Lemko Region – Historical Region in the Polish-Slovakian Borderland
Marek BARWI ŃSKI Katarzyna LE ŚNIEWSKA Department of Political Geography and Regional Studies, University of Łód ź, POLAND No 10 LEMKO REGION – HISTORICAL REGION IN THE POLISH-SLOVAKIAN BORDERLAND 1. THE ORIGIN OF THE LEMKO PEOPLE AND THE TERM “LEMKO” The term “Lemko” appeared in the early 19 th century. It is a local, folk nickname, introduced to the scientific literature by the Boikos to describe their western, Ruthenian neighbours. It was promoted in the 19 th century by the Slovakian and Polish ethnographers, but has not been recognized among the Ruthenian people for a long time. It was not until the interwar period, when it was commonly accepted by the Ruthenians, on the northern side of the Carpathian Mountains (Reinfuss, 1990; Czajkowski, 1992). However, on the Slovakian side, the term “Lemko” is actually not recognized by the Ruthenians, who call themselves “Rusyns” or “Rusnaks”. This does not change the fact, that ethnically, culturally and religiously, the Ruthenian people living on both sides of the Carpathian Mountains, both the Polish Lemkos and the Slovakian Rusnaks constitute the same group (Sapoliga, 1992). The Ruthenian people, living in the northern Carpathians, are also described as the Carpatho-Ruthenians (Magocsi, 2002; Michna, 2004). The historians and ethnographers, basing on the scientific research, consider Lemkos (Rusnaks) as immigrants, who arrived among the Polish and the Slovakian people in the northern Carpathians. According to this theory, the ancestors of the Lemkos came to this area relatively late, along with the Vlach-Ruthenian settlement movement between the late 14 th and early 15 th century. The colonization progressed along the main Carpathian mountain range, from the area of today’s Romania, to the north and to the west (Reinfuss, 1990; Czajkowski, 1992).
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