Galicia, between Przeworsk & Przemysl

 

Actually finished this weeks ago, but with one thing or another, it hasn't been posted until now.  This represents nearly the end of Polish Galicia, at last, which has been a large and populous province.  The next one over, Lwow, is not much easier to work on, but I don't mind.  The early process of producing this map is featured in the following three videos on youtube, here, here and here.

Przemysl is one of the oldest cities in Poland, with it's history dating back to at least the 8th century; the name is thought to derive from the slavic personal name, which means someone thoughtful or strategic.  As it happens, the city is in a strategic location, on the border of Galicia, along the major trade route that connects Germany with Kiyev.

Przeworsk is a smaller town, founded in the Middle Ages, with a name that means "to lead" or "to guide."  This, I could determine, may have something to do with it being a leading settlement, but I couldn't find anything more precise than that.  There appears to be no connection with these two cities having the same first four letters in their names, in this specific place, though przem- relates to strategy, while przew- relates to leadership or guidance.  It kind of bugs me that there are no other large cities in Poland that have these first four letters, but it seems utterly a coincidence.

Like Krakow, Przemysl is at the navigable head of the San River, which meets with the Vistula just above the top of this map.  Both rivers together provide a geographical framework for the south of Poland, as they reach from the Baltic Sea to cover a wide area on the northern slopes of the Carpathians.  The Vistula IS Poland, for all intents and purposes, as it makes the country's primary trade network in the game's time period and allows for comparatively fast travel and communication in the western realm.  For that reason, Galicia is one of the more advanced parts of medieval-Renaissance Poland, unlike the more agrarian regions to the east and northeast.