Przemyśl

Przemyśl
Przemyśl Cathedral with the city in the background
Flag Coat of arms
Przemyśl
Coordinates: 49°47′N 22°46′E / 49.783°N 22.767°E / 49.783; 22.767
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Subcarpathian
Powiat	city county
Established	10th century
Town rights	1389
Government
• Mayor	Robert Choma
Area
• Total	44 km2 (17 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	66,715
• Density	1,500/km2 (3,900/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	37-700 to 37-720
Area code(s)	+48 016
Car plates	RP
Website	http://www.przemysl.pl

Przemyśl [ˈpʂɛmɨɕl] (Ukrainian: Пере́мишль, Peremyshľ, German: Premissel) is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship.

Przemyśl owes its long and rich history to the advantages of its geographic location. The city lies in an area connecting mountains and lowlands known as the Przemyśl Gate, with open lines of transportation, and fertile soil. It also lies on the navigable San River. Important trade routes that connected the Middle Europe and Eastern Europe passed through Przemyśl and ensured the city's importance.

Different names in various languages have identified the city throughout its history. Selected languages include: Bulgarian: Пшемишъл (Pshemishǎl); Czech: Přemyšl; German: Premissel; Latin: Premislia; Russian: Перемышль (P^jer^jemyshl^j); Ukrainian: Перемишль (Peremyshl^j); and Yiddish: פּשעמישל‎ (Pshemishl).

Przemyśl, the second-oldest city in southern Poland (after Kraków), appears to date from as early as the 8th century. The region subsequently became part of the 9th-century Great Moravian state. Archeological remains testify to the presence of a monastic settlement as early as the 9th century. Upon the invasion of the Hungarian tribes into the heart of the Great Moravian Empire around 899, the Lendians of the area declared allegiance to the Hungarian authorities. The Przemyśl region then became a site of contention between Poland, Kievan Rus and Hungary beginning in at least the 9th century. The area was mentioned for the first time in 981 by Nestor, when Vladimir I of Kievan Rus took it over on the way into Poland. In 1018 Przemyśl returned to Poland, and in 1031 it was retaken by Rus. The palatium complex was built during the rule of Bolesław I Chrobry. Between the 11th and 12th century the city was a capital of the Principality of Peremyshl, one of the principalities that made up the Kievan Rus' state. Sometime before 1218 an Eastern Orthodox eparchy was founded in the city. Przemyśl later became part of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia.