Mostyska

Mostýs’ka (Ukrainian: Мости́ська, Polish: Mościski, or Mościska, both in the plural, is a city in Lviv Oblast (region) of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Mostyska Raion. Population: 9,193 (2013 est.)[1].

Mostyska Мостиська
City
Skyline of Mostyska
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Ukraine
Province	Lviv Oblast
District	Mostyska Raion
Magdeburg rights	1404
Population  (2013)
• Total	9,193
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

The names Mościski and Mostyska share a common etymological Slav root "most", which means "bridge", or the place associated with "river crossings". In 1340, Mostyska, together with the territory of Red Ruthenia, was annexed by Polish King Kazimierz Wielki, and the town remained in Poland for over 400 years, until 1772 (see Partitions of Poland). Mościski, as it was called, was in the Przemyśl region, and the Ruthenian Voivodeship. In 1404, King Wladyslaw Jagiello granted it a Magdeburg town charter. Mościski was the seat of a starosta, and the town was several times destroyed during Tatar, Turkish and Wallachian raids. In the late 18th century, when it was already part of Austrian Galicia, the population of Mościski was 2,200, with a large Jewish minority. During the Second Polish Republic, Mościski was a county seat in Lwow Voivodeship, with its population reaching 5,000.

In late September 1939, during the Invasion of Poland, Mościski was seized by the Red Army. Its ethnic Polish population was routed, with thousands sent to Siberia. In June 1941, the town was captured by the Wehrmacht, which remained there until July 1944. In the autumn of 1945, the deportation, or so-called "repatriation", of Poles began (see Polish population transfers (1944–46)). It lasted until 1948, and as a result, most ethnic Poles were forced out of the town, together with monks from the foundation monastery of the Redemptorist fathers. This was the redemptorists' "Mother house" re-established in Poland for a third time in 1883 after the order's expulsion by Napoleon in 1809.[2] Most of the priests left in the summer 1946, taking with them the holy icon and everything they were allowed to carry with them, including sculptures and clothes. Those who remained were arrested in May 1948 by the NKVD secret police, with two of the priests sent to Siberia. Afterwards, the complex of the monastery was turned into a warehouse. Currently, it serves as a hospital.

Today, Mostyska is one of main centres of the Polish minority in Ukraine. In 1989, a regional office of the Association of Polish Culture of the Lviv Land was opened. At present Poles make up 36% of population. In 2002, a Polish - language middle school was opened with 250 students.