Coordinates: 51°14′N 22°34′E / 51.233°N 22.567°E / 51.233; 22.567

Lublin [ˈlublʲin] ( listen) (Ukrainian: Люблін, Liublin, Yiddish: לובלין Lublin) is the ninth largest city in Poland, and the second largest city of Lesser Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship (province) with a population of 350,392 (June 2009). Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula River. Lublin was a candidate for the title of European Capital of Culture in 2016. Lublin is situated around 170 km (105 miles) away from the capital, Warsaw.

The first permanent settlements on the Lublin site were established in the early Middle Ages, though archeological finds indicate a long, earlier presence of various cultures in the general area. The earliest, most significant settlement began in the 6th century, on a hill located in the suburb of Czwartek (in Polish Thursday, most likely in reference to the market day of the settlement). It is likely that the surrounding hills, notably the site of the present day Old Town, were also settled at around this time. In the 10th and 11th centuries the Czwartek settlement developed into an important trade centre. The location of Lublin at the eastern borders of the Polish lands gave it a military significance. The first fortification on the site may have been built as early as the 8th century, possibly on the Castle Hill. Certainly at the end of the 10th century a significant fortification existed there. As the castle grew, the Old Town hill adjacent to it became the main focus of settlement, and the Czwartek settlement declined in relative importance. The castle became the seat of a Castellan, first mentioned in historical sources from 1224, but quite possibly present from the start of the 12th, or even 10th century. The oldest historical document mentioning Lublin dates from 1198, so the name must have come into general use some time earlier.