Commemoration of the
commencement of the Emperor’s rule (December 2, 1848), along with his name
day and birthday, were one of the main state holidays. The 60th anniversary in 1908 was a classical example of honoring of the monarch in the main city of the
province. It combined the testimony of loyalty to the Empire and the Emperor
with the attempts of showing the local elite's strife for autonomy. The latter got manifested, in particular, in the way
of decorating the buildings using national or regional colors. Besides that, the holiday was an occasion for
different social groups to show their loyalty to the state and the ruling
dynasty.
Event description with localization
Days before the jubilee the windows of city apartment buildings
were decorated with unified stickers with the Emperor’s image, which were to
replace the traditional festive illumination. Besides being the manifestation of loyalty, it was also a charity campaign
at the same time since the money from the cards were to be handed over for the
children in need. Therefore, the organizing committee urged the citizens
to beware of falsified ones and to notify the police about unscrupulous
sellers. Besides that, flags were hung on the government and public buildings.
The decoration of buildings normally testified to
political sympathies. A public institution or a self-governed body could
decorate the building in national colors, and not state or regional ones, while
the Governor or state structures could not do this. Therefore, there were Bengal
lights of white and red colors on the City Hall, while in the illumination of
the Governor's palace, yellow color
prevailed. Barrels with tar were lit on the High Castle.
The holiday of December 2, 1908 started at 6:00 a.m. with a 24-time gun salute on the Citadel, and after that the
military orchestras played marches.
At 9:00 a.m. in both Roman and Greek Catholic churches, and synagogues of Lviv ceremonial services
started, the representatives of the regional and city authorities participated
in these. Traditionally, the Governor, count Michał Bobrzyński, the President of the city Stanisław Ciuchciński and the majority of officials participated in the festive
Mass in the Latin Cathedral which finished, as usually in such cases, with the
performance of the anthem "God, save Emperor Franz" ("Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser").
Some representatives of the state government were "delegated" to St. George Greek Catholic Church and the Armenian Cathedral. In the former Jesuit church, a Mass for military men was
held.
After the Mass the Governor Michał Bobrzyński hosted the willing
private individuals and delegations in the Governor's palace to get congratulations
for the Emperor. In the large assembly hall at the City Hall building, a
ceremonial session of the City Council was held.
Persons
Bobrzyński, Michał (1849-1935) – count, the Galician Governor
Ciuchciński, Stanisław (1841-1912) – the President of the Lviv City
Sources
- "Gazeta Lwowska", 1908, №№ 228, 276-278.
- "Kurier Lwowski", 1908, №№ 563, 565.
- Unowsky Daniel L., The Pomp and Politics of Patriotism. Imperial Celebrations in Habsburg Austria, 1848–1916 (West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue UP, 2005).
- "Wiek Nowy", 1908, №2252.
- Історія Львова, Т.2 (Львів: "Центр Європи", 2007).
- Мельник Б. В., Довідник перейменувань вулиць і площ Львова. ХІІІ–ХХ століття (Львів: "Світ", 2001).
By Nazar Kis
