Ivano-Frankivsk (Ukrainian: Івано-Франківськ, IPA: [iˈwɑno frɐnˈkiu̯sʲk] ⓘ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów,[a][2][3] is a city in western Ukraine.

After World War I, for several months, it served as a temporary capital of the West Ukrainian People's Republic.

With the liberation of Soviet Ukraine in 1944 and the shifting of borders, the city remained part of the Ukrainian SSR and was renamed in 1962 after Ivan Franko.

The town was founded as a fortress known as Stanisławów where it was named after the Polish hetman Stanisław "Rewera" Potocki.

The town of Stanisławów was founded as a fortress in order to protect the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from Tatar invasions and to defend the multi-ethnic population of the region in case of armed conflicts such as the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648.

In the same year Jews were granted the right to become permanent residents, who could work, conduct commerce and travel in and out of the city as they pleased.

[14] In October 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed and the Western Ukrainian People's Republic (ZUNR) was proclaimed.

[15] In the early months of 1919 (from January to May) the city became a temporary capital of the West Ukrainian National Republic, while still recovering from World War I.

[16][17] The same year it was subjected to the Polish–Ukrainian and the Romanian-Ukrainian skirmishes eventually being annexed by Poland as part of the Second Polish Republic as the centre of the Stanisławów Voivodeship.

After the Soviet retreat, Ukrainian troops loyal to Symon Petlura occupied the city for a few days.

Between September 1939 and June 1941, the Soviet regime ordered thousands of inhabitants of the city to leave their houses and move to Siberia, where most of them perished.

[2] During the post-war period, the city was part of the Carpathian Military District housing the 38th Army (70th Motor Rifle Division) that participated in Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.

The municipality was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast to six.

[23] The city is situated in the Carpathian region northeast of the mountain range, sitting approximately 120 metres (390 ft) above mean sea level.

Located southeast from the Stanislav Basin in the direction of the Prut Valley is the Khorosnen (Prut-Bystrytsia) Highland.

Other cities that lie in the radius of 25 to 30 km (16 to 19 mi) are Tlumach (east), Nadvirna (south), Kalush (west), and Halych (north).

The city also administers five adjacent villages that surround it: Mykytyntsi, Krykhivtsi, Vovchynets, Uhornyky, and Khryplyn.

As is the case with most of Ukraine, the climate is moderate continental with warm summers, and fairly cold winters.

[25] Note: Historical population record is taken out of Ivano-Frankivsk portal,[30] more recent – the Regional Directorate of Statistics.

The main feature of the memorial is a tall marble stele, both sides of which are adorned with statues: kamenyar (west) and kobzar (east).

Like a lot of regional centers in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union, Ivano-Frankivsk is well known for its rural-urban fringe panel building residential districts, too.

The city of Ivano-Frankivsk has an extensive network of public transport including buses, trolleybuses, and taxis.

At the opening ceremony the Mayor of the city, Viktor Anushkevičius, noted that the new bus terminal was only partially completed, and for a period it would be necessary to offload passengers at the Pryvokzalna Square, which is already saturated with traffic.

Most notably, it was home to the football club FC Spartak Ivano-Frankivsk (Prykarpattya) that participated on the national level since the 1950s.

Previously during the interbellum period, the city was home to another football club based on the local Polish garrison and called Rewera Stanisławów (1908).

They were the Ukrainian champions having won the 2010/11 season playoffs and therefore took part in the 2011–12 UEFA Futsal Cup for the first time.