Chernivtsi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Location | |||
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| Government | |||
| Country Oblast Raion |
Ukraine Chernivtsi Oblast Chernivtsi City Municipality |
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| First mentioned | 1408 | ||
| Mayor | Mykola Fedoruk | ||
| Geographical characteristics | |||
| Area - City |
153 km² |
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| Population - City (2001) - Density |
242,300 1,625/km² |
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| Coordinates | |||
| Other Information | |||
| Postal Code | 58000- | ||
| Dialing Code | +380 372 | ||
| Website: www.city.cv.ua | |||
Chernivtsi (Ukrainian: Чернівці, German: Czernowitz or Tschernowitz, Romanian: Cernăuţi, Russian: Черновцы́, translit. Chernovtsy, Yiddish: צ'רנוביץ Tshernovits [transliteration]), is a historic city in the Northern Bukovina region of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Chernivtsi Oblast (province), and is also designated as its own separate raion (district) within the oblast.
Chernivtsi is a major point of railway and highway crossings in the region, and also has an airport.
The city is considered to have an illustrious history as one of Romania's greatest cultural and educational centres. In May 1999, Romania opened its consulate general in the city.
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[edit] History
Archeological evidence discovered in the area of Chernivtsi indicates that a local population existed in that area since the neolithic era. Later settlements included those of the Cucuteni/Trypillian culture, the Corded Ware culture; artifacts from the Bronze and Iron ages were also found in the city. Remains of the early Slavic tribes in the area date back to the 2nd – 5th centuries, with the artifacts of Chroatian and Tiverian peoples from the 9th – 11th centuries being also present.
A fortified settlement, located on the left shore of Prut river, dates back to the time of the Principality of Halych and is thought to have been built by Grand Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl, who ruled from 1153-1187. Legendary accounts refer to this fortress-city as "Chern’", or "Black city", and it is said to owe its name to the black colour of the city walls, built from dark oak layered with local black-coloured soil. [1] This stronghold was unfortunately destroyed during the Mongol invasion of Rus' by the Burundai in 1259. However, the remaining ramparts of the fortress were still used for the defense purposes; they were augmented with several bastions, one of which is still extant, in the seventeenth century. Following the destruction of the fortress, later settlements in the area centered to the right of the Prut river, at a more strategically advantageous, elevated location.
Beginning in 1359, the city and its surroundings came under the control of the neighboring Principality of Moldavia. Chernivtsi is mentioned in business correspondence between Prince Alexandru cel Bun and merchants from Lviv (then a part of Poland) on October 8, 1408.
The city became a part of the Duchy of Bukovina, a crownland of the Austrian Empire, in 1775 and received Magdeburg rights soon thereafter [2]. During the 19th and early 20th century, Chernirvtsi became a center of the Ukrainian nationalist movement.
Chernivtsi was the site of the first Yiddish language conference in 1908; this was coordinated by Nathan Birnbaum.
When Austria-Hungary dissolved in 1918, the city briefly joined the West Ukrainian People's Republic. Ukrainian sovereignty did not flourish, however, and the city and its surrounding area became a part of the Kingdom of Romania. In 1940, Red Army forces claimed the area and it subsequently became a part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the USSR.
Romania re-took control of the city and much of southern Ukraine in 1941 as part of the Axis attack on the Soviet Union during World War II. When Axis forces were driven out by the Soviet Army, the city rejoined the Ukrainian SSR (1944).
Since 1991, it is has been a part of the independent Ukraine.
[edit] Demographics
In 1930, according to the Romanian census, the population of the city was 26.8 % Jewish, 23.2% Romanians, 20.8% Germans, 18.6% Ukrainians, and 1.5% Russians.
The Romanian population in Chernivtsi started decreasing rapidly since 1950. Many Romanians fled to Romania or were deported to Siberia (where most of them died), and the remaining Romanian population quickly become a minority and assimilated with the majority. (see Russification). Nowadays, the Romanian minority in Chernivtsi is still decreasing as a result ofcultural assimilation and immigration to Romania.
Chernivtsi used to have a large Jewish community that survived WWII. However, after the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991, the majority of the Jewish population immigrated to Israel and United States.
The population of the city, as of January 1, 1998, was approximately 295,000 residents. Among these, there are some 172,000 Ukrainians, 46,000 Russians, 16,000 Romanians, 13,000 Moldavians, 7,000 Poles and others.
According to the updated data of the All-Ukrainian population census of 2001, the population of Chernivtsi was approximately 236,700 people of 65 nationalities. Among them, 189,000 (79.8%)are Ukrainians, 26,700 (11.3%)Russians, Romanians10,500 (4.4%) ; 3,800 (1.6%)Moldavians , 1,400 (0.6%)Poles/Polish ; 1,300 (0.6%)Jews ; 2,900 (1.2%) represent to other nationalitites.
[edit] Personalities
[edit] Natives
- Aharon Appelfeld
- Rose Ausländer
- Octav Botnar
- Paul Celan
- Erwin Chargaff
- Eugen Ehrlich
- Frederick Kiesler
- Anna Lesko
- Eusebius Mandyczewski
- Dan Pagis
- Traian Popovici
- Klieger Aliav Ruth
- Joseph Schmidt (born in the vicinity)
- Arseniy Yatsenyuk
- Kateryna Brezitska
[edit] Residents
- Ciprian Porumbescu
- Mihai Eminescu
- Hermann Bahr
- Nathan Birnbaum
- Charles K. Bliss
- Erwin Chargaff
- Yuriy Fedkovych
- Jacob Frank
- Ivan Franko
- Karl Emil Franzos
- Gala Galaction
- Abraham Goldfaden
- Zygmunt Gorgolewski
- Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi
- Volodymyr Ivasyuk
- Aron Pumnul
- Joseph Kalmer
- Olha Kobylyanska
- Zvi Laron
- Ion Nistor
- Israel Polack
- Wilhelm Reich
- Eric Roll
- Sofia Rotaru
- Maximilien Rubel
- Hermann Scharf
- Fritz von Scholz
- Joseph Schumpeter
- Nazariy Yaremchuk
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
- (Ukrainian)/(English) Chernivtsi City official site
- (Russian) Chernivtsi telephone directory
- (English) Chernivtsi photo gallery and links
- (English) An un-official page of Chernivtsi history
- (English) Czernowitz Jewish Genealogy: history, maps, photos, stories, documents
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Subdivisions of Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine |  |
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Raions: Hertsaivskyi | Hlybotskyi | Kelmenetskyi | Khotynskyi | Kitsmanskyi | Novoselytskyi | Putylskyi | Sokyrianskyi | Storozhynetskyi | Vyzhnytskyi | Zastavnivskyi |
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Cities: Chernivtsi | Hertsa | Khotyn | Kitsman | Novodnistrovsk | Novoselytsia | Sokyriany | Storozhynets | Vashkivtsi | Vyzhnytsia | Zastavna |
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Urban-type settlements: Berehomet | Hlyboka | Kelmenetsi | Kostryzhivka | Krasnoilsk | Luzhany | Nepolokivtsi | Putyla | more... |
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Villages: Bila Krynytsya | Boiany | Chornivka | Voloka | more... |
