Batiar
Batiar, a popular name for a certain class of inhabitants of city of Lviv. It is considered a part of the city's subculture, Lviv's knajpa lifestyle, and became a phenomenon at the beginning of the twentieth century, although its roots go back to the mid-nineteenth century when Lviv was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It declined after the Soviet occupation of Eastern Poland and its annexation to the Soviet Union as part of the Ukrainian SSR in 1939 and again in 1945. The Soviet authorities expelled most of the Polish inhabitants and suppressed the local Polish culture. However, the use of the term continued, and it is a popular term of endearment in today's Lviv. Since 2008 Lviv has celebrated "International Batiar Day", started by the "Dik-Art" company in cooperation with the Lviv City Council.
Roots of the term
The Origins of the term may be Hungarian, as from the nineteenth century Lviv was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, some of its policemen were Hungarians, and they may have brought the term to the local dialect from their native language.Definition by the Encyclopædia Britannica:
History
Batiar was the name for lower-class inhabitants of Lwów. Batiar spoke a distinctive version of the Polish language, called Bałak, a variant of the Lwów dialect. In the popular imagination, a typical Batiar was usually financially challenged yet an honest and generous urban citizen with a great sense of humor. Among the most famous Batiars, were such figures as the radio personalities Kazimierz Wajda and Henryk Vogelfänger of the highly popular Wesoła Lwowska Fala radio show, as well as the football star Michał Matyas who played for Pogoń Lwów and the national team of Poland.The term is still in local use, albeit in the Ukrainian language. Modern Batiar are the playboys of the Ukrainian Piedmont, as Eastern Galicia is sometimes referred to, and are easily identified by exquisite manners, stylish attire, and the obligatory attribute of every Batiar, a lyaska.
Quotes
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Cultural influence
The Batiar's Day in Lviv replaced the Soviet holiday of 1 May, the Day of Worker's Solidarity. Batiars also adopted the proletarian motto: Batiars of all countries unite!.At the time of the rise of the Batiar's culture, Lviv's Polish-Jewish poet Emanuel Szlechter wrote lyrics for a song that became well known in Poland, Tylko we Lwowie which became the anthem of the Batiars, and the accompanying music was written by another Polish-Jew Henryk Wars. The Ukrainian repertoire of that song is performed by Yurko Hnatovsky and Zosya Fedina.
Batiars are seen as embodying the unique culture and spirit of Lviv, and are often celebrated in local folklore and popular culture.