes.
Foreign relations
Under the political, economic and military authority of Austria.
Very good relations with Austria, Hungary, Germany and Poland.
Friendly relations with Ukraine, White Ruthenia and United Baltic Duchy.
