Chernivtsi University
Encyclopedia
The Chernivtsi National University (full name Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University ) is the leading Ukrainian institution for higher education in northern Bukovina
, in Chernivtsi
, a city in southwest Ukraine
.
The architectural ensemble of the university is included on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site.
with separate departments for Ukrainian
and Romanian
language and literature. During the period of Austro-Hungarian rule the university operated three faculties: Orthodox theology, law and philosophy. At the time the majority of the students were Jewish
and German Austria
ns, while Ukrainians
and Romanians
comprised for about 20%–25% of the student body.
After Romanian military occupation of Bukovyna, in 1918 the university was renamed Universitatea Regele Carol I
din Cernăuţi. The current building of the university dates from 1920–22, and was commissioned by the Romanian government. From 1919 to 1940 the university was largely Rumanized; the Ukrainian department was abolished, Ukrainian professors were dismissed and instruction was fully switched to Romanian
. In 1933, of 3,247 students, there were 2,117 Romanians, 679 Jews, 199 Germans, 155 Ukrainians (decreasing from 239 out of 1671 students in 1920), 57 Poles, 26 Russians and 4 of other nationalities. Ion Nistor
, a prominent Romanian historian and one of the most vocal proponents of Greater Romania
n nationalism was the university rector for many years.
Upon the 1940 Soviet takeover of northern Bukovina, the territory was attached to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the primary language in the university was switched to Ukrainian
. The university, renamed Chernivtsi State University, was significantly expanded and reorganized. Teaching of science was greatly increased and the theological department was dissolved and then reopened in 1996. In 1989 the university was named to honor Yuriy Fedkovych, a prominent Ukrainian writer
, a native of Bukovina
. In the Soviet years, the number of Romanian students at the university declined sharply. In 1991–92, the last year of Soviet rule, the number of Romanian students was only 4.44% (434 out of 9,769). Among teaching faculty, the breakdown by nationalities is as follows: Ukrainian teachers 465 (77.1%), Russians 102 (16.9%), Moldovans 9 (1.4%), Romanians 7 (1.1%), Belarusians 6 (0.9%), etc.
Since 2000, when the university was awarded National status, it operates under its current name: Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University.
By decision of Session of Council of European University Association, held in Brussels on January 15, 2009, Yuri Fedkovich Chernivtsi National University was granted a full individual membership in European University Association (EUA http://www.eua.be/).
, Romanian
, English
, Latin
, Polish
, Ancient Greek, French
, Hebraic, Yiddish and other languages.
The scientific library includes 11 departments: collection, scientific processing, native fund preservation, foreign fund preservation, rare and valuable books, book borrowing, reading halls, branch, cultural work, information technologies and information-bibliographic.
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...
, in Chernivtsi
Chernivtsi
Chernivtsi is the administrative center of Chernivtsi Oblast 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...
, a city in southwest 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 architectural ensemble of the university is included on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site.
History
The University was founded as a Franz-Josefs Universität in 1875 on the basis of the Czernowitz Higher Theological School. Originally, the main language of instruction was GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
with separate departments for 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....
and Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
language and literature. During the period of Austro-Hungarian rule the university operated three faculties: Orthodox theology, law and philosophy. At the time the majority of the students were Jewish
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...
and German Austria
German Austria
Republic of German Austria was created following World War I as the initial rump state for areas with a predominantly German-speaking population within what had been the Austro-Hungarian Empire, without the Kingdom of Hungary, which in 1918 had become the Hungarian Democratic Republic.German...
ns, while 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...
and Romanians
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
comprised for about 20%–25% of the student body.
After Romanian military occupation of Bukovyna, in 1918 the university was renamed Universitatea Regele Carol I
Carol I of Romania
Carol I , born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was reigning prince and then King of Romania from 1866 to 1914. He was elected prince of Romania on 20 April 1866 following the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup...
din Cernăuţi. The current building of the university dates from 1920–22, and was commissioned by the Romanian government. From 1919 to 1940 the university was largely Rumanized; the Ukrainian department was abolished, Ukrainian professors were dismissed and instruction was fully switched to Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
. In 1933, of 3,247 students, there were 2,117 Romanians, 679 Jews, 199 Germans, 155 Ukrainians (decreasing from 239 out of 1671 students in 1920), 57 Poles, 26 Russians and 4 of other nationalities. 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:...
, a prominent Romanian historian and one of the most vocal proponents of Greater Romania
Greater Romania
The Greater Romania generally refers to the territory of Romania in the years between the First World War and the Second World War, the largest geographical extent of Romania up to that time and its largest peacetime extent ever ; more precisely, it refers to the territory of the Kingdom of...
n nationalism was the university rector for many years.
Upon the 1940 Soviet takeover of northern Bukovina, the territory was attached to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the primary language in the university was switched to 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....
. The university, renamed Chernivtsi State University, was significantly expanded and reorganized. Teaching of science was greatly increased and the theological department was dissolved and then reopened in 1996. In 1989 the university was named to honor Yuriy Fedkovych, a prominent Ukrainian writer
Ukrainian literature
Ukrainian literature is literature written in the Ukrainian language. Ukrainian literature had a difficult development because, due to constant foreign domination over Ukrainian territories, there was often a significant difference between the spoken and written language...
, a native 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...
. In the Soviet years, the number of Romanian students at the university declined sharply. In 1991–92, the last year of Soviet rule, the number of Romanian students was only 4.44% (434 out of 9,769). Among teaching faculty, the breakdown by nationalities is as follows: Ukrainian teachers 465 (77.1%), Russians 102 (16.9%), Moldovans 9 (1.4%), Romanians 7 (1.1%), Belarusians 6 (0.9%), etc.
Since 2000, when the university was awarded National status, it operates under its current name: Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University.
By decision of Session of Council of European University Association, held in Brussels on January 15, 2009, Yuri Fedkovich Chernivtsi National University was granted a full individual membership in European University Association (EUA http://www.eua.be/).
Libraries
The university library was founded in 1852 as Krayova Library — the first public library in Bukovina. By 2004, its total book stock included 2,554,000 copies and among them 1,215,000 copies of scientific literature, 171,000 of textbooks and manuals, and 648,000 of fiction. The fund of foreign books contains 376,000 works in GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, Ancient Greek, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Hebraic, Yiddish and other languages.
The scientific library includes 11 departments: collection, scientific processing, native fund preservation, foreign fund preservation, rare and valuable books, book borrowing, reading halls, branch, cultural work, information technologies and information-bibliographic.