A large timber town on the Bilka, seat of Vladimirko Volodarevich from 1124 to 1141 and still one of the main towns of Galicia.
During Vsevolod Olgovich's siege of 1146 its townsmen held an assembly and wanted to surrender, and Vladimirko's commander had three of them executed. Excavations have found its streets, ramparts and birch-bark letters. Lviv, which will later take over its role, does not exist: it is founded by Daniel about 1256 and named after his son Lev.
Who holds it
- Name
- Roman Mstislavich, prince of Vladimir and Galich
- Title
- Prince of Galich (through a governor)
- Since
- 1199
- Confidence
- medium
Lord in 1200
Roman Mstislavich, through a governor not named.
How things stand that morning
A Galician town under Roman. It is held by Roman Igorevich in 1206-1208 (later).
Charter
No written charter: towns of Rus' held no chartered privileges in 1200; the townsmen acted through their assembly (veche) and their elders.
Council
A town assembly is recorded in 1146; none for 1200.
Fairs and markets
None recorded.
Militia
Town host; no figures.
Walls and castle
Earth ramparts and timber walls; the town in the marshes of the Bilka and the Zubra.
Trade and crafts
Local crafts and trade on the road from Galich to Volhynia; salt carriage.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Archaeology and 12th-century notices are good; its governor in 1200 is not named.
Primary sources for Roman's Galicia and Volhynia
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Hypatian Chronicle (the Kievan Chronicle compiled about 1200 at the Vydubichi monastery; the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle in the 13th century). The southern record. Read online
- Chronicle of the Poles, by Master Vincent (Wincenty Kadłubek), Wincenty Kadłubek (about 1190 to 1208). Book 4 is a contemporary's account of the fight for the senior throne of Kraków. Read online
- The Deeds of the Hungarians, by the Anonymous Notary of King Béla, Anonymus (P. magister) (about 1200 to 1210, the date disputed). Not a record of events but a picture of the kingdom's nobility and geography as a courtier of about 1200 wished to see it: the clans and their lands, the castles and counties, the Vlachs, Cumans and other peoples of the Carpathian basin, all projected back onto the conquest. Read online
- The Tale of Igor's Campaign (about 1187 to 1200 (disputed)). A poem on Igor Sviatoslavich's defeat by the Polovtsians in 1185 that addresses the princes of the day by name: Vsevolod of Vladimir, Rurik and David Rostislavich, Yaroslav of Galich, Roman of Volhynia and the Olgovichi of Chernigov, of whom Igor himself was prince from 1198. Read online
Sources and studies
- Principality of Galicia (English Wikipedia)
- Kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia (English Wikipedia)
- Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine: Halych principality
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.