Ternopil

Ternopil stands on the Seret in the border country of Galicia and Podolia. Founded as Tarnopol in 1540 by the Polish commander Jan Amor Tarnowski, it began as a castle and fortified town intended to guard the eastern frontier against Tatar raids. Its name preserves that of its founder.

The town passed through the hands of the Ostrogski and Zamoyski families, and developed as an important centre of regional trade. Warfare repeatedly interrupted its growth: in 1675 Ottoman forces under Ibrahim Shishman Pasha nearly destroyed it, after which Aleksander Koniecpolski rebuilt it. Ternopil came under Austrian rule in 1772, following the first partition of Poland. It was held by Russia from 1809 to 1815, before the Congress of Vienna returned it once again to Austrian rule.