Chernivtsi
Encyclopedia
Chernivtsi is the administrative center of Chernivtsi Oblast
(province
) in southwestern Ukraine
. The city is situated on the upper course of the River Prut
, a tributary of the Danube
, in the northern part of the historic region of Bukovina
, which is currently divided between Romania
and Ukraine. At the time of the 2001 Ukrainian Census
, the population of the city was 240,600.
Together with the city of Lviv
, Chernivtsi is viewed at present to be a cultural center of western Ukraine. The city is also considered one of modern Ukraine's greatest cultural and educational centers. Historically, as a cultural and architectural center, Chernivtsi was even dubbed "Little Vienna
," "Jerusalem upon the Prut", or the "European Alexandria
." Chernivtsi is currently twinned
with seven other cities around the world. The city is also a major point of railway and highway crossings in the region, and houses an international airport
.
Chernovtsy (until 1944: Чернови́цы, translit.
Chernovitsy). In the times of Halych-Volyn Principality the city's name was Chern.
, which is currently shared between Romania (south) and Ukraine (north). The city lies 248 meters above sea level, and is surrounded by forests and fields. The River Prut
runs through the city's landscape.
.
Archeological evidence discovered in the area surrounding Chernivtsi indicates that a local population inhabited it since the neolithic
era. Later settlements included those of the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture, the Corded Ware culture
; artifacts from the Bronze
and Iron Age
s were also found in the city.
A fortified settlement located on the left (north-eastern) shore of Prut dates back to the time of the Principality of Halych and is thought to have been built by Grand Prince
Yaroslav Osmomysl
. Legendary accounts refer to this fortress-city as Chern’, or Black city; it is said to owe its name to the black color of the city walls, built from dark oak
layered with local black-colored soil
. This early stronghold was destroyed during the Mongol invasion of Europe
by the Burundai
in 1259. However, the remaining ramparts of the fortress were still used for defense purposes; in the 17th century they were augmented with several bastions, one of which is still extant.
Following the destruction of the fortress, later settlements in the area centered on the right (south-western) shore of the Prut River, at a more strategically advantageous, elevated location. In 1325, when Kingdom of Poland seized control of Galicia, and came into contact with the early Vlach (Romanian) feodal formations, a fort was mentioned under the name Ţeţina; it was defending the ford and crossing point on the Prut River. It was part of a group of three fortifications, the other two being the fortress of Hotin
on the Dniester to the east, and a fort on the Kolachin River, a upriver tributary of Prut.
Between 1359 and 1775, the city and its surroundings were part of the Principality of Moldavia
; the city being the administrative center of the homonymous ţinut (county)
. The name Cernăuţi/Chernivtsi is first attested in a document by Alexander the Good on October 8, 1408. In Ottoman
sources, the city was mentioned as "Çernovi".
In 1775, around 1/10 of the territory of Moldavia was annexed by the Austrian Empire
; this region became known as Bukovina
. The city became the region's capital, which in 1849 was raised in status and became known as the Duchy of Bukovina, a crownland
of the Austrian Empire. The city received Magdeburg rights
. The city began to flourish in 1778 when Knight Karl von Enzenberg was appointed the chief of the Military Administration. He invited many merchants, craftsmen and entrepreneurs to help develop trade and other businesses. Saint Peter
's Fairs (July 1–15) had given a new vibrant impulse to the market development from 1786.
During the 19th and early 20th century, Chernivtsi became a center of both Romanian and Ukrainian national movements. It was also the site of the first Yiddish language
conference in 1908, coordinated by Nathan Birnbaum
. When Austria-Hungary
dissolved in 1918, the city and its surrounding area became a part of the Kingdom of Romania
. In 1930, the city reached a population of 112,400; 26.8% Jews
, 23.2% Romanians
, 20.8% Germans
, 18.6% Ukrainians
, the remainder Poles and others. It was one of the five university centers of the inter-war Romania.
In 1940, the Red Army
occupied the area; the area around the city became known as Chernivtsi Oblast
, and was allotted to the Ukrainian SSR
by the Soviet Union. The city's large Romanian intelligentsia found refuge in Romania; while the Bukovina Germans were repatriated according to a Soviet-Nazi agreement. This prompted Romania to switch from an ally of France and Britain to one of the Nazi Germany; in July 1941, Romanian Army re-took the city as part of the Axis attack on the Soviet Union
during World War II. In August 1941, Romanian military dictator Ion Antonescu
ordered the creation of a ghetto
in the lowland part of the city, where 50,000 Bukovina Jews were crammed; two thirds of which would be deported to Transnistria
in October 1941 and partly in early 1942, where the majority perished. Romanian mayor of the city Traian Popovici
managed to persuade Antonescu to raise the number of Jews exempted from deportation from 200 to 20,000.
In 1944, when Axis forces were driven out by the Red Army, the city was re-incorporated in the Ukrainian SSR. Over the following years, most of the Jews left for Israel
; the city was an important node in the Berihah
network. Bukovina Poles were also repatriated by the Soviets after World War II. The city became a predominantly Ukrainian one.
Since 1991, Chernitvtsi has been a part of the independent Ukraine. In May 1999, Romania opened a consulate general in the city. Contemporary Chernivtsi is an important regional center, which is situated on the picturesque banks of Prut River and occupies an area of about 150 square kilometres (57.9 sq mi).
(province
) and the city itself has own government within the oblast under direct subordination to oblast.
The territory of Chernivtsi is divided into 3 administrative city raion
s (districts):
The mayor of Chernivtsi is Mykola Fedoruk, who has held the position since 1994.
According to the latest All-Ukrainian population census
in 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
; 10,500 (4.4%) Romanians; 3,800 (1.6%) Moldavians
; 1,400 (0.6%) Polish
; 1,300 (0.6%) Jews; 2,900 (1.2%) other nationalities.
Based on the last available Soviet data, the population of the city, as of January 1, 1989, 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.
Historically, the city was very multinational. From 1870 to the Second World War, Jews were the biggest population group of Chernivtsi. 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 after 1950. Many Romanians fled to Romania or were deported to Siberia
(where most of them died), and the remaining Romanian population quickly became a minority and assimilated with the majority. Nowadays, the Romanian minority in Chernivtsi is still decreasing as a result of cultural assimilation
and emigration to Romania.
Chernivtsi once had a Jewish community of over 50,000, less than a third of whom survived World War II. Romanian lawyer and reserve officer Theodor Criveanu, as well as the then city mayor Traian Popovici
, supported by General Vasile Ionescu saved 19,689 Jewish people. Initially, Governor of Bukovina Calotescu allowed only 190 Jewish people to stay, but Traian Popovici, after an incredible effort, obtained from the then dictator of Romania Marshal Ion Antonescu
an allowance of 20,000.
After World War II, the city was a key node in the Berihah
net, which helped Jews to emigrate to the then Mandate Palestine
from the difficult conditions after the War. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the majority of the remaining Jewish population emigrated to Israel
and the United States. A famous member of this latter emigration is the American actress Mila Kunis
.
In Chernivtsi lived Ukrainians, Romanians, Poles, Ruthenians
, Jews, Roms and Germans. Their Culture and Prosperity, experienced the town during its affiliation to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy as the capital of the crown land Bukovina
. By the murder of the Jews and the resettlement and expulsion of the whole ethnic groups, above all of the Germans and the Romanians, this tradition got lost after the Second World War to a great extent. The population group dominating today are the Ukrainians.
The mixing of the city by many population groups becomes recognizable in accompanying or following population statistics below. Thus Romanians and Ukrainians did the majority of the population, however, the Yiddish-speaking or German-speaking Jews removed the Romanians from 1870 as the biggest population group of the town. From 1880 the Romanians were removed from the Ukrainians also as a second largest population group.
, poets and writers Paul Celan
, musician and essayist Roman Vlad
and Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger
, the former Speaker of the Parliament
Arseniy Yatsenyuk
, and the Vienna Secession
artist Oskar Laske. Many other famous people lived and worked in the city, such as Ukrainian national poet Ivan Franko
, the first President of Ukraine
Leonid Kravchuk
, Romanian national poet Mihai Eminescu
, Yiddish actress Sidi Tal
, novelist Aharon Appelfeld
, Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi
, Aron Pumnul
, Ciprian Porumbescu
, Ion Nistor
, Gala Galaction
, economist and political theorist Joseph Schumpeter
, jurist and sociologist of law Eugen Ehrlich
, Nikolai Vavilov
, Abraham Goldfaden
, Ruth Wisse
, and Avigdor Arikha
.
There are many places which attract citizens of Chernivtsi and the visitors: Drama Theatre, Regional Philharmonic Society, Organ and Chamber Music Hall, puppet-theatre, Museum of Local Lore, History and Economy, Museum of Fine Arts, Bukovynian Diaspora Museum, Museum of Folk Architecture and Way of Life, memorial museums of writers, 5 cinemas, 41 libraries, the Central Palace of Culture, 17 clubs, 4 music schools, fine arts school, 2 recreational parks.
The city of Chernivtsi has a lot of architecturally important buildings. Many historic buildings have been preserved, especially within the city's center. However, after years of disrepair and neglect, the buildings are in need of major restoration.
As Chernivsti was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it was closely related to the empire's culture, including architecture. Main architectural styles present within the city include Vienna Secession
and Neoclassicism
, Baroque
, late Gothic architecture
, and fragments of traditional Moldavian and Hungarian architecture, Byzantine architecture
as well as Cubism
. The city is sometimes dubbed Little Vienna, because its architecture is reminiscent of the Austro-Hungarian capital Vienna
.
The main architectural attractions of the city include: the Chernivtsi Drama Theater (1905); the Chernivtsi University
— UNESCO World Heritage Site (1882); the Regional Museum of Fine Arts — the former savings bank (1900); the Regional Council — former Palace of Justice (1906); and the Chernivtsi Palace of Culture — former Jewish National House (1908); among many others. The magnificent Moorish Revival
Czernowitz Synagogue was heavily damaged by fire in 1941, the walls were used to create the "Chernivtsi" movie theater.
The Czech
architect Josef Hlavka designed, in 1864—1882, the buildings that currently house the Chernivtsi State University
. They were originally the residence of the Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans. The Romanesque and Byzantine architecture is embellished with motifs of Ukrainian folk art; for example, the tile roof patterns duplicate the geometric designs of traditional Ukrainian embroidery
.
, and football
clubs (FC Bukovyna Chernivtsi
) are participants of the Ukrainian national championships.
Chernivtsi has a large number of sports establishments and facilities, including 5 stadiums, 186 sports grounds, 2 tennis courts, 11 football fields
, 5 skating rinks
, 21 shooting galleries, 3 swimming pool
s, 69 gym
s, 62 gyms with special training equipment and an international motorcycle racing track.
Over 7,950 inhabitants are members of sport clubs within the city, and more than 50,000 people participate in various sport activities. Currently, 8 sportsmen from the city are the members of national teams and 12 are members of national youth teams. 3 athletes from Chernivtsi were prize-winners in various world tournaments, 2 were winners of European and 42 of national championships in 2002.
Chernivtsi has been host to the Ukrainian Sidecarcross Grand Prix
a number of times, most recently in June 2010
.
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Chernivtsi has seven sister cities/towns, as follows: Klagenfurt
, Austria Saskatoon
, Canada Nazareth Illit
, Israel Konin
, Poland Suceava
, Romania Podolsk
, Russia Salt Lake City, United States
Chernivtsi Oblast
Chernivtsi Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine, bordering on Romania and Moldova. It has a large variety of landforms: the Carpathian Mountains and picturesque hills at the foot of the mountains gradually change to a broad partly forested plain situated between the Dniester and Prut rivers....
(province
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
) in southwestern Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. The city is situated on the upper course of the River Prut
Prut
The Prut is a long river in Eastern Europe. In part of its course it forms the border between Romania and Moldova.-Overview:...
, a tributary of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
, in the northern part of the historic region of Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
, which is currently divided between Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Ukraine. At the time of the 2001 Ukrainian Census
Ukrainian Census (2001)
The first Ukrainian Census was carried out by State Statistics Committee of Ukraine on 5 December 2001, twelve years after the last Soviet Union census in 1989....
, the population of the city was 240,600.
Together with the city of Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Chernivtsi is viewed at present to be a cultural center of western Ukraine. The city is also considered one of modern Ukraine's greatest cultural and educational centers. Historically, as a cultural and architectural center, Chernivtsi was even dubbed "Little Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
," "Jerusalem upon the Prut", or the "European Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
." Chernivtsi is currently twinned
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with seven other cities around the world. The city is also a major point of railway and highway crossings in the region, and houses an international airport
Chernivtsi International Airport
Chernivtsi Airport is an airport in Chernivtsi , a city in the Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine.-Airlines and destinations:-External links:*...
.
Name
Aside from Ukrainian, Chernivtsi is also known by many different foreign names, which were used during times of rule by different countries throughout the city's history, or by the respective population groups at the time: ; ; ; ; , , translit.Romanization of Russian
Romanization of the Russian alphabet is the process of transliterating the Russian language from the Cyrillic alphabet into the Latin alphabet...
Chernovtsy (until 1944: Чернови́цы, translit.
Romanization of Russian
Romanization of the Russian alphabet is the process of transliterating the Russian language from the Cyrillic alphabet into the Latin alphabet...
Chernovitsy). In the times of Halych-Volyn Principality the city's name was Chern.
Geography
Chernivtsi is located in the historic region of BukovinaBukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
, which is currently shared between Romania (south) and Ukraine (north). The city lies 248 meters above sea level, and is surrounded by forests and fields. The River Prut
Prut
The Prut is a long river in Eastern Europe. In part of its course it forms the border between Romania and Moldova.-Overview:...
runs through the city's landscape.
History
Chernivtsi continues to hold a prominent position among other cities in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. The city's ancient beginnings and significant history add to its charm and attraction for those interested in the BukovinaBukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
.
Archeological evidence discovered in the area surrounding Chernivtsi indicates that a local population inhabited it since the neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
era. Later settlements included those of the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture, the Corded Ware culture
Corded Ware culture
The Corded Ware culture , alternatively characterized as the Battle Axe culture or Single Grave culture, is an enormous European archaeological horizon that begins in the late Neolithic , flourishes through the Copper Age and culminates in the early Bronze Age.Corded Ware culture is associated with...
; artifacts from the Bronze
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
and Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
s were also found in the city.
A fortified settlement located on the left (north-eastern) shore of Prut dates back to the time of the Principality of Halych and is thought to have been built by Grand Prince
Knyaz
Kniaz, knyaz or knez is a Slavic title found in most Slavic languages, denoting a royal nobility rank. It is usually translated into English as either Prince or less commonly as Duke....
Yaroslav Osmomysl
Yaroslav Osmomysl
Yaroslav Osmomysl was the most famous Prince of Halych from the first dynasty of its rulers, which descended from Yaroslav I's eldest son. His sobriquet, meaning "Eight-Minded" in Old East Slavic, was granted to him in recognition of his wisdom...
. Legendary accounts refer to this fortress-city as Chern’, or Black city; it is said to owe its name to the black color of the city walls, built from dark oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
layered with local black-colored soil
Chernozem
Chernozem , also known as "black land" or "black earth", is a black-coloured soil containing a high percentage of humus 7% to 15%, and high percentages of phosphoric acids, phosphorus and ammonia...
. This early stronghold was destroyed during the Mongol invasion of Europe
Mongol invasion of Europe
The resumption of the Mongol invasion of Europe, during which the Mongols attacked medieval Rus' principalities and the powers of Poland and Hungary, was marked by the Mongol invasion of Rus starting in 21 December 1237...
by the Burundai
Burundai
Boroldai or Burundai Боролдай was a notable Mongol general of the mid 13th century. He participated in the Mongol invasion of Russia and Europe in 1236-1242....
in 1259. However, the remaining ramparts of the fortress were still used for defense purposes; in the 17th century they were augmented with several bastions, one of which is still extant.
Khotyn
Khotyn is a city in Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, and is the administrative center of Khotyn Raion within the oblast, and is located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, it has a population of 11,124...
on the Dniester to the east, and a fort on the Kolachin River, a upriver tributary of Prut.
Between 1359 and 1775, the city and its surroundings were part of the Principality of Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
; the city being the administrative center of the homonymous ţinut (county)
Cernauti County
Cernăuţi was a county of Romania, in Bukovina, with the capital city at Cernăuţi.-Neighbours:Neighbours of the county were Stanislawow Voivodship of Poland to the north and west, countries of Storojineţ and Dorohoi to the south and Hotin to the east...
. The name Cernăuţi/Chernivtsi is first attested in a document by Alexander the Good on October 8, 1408. In Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
sources, the city was mentioned as "Çernovi".
In 1775, around 1/10 of the territory of Moldavia was annexed by the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
; this region became known as Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
. The city became the region's capital, which in 1849 was raised in status and became known as the Duchy of Bukovina, a crownland
Kronland
Kronland may refer to:* the German name of Lanškroun, a town in the Czech Republic* a "crown land", a constituent territory of Cisleithania, the Austrian half of former Austria–Hungary...
of the Austrian Empire. The city received Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg Rights or Magdeburg Law were a set of German town laws regulating the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages granted by a local ruler. Modelled and named after the laws of the German city of Magdeburg and developed during many centuries of the Holy Roman Empire, it was...
. The city began to flourish in 1778 when Knight Karl von Enzenberg was appointed the chief of the Military Administration. He invited many merchants, craftsmen and entrepreneurs to help develop trade and other businesses. Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
's Fairs (July 1–15) had given a new vibrant impulse to the market development from 1786.
During the 19th and early 20th century, Chernivtsi became a center of both Romanian and Ukrainian national movements. It was also the site of the first Yiddish language
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
conference in 1908, coordinated by Nathan Birnbaum
Nathan Birnbaum
----Nathan Birnbaum was an Austrian writer and journalist, Jewish thinker and nationalist. His life had three main phases, representing a progression in his thinking: Zionist phase ; Jewish cultural autonomy phase which included the promotion of the Yiddish language; and religious phase...
. When Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
dissolved in 1918, the city and its surrounding area became a part of the Kingdom of Romania
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania was the Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...
. In 1930, the city reached a population of 112,400; 26.8% Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, 23.2% Romanians
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
, 20.8% Germans
Bukovina Germans
The Bukovina Germans were a German ethnic group that mainly lived from about 1780 to the 1940s in Bukovina, part of present-day western Ukraine and northern Romania...
, 18.6% Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
, the remainder Poles and others. It was one of the five university centers of the inter-war Romania.
In 1940, the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
occupied the area; the area around the city became known as Chernivtsi Oblast
Chernivtsi Oblast
Chernivtsi Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine, bordering on Romania and Moldova. It has a large variety of landforms: the Carpathian Mountains and picturesque hills at the foot of the mountains gradually change to a broad partly forested plain situated between the Dniester and Prut rivers....
, and was allotted to the Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
by the Soviet Union. The city's large Romanian intelligentsia found refuge in Romania; while the Bukovina Germans were repatriated according to a Soviet-Nazi agreement. This prompted Romania to switch from an ally of France and Britain to one of the Nazi Germany; in July 1941, Romanian Army re-took the city as part of the Axis attack on the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
during World War II. In August 1941, Romanian military dictator Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu
Ion Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...
ordered the creation of a ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
in the lowland part of the city, where 50,000 Bukovina Jews were crammed; two thirds of which would be deported to Transnistria
Transnistria (World War II)
Transnistria Governorate was a Romanian administered territory, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa, and occupied from 19 August 1941 to 29 January 1944...
in October 1941 and partly in early 1942, where the majority perished. Romanian mayor of the city Traian Popovici
Traian Popovici
Traian Popovici was a Romanian lawyer and mayor of Cernăuţi during World War II, known for saving 20,000 Jews of Bukovina from deportation.Popovici was born in Ruşii Mănăstioarei village of Suceava county...
managed to persuade Antonescu to raise the number of Jews exempted from deportation from 200 to 20,000.
In 1944, when Axis forces were driven out by the Red Army, the city was re-incorporated in the Ukrainian SSR. Over the following years, most of the Jews left for Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
; the city was an important node in the Berihah
Berihah
Bricha was the underground organized effort that helped Jewish Holocaust survivors escape post-World War II Europe to the British Mandate for Palestine in violation of the White Paper of 1939...
network. Bukovina Poles were also repatriated by the Soviets after World War II. The city became a predominantly Ukrainian one.
Since 1991, Chernitvtsi has been a part of the independent Ukraine. In May 1999, Romania opened a consulate general in the city. Contemporary Chernivtsi is an important regional center, which is situated on the picturesque banks of Prut River and occupies an area of about 150 square kilometres (57.9 sq mi).
Government and subdivisions
Chernivtsi is the administrative center of the Chernivtsi OblastChernivtsi Oblast
Chernivtsi Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine, bordering on Romania and Moldova. It has a large variety of landforms: the Carpathian Mountains and picturesque hills at the foot of the mountains gradually change to a broad partly forested plain situated between the Dniester and Prut rivers....
(province
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
) and the city itself has own government within the oblast under direct subordination to oblast.
The territory of Chernivtsi is divided into 3 administrative city raion
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
s (districts):
| No. | Name | in Ukrainian Ukrainian language Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet.... | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pershotravnevy Raion | Першотравневий район | 69,370 |
| 2 | Sadhora Raion Sadhora Sadhora is now a microraion of Chernivtsi city, which is located 6km from the city center. Previously, it was an independent town.-History:During the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774, the commander-in-chief of the Russian army in Moldavia and Wallachia took measures to enhance the economic and... |
Садгірський район | 28,227 |
| 3 | Shevchenko Raion | Шевченківський район | 139,094 |
The mayor of Chernivtsi is Mykola Fedoruk, who has held the position since 1994.
Demographics
According to the latest All-Ukrainian population census
Ukrainian Census (2001)
The first Ukrainian Census was carried out by State Statistics Committee of Ukraine on 5 December 2001, twelve years after the last Soviet Union census in 1989....
in 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
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
; 10,500 (4.4%) Romanians; 3,800 (1.6%) Moldavians
Moldovans
Moldovans or Moldavians are the largest population group of Moldova...
; 1,400 (0.6%) Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
; 1,300 (0.6%) Jews; 2,900 (1.2%) other nationalities.
Based on the last available Soviet data, the population of the city, as of January 1, 1989, was approximately 295,000 residents. Among these, there are some 172,000 Ukrainians, 46,000 Russians, 16,000 Romanians, 13,000 Moldavians
Moldovans
Moldovans or Moldavians are the largest population group of Moldova...
, 7,000 Poles and others.
Historically, the city was very multinational. From 1870 to the Second World War, Jews were the biggest population group of Chernivtsi. In 1930, according to the Romanian census, the population of the city was 26.8% Jewish, 23.2% Romanians, 20.8% Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, 18.6% Ukrainians, and 1.5% Russians.
The Romanian population in Chernivtsi started decreasing rapidly after 1950. Many Romanians fled to Romania or were deported to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
(where most of them died), and the remaining Romanian population quickly became a minority and assimilated with the majority. Nowadays, the Romanian minority in Chernivtsi is still decreasing as a result of cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
and emigration to Romania.
Chernivtsi once had a Jewish community of over 50,000, less than a third of whom survived World War II. Romanian lawyer and reserve officer Theodor Criveanu, as well as the then city mayor Traian Popovici
Traian Popovici
Traian Popovici was a Romanian lawyer and mayor of Cernăuţi during World War II, known for saving 20,000 Jews of Bukovina from deportation.Popovici was born in Ruşii Mănăstioarei village of Suceava county...
, supported by General Vasile Ionescu saved 19,689 Jewish people. Initially, Governor of Bukovina Calotescu allowed only 190 Jewish people to stay, but Traian Popovici, after an incredible effort, obtained from the then dictator of Romania Marshal Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu
Ion Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...
an allowance of 20,000.
After World War II, the city was a key node in the Berihah
Berihah
Bricha was the underground organized effort that helped Jewish Holocaust survivors escape post-World War II Europe to the British Mandate for Palestine in violation of the White Paper of 1939...
net, which helped Jews to emigrate to the then Mandate Palestine
Mandate Palestine
Mandate Palestine existed while the British Mandate for Palestine, which formally began in September 1923 and terminated in May 1948, was in effect...
from the difficult conditions after the War. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the majority of the remaining Jewish population emigrated to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the United States. A famous member of this latter emigration is the American actress Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis
Milena "Mila" Kunis is an American actress. Her work includes the role of Jackie Burkhart on the TV series That '70s Show and the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy...
.
In Chernivtsi lived Ukrainians, Romanians, Poles, Ruthenians
Ruthenians
The name Ruthenian |Rus']]) is a culturally loaded term and has different meanings according to the context in which it is used. Initially, it was the ethnonym used for the East Slavic peoples who lived in Rus'. Later it was used predominantly for Ukrainians...
, Jews, Roms and Germans. Their Culture and Prosperity, experienced the town during its affiliation to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy as the capital of the crown land Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
. By the murder of the Jews and the resettlement and expulsion of the whole ethnic groups, above all of the Germans and the Romanians, this tradition got lost after the Second World War to a great extent. The population group dominating today are the Ukrainians.
The mixing of the city by many population groups becomes recognizable in accompanying or following population statistics below. Thus Romanians and Ukrainians did the majority of the population, however, the Yiddish-speaking or German-speaking Jews removed the Romanians from 1870 as the biggest population group of the town. From 1880 the Romanians were removed from the Ukrainians also as a second largest population group.
| Jews in Chernivtsi according to Austrian-Hungarian Census |
|||||||
| Year | total pop. | Jews | Share | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1857 | ca. 22,000 | 4.678 | 21.6 % | ||||
| 1869 | ca. 34,000 | 9.552 | 28.2 % | ||||
| 1880 | ca. 46,000 | 14.449 | 31.7 % | ||||
| 1890 | ca. 54,000 | 17.359 | 32.0 % | ||||
| 1900 | ca. 68,000 | 21.587 | 31.9 % | ||||
| 1910 | ca. 87,000 | 28.613 | 32.8 % | ||||
| Chernivtsi (City) | Chernivtsi (Suburbs) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Romanians Romanians The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania.... |
Ukrainians Ukrainians Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens... |
Romanians | Ukrainians |
| 1860 | 9,177 | 4,133 | 20,068 | 6,645 |
| 1870 | 5,999 | 5,831 | 28,315 | 35,011 |
| 1880 | 6,431 | 8,232 | 8,887 | 23,051 |
| 1890 | 7,624 | 10,385 | 11,433 | 34,067 |
| 1900 | 9,400 | 13,030 | 13,252 | 25,476 |
| 1910 | 13,440 | 15,254 | 18,060 | 22,351 |
Culture
Many well-known historical figures were born in the city, including actress Mila KunisMila Kunis
Milena "Mila" Kunis is an American actress. Her work includes the role of Jackie Burkhart on the TV series That '70s Show and the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy...
, poets and writers Paul Celan
Paul Celan
Paul Celan was a poet and translator...
, musician and essayist Roman Vlad
Roman Vlad
Roman Vlad is an Italian composer, pianist, and musicologist of Romanian birth. He studied with Titus Tarnawski and Liviu Russu in Romania earning a piano diploma. He moved to Rome in 1938 to study at the University of Rome and later the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia...
and Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger
Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger
Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger was a Romanian-born German-language poet. A Jew, she was a victim of the Holocaust and died at the age of 18 in a labor camp in Ukraine....
, the former Speaker of the Parliament
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's unicameral parliament. The speaker presides over the parliament and its procedures. They are elected by secret ballot from the parliament's deputy ranks...
Arseniy Yatsenyuk
Arseniy Yatsenyuk
Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk is a Ukrainian politician, economist and lawyer. Yatsenyuk served in the government of Ukraine as Minister of Economy from 2005 to 2006; subsequently he was Foreign Minister of Ukraine in 2007 and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada from 2007 to 2008.-Early life:Arseniy...
, and the Vienna Secession
Vienna Secession
The Vienna Secession was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian artists who had resigned from the Association of Austrian Artists, housed in the Vienna Künstlerhaus. This movement included painters, sculptors, and architects...
artist Oskar Laske. Many other famous people lived and worked in the city, such as Ukrainian national poet Ivan Franko
Ivan Franko
Ivan Yakovych Franko was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, interpreter, economist, political activist, doctor of philosophy, the author of the first detective novels and modern poetry in the Ukrainian language....
, the first President of Ukraine
President of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
Leonid Kravchuk
Leonid Kravchuk
Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk is a Ukrainian politician, the first President of Ukraine serving from December 5, 1991 until his resignation on July 19, 1994, a former Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and People's Deputy of Ukraine serving in the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine faction.After a...
, Romanian national poet Mihai Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu was a Romantic poet, novelist and journalist, often regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active member of the Junimea literary society and he worked as an editor for the newspaper Timpul , the official newspaper of the Conservative Party...
, Yiddish actress Sidi Tal
Sidi Tal
Sidi L'vovna Tal or Sidy Thal was a prominent, popular Jewish singer and actress in the Yiddish language, born in Czernowitz, Austria-Hungary...
, novelist Aharon Appelfeld
Aharon Appelfeld
-Biography:Appelfeld was born in the village of Zhadova near Czernowitz, Romania, now Ukraine. In 1941, when he was eight years old, the Romanian army invaded his hometown and his mother was murdered. Appelfeld was deported with his father to a concentration camp in Ukraine. He escaped and hid for...
, Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi
Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi
Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi was a Romanian historian, politician and patriot.-Origins :Hurmuzachi was born into a family of old aristocratic lineage , as the second son of Doxache Hurmuzachi, at the family estate in Cernăuca, Austria , located in the historic region of Bukovina...
, Aron Pumnul
Aron Pumnul
Aron Pumnul was a Romanian philologist and teacher, national and revolutionary activist in Transylvania and later in Bucovina...
, Ciprian Porumbescu
Ciprian Porumbescu
Ciprian Porumbescu was a Romanian composer born in Şipotele Sucevei in Bukovina . He was among the most celebrated Romanian composers of his time; his popular works include Crai nou, Trei culori, Song for the 1st of May, Ballad for violin and piano, and Serenada...
, Ion Nistor
Ion Nistor
Ion Nistor was a prominent Romanian historian and politician. He was a member of the Romanian Academy after 1911, and served as administrator of its Library.-Biography:...
, Gala Galaction
Gala Galaction
Gala Galaction was a Romanian Orthodox clergyman and theologian, writer, journalist, left-wing activist, as well as a political figure of the People's Republic of Romania...
, economist and political theorist Joseph Schumpeter
Joseph Schumpeter
Joseph Alois Schumpeter was an Austrian-Hungarian-American economist and political scientist. He popularized the term "creative destruction" in economics.-Life:...
, jurist and sociologist of law Eugen Ehrlich
Eugen Ehrlich
Eugen Ehrlich was an Austrian legal scholar and sociologist of law....
, Nikolai Vavilov
Nikolai Vavilov
Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov was a prominent Russian and Soviet botanist and geneticist best known for having identified the centres of origin of cultivated plants...
, Abraham Goldfaden
Abraham Goldfaden
Abraham Goldfaden ; was an Russian-born Jewish poet, playwright, stage director and actor in the languages Yiddish and Hebrew, author of some 40 plays.Goldfaden is considered the father of the Jewish modern theatre.In 1876 he founded in...
, Ruth Wisse
Ruth Wisse
Ruth R. Wisse is the Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard University.She is the sister of David Roskies, professor of Yiddish and Jewish literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary.-Career:...
, and Avigdor Arikha
Avigdor Arikha
Avigdor Arikha was a painter, draughtsman, printmaker, and art historian.-Biography:Avigdor Arikha was born to German-speaking Jewish parents in Rădăuţi, but grew up in Czernowitz , in Bukovina, Romania., His family faced forced deportation in 1941 to the Romanian-run concentration camps of...
.
Architecture
The city of Chernivtsi has a lot of architecturally important buildings. Many historic buildings have been preserved, especially within the city's center. However, after years of disrepair and neglect, the buildings are in need of major restoration.
As Chernivsti was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it was closely related to the empire's culture, including architecture. Main architectural styles present within the city include Vienna Secession
Vienna Secession
The Vienna Secession was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian artists who had resigned from the Association of Austrian Artists, housed in the Vienna Künstlerhaus. This movement included painters, sculptors, and architects...
and Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
, Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
, late Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
, and fragments of traditional Moldavian and Hungarian architecture, Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
as well as Cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
. The city is sometimes dubbed Little Vienna, because its architecture is reminiscent of the Austro-Hungarian capital Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
The main architectural attractions of the city include: the Chernivtsi Drama Theater (1905); the Chernivtsi University
Chernivtsi University
The Chernivtsi National University is the leading Ukrainian institution for higher education in northern Bukovina, in Chernivtsi, a city in southwest Ukraine....
— UNESCO World Heritage Site (1882); the Regional Museum of Fine Arts — the former savings bank (1900); the Regional Council — former Palace of Justice (1906); and the Chernivtsi Palace of Culture — former Jewish National House (1908); among many others. The magnificent Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of the Romanticist fascination with all things oriental...
Czernowitz Synagogue was heavily damaged by fire in 1941, the walls were used to create the "Chernivtsi" movie theater.
The Czech
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
architect Josef Hlavka designed, in 1864—1882, the buildings that currently house the Chernivtsi State University
Chernivtsi University
The Chernivtsi National University is the leading Ukrainian institution for higher education in northern Bukovina, in Chernivtsi, a city in southwest Ukraine....
. They were originally the residence of the Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans. The Romanesque and Byzantine architecture is embellished with motifs of Ukrainian folk art; for example, the tile roof patterns duplicate the geometric designs of traditional Ukrainian embroidery
Ukrainian embroidery
Ukrainian embroidery occupies an important place among the various branches of Ukrainian decorative arts. Embroidery has a rich history in Ukraine, and has long appeared in Ukrainian folk dress as well as played a part in traditional Ukrainian weddings and other celebrations. Appearing all across...
.
Sports
The most popular kinds of sports in Chernivtsi include arching, judo, field hockey, karate, power-lifting and orienteering. Chernivtsi's baseball, hockeyHockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
, and football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
clubs (FC Bukovyna Chernivtsi
FC Bukovyna Chernivtsi
FC Bukovyna Chernivtsi is a Ukrainian football club based in Chernivtsi. For the 2010–11 season, the club is taking part in the Persha Liha. From 1992–94, Bukovyna played in the Ukrainian Premier League, after being initially chosen to participate for being one of the Ukrainian teams taking part in...
) are participants of the Ukrainian national championships.
Chernivtsi has a large number of sports establishments and facilities, including 5 stadiums, 186 sports grounds, 2 tennis courts, 11 football fields
Association football pitch
An association football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football made of turf. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play".All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define...
, 5 skating rinks
Ice rink
An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can skate or play winter sports. Besides recreational ice skating, some of its uses include ice hockey, figure skating and curling as well as exhibitions, contests and ice shows...
, 21 shooting galleries, 3 swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
s, 69 gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
s, 62 gyms with special training equipment and an international motorcycle racing track.
Over 7,950 inhabitants are members of sport clubs within the city, and more than 50,000 people participate in various sport activities. Currently, 8 sportsmen from the city are the members of national teams and 12 are members of national youth teams. 3 athletes from Chernivtsi were prize-winners in various world tournaments, 2 were winners of European and 42 of national championships in 2002.
Chernivtsi has been host to the Ukrainian Sidecarcross Grand Prix
Sidecarcross world championship
The Sidecar Motocross World Championship is an annual event, organised by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme , held since 1980. Previous to that, a European competition was held from 1971 onwards....
a number of times, most recently in June 2010
2010 Sidecarcross World Championship
The 2010 FIM Sidecarcross World Championship, the 31st edition of the competition, started on 5 April and finished after fourteen race weekends on 12 September 2010.The defending champions were Joris Hendrickx from Belgium and Kaspars Liepins from Latvia...
.
Sister cities
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Chernivtsi has seven sister cities/towns, as follows: Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
, Austria Saskatoon
Saskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
, Canada Nazareth Illit
Nazareth Illit
Nazareth Illit is a city in the North District of Israel. At the end of 2007 it had a population of 40,800.Nazareth Illit was founded in the 1950s. Foundations were laid in 1954 and first residents moved in two years later...
, Israel Konin
Konin
Konin is a city in central Poland.Konin may also refer to:*Emperor Kōnin , emperor of Japan who reigned 770–781**Kōnin , a Japanese era name for the years 810–824...
, Poland Suceava
Suceava
Suceava is the Suceava County seat in Bukovina, Moldavia region, in north-eastern Romania. The city was the capital of the Principality of Moldavia from 1388 to 1565.-History:...
, Romania Podolsk
Podolsk
Podolsk is an industrial city and the administrative center of Podolsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Pakhra River...
, Russia Salt Lake City, United States
External links
- www.chernivtsimemory.net Multi-Cultural Memory and the Continuity of Traces. Chernivtsi in the Bukovyna