Staryi Sambir
Staryi Sambir (Ukrainian: Старий Самбір, Polish: Stary Sambor, Staremiasto, Stare Miasto) is a city in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine, close to the border with Poland. It is the administrative center of the Starosambirskyi Raion (district), and is located at around 49°26′35″N 23°0′12″E / 49.44306°N 23.00333°ECoordinates: 49°26′35″N 23°0′12″E / 49.44306°N 23.00333°E.
The current estimated population is around 6,266 (as of 2011).
The exact date of establishment of the town is not known. Sambir, known in Polish as Sambor, was for the first time mentioned in documents in 1378. At that time, it was a private town of the noble Herburt family, part of Przemysl Land, Ruthenian Voivodeship, Kingdom of Poland. In 1501, a Roman Catholic church was opened here, and in 1553, Sambir received a town charter. In 1668, a town hall was built here, and in the early 18th century, the local church was remodelled. Until 1772 (see Partitions of Poland), Sambir belonged to Przemysl Land, Ruthenian Voivodeship. From 1772 until late 1918, Sambir belonged to Austrian Galicia. In 1880, its population was 3,482, with 1,399 Greek-Catholics, 704 Roman Catholics, and 1,377 Jews.
Following the Polish-Ukrainian War, Sambir was occupied by Poland. According to the 1921 census, the town had a population of 4,314, with 1,534 Jews. In the Second Polish Republic, it was the seat of a county in Lwow Voivodeship (until 1932). After the 1939 invasion of Poland, the town was occupied by the Soviet Union. Its Jewish residents were murdered in the Holocaust, and in the immediate postwar period, most of the ethnic Poles had to leave for the so-called Recovered Territories following Operation Vistula.
