About Gesher Galicia
This page contains:


Major towns in Galicia during the Austro-Hungarian Empire

Brief History of Galicia

  • Originally called Galicia-Lodomeria by the Austrians when they took that territory from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the First Partition of Poland in 1772, its borders varied slightly over the years, especially during the Napoleonic Wars, following which Krakow and surrounding lands were eventually added to the province.

  • The largest province of the Austrian Empire, Galicia bordered Moravia to the west, the Russian Empire to the north and east, and Hungary and the Ottoman Empire (Moldavia) to the south.

  • Returned to Poland when that state was reestablished after the First World War.

  • Divided between Ukraine and Poland after the Second World War. Today,  the eastern half of Galicia is part of Ukraine, and the western half is part  of Poland. The term "Galicia" no longer describes an administrative or political region in either country. In Poland, Galicia is often called “Malopolska”, or Lesser Poland.

  • Bukowina, acquired by the Austrian Empire from the Ottoman Empire in 1775, merged with Galicia in 1787, became a separate province of the Austrian Empire after 1849, and shares with Romania a history of Turkish and Romanian administration that was not experienced by Galicia. Bukowina is not included in the focus of Gesher Galicia. Contact the Romanian Special Interest Group, Rom-SIG.
Pronunciation of "Galicia"
  • The pronunciation of the word "Galicia" is quite varied among researchers. The  local pronunciation, if written phonetically by a native speaker of American English, would be something like [gal-EE-tsya]. The Polish spelling of the name is "Galicja." The German spelling is "Galizien."
Benefits of Membership
  • Gesher Galicia Family Finder, published annually, lists the surnames and Galician towns being researched by each member. The Family Finder includes a membership directory so that members may contact one another directly. It has sections for alternate place name spellings, maps of Galicia, and understanding districts.

  • The Galitzianer is a quarterly journal focused on Galicia, covering topics of interest to Jewish family historians. Members and nonmembers contribute articles and suggestions for articles on a variety of subjects on Galician history and society, travel experiences, photos, research results, advice on obtaining records, and stories from their own Galicia family history. Town and regional research groups and town historians provide updates to each issue.

  • GG Town Historians and GG Research Groups collect and share information relating to families that once lived in their focus towns or administrative districts (A.D.). Current GG members serve as historians or coordinators of their town or regional groups. Gesher Galicia publicizes their activities.

  • GG Research Grants - Project leaders who are current GG members may apply for a grant for their Galician indexing and translation projects, including Yizkor book translations. A research grant proposal form may be downloaded to your computer, completed, and mailed to our Research Coordinator.

  • GG Member Web Sites – We will provide a link to family web sites of current GG members. Contact us .

  • GG Members Only Mailing List – We will periodically inform current GG members via e-mail about upcoming events, meetings, conferences, and items of particular interest to GG members. This is not intended to replace the GG Online Discussion Group on JewishGen.
On-line Discussion Group
  • Gesher Galicia sponsors an e-mail discussion group intended to bring together Jewish genealogy researchers with a common interest in Galicia, and to provide a forum for the dissemination of information about research methods, records, Yizkor books, etc. about Galicia. The Galicia SIG electronic mail list is hosted by JewishGen . You need not be a member of Gesher Galicia to subscribe and participate in the discussion group. It is the responsibility of subscribers to manage their own subscriptions, including changing email addresses and unsubscribing. Click here for our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) web page.
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For More Information

  • If you have questions about Gesher Galicia that are not answered here, please see our Contact Us web page and e-mail us with your questions.
To Join Gesher Galicia

Gesher Galicia Membership is open to all. See our membership web page for information on joining Gesher Galicia.