Belz. Map: III-5. City (2001 pop 2,478) on the Solokiia River in Sokal raion, Lviv oblast. Belz was first mentioned in the chronicles under 1030, when it was an appanage of the Principality of Galicia-Volhynia. As a fortified town, Belz withstood several Polish sieges. In 1388 it was captured by the Poles, and in 1462–1772 it was a voivodeship center. With the first partition of Poland Belz came under Austrian rule in 1772. In the first half of 1919 the Western Ukrainian and Polish armies fought several battles there. In 1919–39 it was a town belonging to Poland. In 1939 it was occupied by the German army and became part of the Generalgouvernement. In 1944 Belz was taken by the Red army and belonged to Poland until 1951 when, according to a treaty between Poland and the USSR, it was incorporated into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.