Lemkos

The Lemken are a russinischer tribe in the historical region of Galicia, today eastern Poland and Ukraine ( area around Ternopil and border with Slovakia ), and in the north-eastern Slovakia, which inhabited the Ostkarpatengegend between the sources of the San and the Lomnica and mainly engaged in animal husbandry and trade. In Ukraine, they are counted among the Ukrainians.

The term Lemken is a neologism from the 20th century, "lem " in their language means "only". The Lemken define themselves primarily as " Rusnáci ", ie as Rusyns.

History

The Lemken probably lived since the 19th century in the Bieszczady between San and Poprad. Until 1919 belonged to the southern part of Hungary, then Czechoslovakia. The northern part belongs to Poland came with the First Partition of Poland in 1772 under Austrian rule.

From December 1918 to March 1920 there were in the Galician Florynka a Lemko - Rusyn Republic, whose self-administration initially unity with Russia proclaimed, then aimed at the annexation of Czechoslovakia. The leaders of the Republic were arrested in February 1919 by Polish forces, the entire region was in early 1920 under Polish control. In October and November 1938, the Carpathian Ukraine proclaimed an autonomous polity within Czechoslovakia, while part came with the First Vienna Award in Hungary. The Carpathian Ruthenia was then fully occupied in March 1939 by Hungary, after the war ended in 1945 it fell to the Ukrainian Soviet Republic.

After 1945, the Polish borders were redrawn, living in Poland Lemken were in the Vistula action in their present territories, to Pomerania, Masuria and Lower Silesia, forcibly relocated. At the 2002 census in Poland 5800 Lemken were counted, estimates of significantly higher numbers for 2003, approximately 60,000 of. The difference is justified by the fact that a part of the Lemko consider themselves to be Ukrainians.

Every year in the Polish village of Zdynia Lemken into a community festival, in which also participate in many descendants of emigrants overseas Lemken. This is the world's largest festival of Lemko, which Watra ( German: Pastoral fire) is called.