Bucovine

The Bucovine ( Bucovina in Rumanian, Bukowina or Buchenland in German, Буковина in Russian and Ukrainian, transcribed Boukovine ) is the name of the territory leant with the Carpates of the North-East and the neighbouring plains. It is the Pays of in Top of the Moldavie, now separate in two parts North and South, which belong respectively to the Ukraine (Oblast de Tchernivtsi) and to the Romania (Judeţ de Suceava).

Its name

The area is the original core of the Moldavie, and it belonged to the " Ţara de Sus" (Highland), in opposition to the " Ţara de Jos" (Low country), southern zone, with lower altitudes, of Moldavie. It was offered by the Sultan of Constantinople, suzerain of the hospodars of Moldavie, with the Habsbourg of Austria like gift for their neutrality in the war between the Othoman Turks and the Russia, and with the contempt of the treaty of vassalage binding Turkey to Moldavie.

The name of Bukowina becomes official for this part of the highland in 1775 with the annexation of the area by the Empire of the Habsbourg of Austria then of Austria-Hungary. The name has a Slavic origin : it was in the beginning a common noun indicating a thicket of Hêtre S; the German equivalent in : das Buchenland , used rather in poetry, means " literally; country of the hêtres". It is marked and about in the same way writes in the European languages, in Rumanian: Bucovina ; in Ukrainian and for the Russian : Буковина; in German: das Buchenland' or die Bukowina , in English: the Bukovina , archaism which one can find in the old literature.

The standard, die Bukowina , official German name under the Austrian domination, derives from the form Polish E of this Slavic name . Why Polish? Because of 1775 with half of the 19th century, Bucovine was integrated into its neighbor, the Galicie - Lodomérie, annexed three years before by Austria, with the detriment of Poland. However the government of this new Austrian territory was, according to the explicit will of Habsbourg, controlled by civils servant and noble (szlachta) Polish, who until the 18th century had been the leading class, and whom Vienna avoided opposing.

A legend explains the name of Bucovine by a battle between the Moldavian Magyars and : the Battle of Valea Alba. On the battle field covered with corpses, a forest of beeches, nourished by the blood of the two adversaries would have pushed - what provides a rather macabre image.

History

Old story

In this wooded area where the conquerors Romains never arrived, since millenia the Daces Carpes live, from where drift the name of Carpates (" carpa" meaning " roche" in thrace). Whereas ravel the nomads Hun S, the Avars and the Scandinavians Goths, arrive at the 5th century of other people Migrateur S, of the Alains, the Iazyges (which will leave their name at the Moldavian city of Iasi or Jassy and to the Hungarian comitat of Jasz). Slavic tribes begin to them Migration after the 5th century. Tribes carps and iazyges are romanisent under the influence of the other tribes daces Latinized during the occupation of the Empire Romain (see the imperial province Dacie). It is probable that this process saw being born the proto- Rumanian S named " Wallachian " by their neighbors.

At the 9th century the Wandering arrival of the tribes S Magyar S in the area close to Pannonia and the formation in the east (towards the river Gift) of the first Slavic states (the Rus' of Kiev) is events which structure the local populations of Bucovine in small duchies slavo-Rumanian (" canesats" or " kniezats" by reference to the Slavic warlike chief, or " romanies" or " Valachie s" by reference to the population Indigenous). At the beginning entitées independent and thereafter of the wars, become vassal, either kingdom close to Hungary, or the pricipautés Slavic ones of Vladimirie then of Galicie which will end up being integrated into the kingdom of Poland and Lithuania at the 14th century. In future Bucovine, these vassal duchies are: Onutu (along Dniestr, in the west of Hotin), Strasinets (with the sources of Prut, today Storizhinets) and Baia (with the sources of the Moldova river).

The core of Moldavie

From the middle of the 14th century, the area becomes the core of Voévodat of Moldavie, with the city of Suceava like capital, in 1388. (Not to confuse a vassal voévodat Rumanian and a Polish woïwodie, which is only one province of the Kingdom of Poland). At the 15th century, the Moldavian voévode gives up with king de Pologne Pocutie, an area in the north of future Bucovine. The voévode Stefan III known as Etienne Large the and of its successors on the throne of Moldavie makes build the famous monasteries, whose fame is due to the exceptional conservation of the frescos not only inside, but also outside: Moldoviţa, Humor, Suceviţa, Raises and Voroneţ. With their prestigious frescos, these monasteries are one of the cultural treasures of the modern Romania, and an essential source of revenue for the Rumanian orthodoxe church.

During the two centuries which follow, the area belonged to the voévodat of Moldavie, vassal of the Othoman . But it will be never a Turkish province, as many historical works affirm it wrongly. However it is frequently victim of the incursions of the Tatars, of the Cosaques, the Polish, the Russian in 1769, and of the Autrichiens in 1774.

The Austrian period

The treaty austro-Turkish of May 4th, 1775 gives part of Moldavie of north, the Bucovine, in Austria.

Bucovine remains under the Austrian administration until in 1918, initially as a closed military district (1775 - 1786), then like the largest district of the kingdom of Galicie and Lodomérie (1787 - 1849), then in 1849, it becomes a country of the Austrian crown, a Kronland , and finally reaches under Duchy. During Double Monarchy, Bucovine remains part of the " Cisleithanie" (Austrian territories of the Empire, the west coast of the Leitha river). The new border austro-Moldavian marks on the ground a continuation of " teeth of scie" directed sometimes East-West, sometimes North-South: no topographic constraint explains it, but the files reveal the reason of it: with each " bakchich" Austrian, the Othoman commission charged to trace this border was inserted more deeply towards the east in Moldavian territory, but to each protest of Hospodar Gregoire III Ghica ( Grigorie Ghica ) it returned towards south-west, for fear the anger of the sultan does not fall down on it. With the end of the year 1781, the Austrian authorities decide to transfer the seat from the diocese of Radautz to Czernowitz and colonize in this new Kronland called consequently Bucovine, of the populations of peasants Ruthènes, Polish and Russian fleeing the mode of the tsar, Juifs persecuted in the east, of German, Slovaques and Magyars or Sicules), doubled formal prohibition made with (Moldavian or Rumanian) use their language and practice orthodoxy.

In spite of some frictions between the populations autochtones and the colonists, the inter-ethnic conflicts however do not reach important levels at the beginning, and the various cultures develop side by side. At the end of the 19th century, Rumanian is authorized again, and the development of the Ukrainian culture in Bucovine is more flourishing than everywhere else in Ukraine, with a network of Ukrainian educational establishments developed in the campaigns. However the autochtones of Bucovine (Moldavian or roumanophones) under influence of the orthodoxe hierarchy , remain marginalized and have only with difficulty access to the University of Czernowitz or Cernauti (today Cernivcy or Tchernivtsi), created in 1875, which becomes a bastion of the German culture. That will poke cross rancours which will be expressed in 1918 when the Parliament of Bucovine, where (Rumanian) are majority, will vote her fastening in Romania. Indeed, as from the moment when Romania gains its independence in 1878, she asserts the fastening of Bucovine, which has for her, as an original core of the Moldavie, a great historical importance, and which contains many monuments of art and Moldavian architecture great value.

the Rumanian period

During the First World War, is held several battles between the armies Austro-Hungarian, allemande and Russian, and the Russian army is finally pushed back in 1917. After the collapse of the Austria-Hungary in 1918, the National council of Bucovine, where the autochtones roumanophones are majority, vote his fastening with the Romania. Although locally the Ukrainians try without success to integrate parts of Bucovine of north in transitory national République of the Ukraine of the West, Rumanian control on the province is finally formalized by. In the interval wars the rancour of the more extremists of Rumanian (who had been marginalized under the Austrian mode) will poison the environment however multicultural and tolerant of this " Doulce Bucovine".

During the second world war rancours will turn to the cross genocide of the Jews by the fascists of the marshal Ion Antonescu (autoproclamé " Pétain roumain"), and of Rumanian by the agents of the Stalinist NKVD. The local Schindler: Traian Popovici, mayor of Cernăuţi, a completely forgotten Juste, succeed in saving 16.000 Jews while putting forward their economic utility, and in their issuing calotesques certificates : these Soviet people deviendont in 1944, their descendants live today in Israel and in the United States where they created specific associations. One finds trace of these tragedies and these rancours until in the current historical works published on Bucovine: rare are those which manage to stick to the sources and to avoid the invective. For example, Traian Popovici has to be furnished proof to Antonescu: its letters are now used to dispute its quality of " juste" (in the same way, Schindler was registered with the Nazi party).

the annexation of Bucovine of north by the Russians

The June 28th 1940, Bucovine of north, centered on the capital, Cernăuţi, is invaded by the Red Army . Moscow wants to regulate the problems of Bucovine and the Bessarabia, and uses the secret additional clauses of the Pacte Molotov-Ribbentrop on the alleged protection of the minorities Slaves, makes a pretext of it to extend its territory to the west. Almost all the German population of Bucovine of the north, which had settled during the Austrian domination, is forced to emigrate towards the territories of the Reich in a few days. It is installed in Posnanie, in Wartheland taken in Poland, where it occupies of the firm catches to massacred Polish, and of the buildings which one drove out the Jews. On arrival of the Red Army in 1944, it tries flees towards the west but rare are those which reach that point: ratrappés, the majority will finish their days in Kazakstan or Gulag.

Bucovine of north still twice changes hand during the Second world war, in particular when Petre Dumitrescu directs the Third Rumanian Army towards north, and later, when the Red Army takes again the territory for the Soviet Union.

During the Second world war, the Jewish community of Bucovine is destroyed by the deportations towards the Ukraine, beyond the rivers Dniestr and Bug, in Podolie annexed by the mode Antonescu, and renamed Transnistrie, where the Jews of Bucovine die in mass of cold, the dysentery and typhus, in company of the Jews of the other provinces of Romania and of some rroms. Only the massacre the 16.000 people saved by Traian Popovici escape.

At the conclusion of the war, Romania occupied by the Soviet Union and on the way to become supposedly a " People's democracy " Bucovine of north to the USSR by the peace treaty of 1947 is forced to officially yield. Bucovine of north, named Oblast de Tchernivtsi, belonged to the Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine, while the south of the province, forming the department of Suceava, belonged to the Rumanian Popular republic . This division of the area is always in place today, between the modern States of Romania and Ukraine. However, Bucovine forever belonged to the territory of the Russian Empire. This time is with Rumanian to be massacred and off-set: the teams of the NKVD make them hunting, especially if they were former civils servant, teachers, liberal professions, priests. According to the correspondence between the minister Krouglov and Stalin, quoted by Nikolai Bugai, approximately 60.000 Rumanian were off-set out of Bucovine of July 1940 in June 1941 and between 1944 and 1955. The survivors were divided arbitrarily into two communities by the Soviet administration: those living in the east of Tchernivtsi were classified " moldaves" (and it was impossible for them to leave the USSR), the others were classified " roumains" and had the right to ask to emigrate in Romania.

Population, characters

After the Soviet occupation of Bucovine of north, the Soviet Union continues the ethnic policy, and, as in other areas recently year (Bessarabia, west of the Ukraine, Baltic States), she encourages the installation of the Russian populations and Ukrainian, which is Russian speakers. The Rumanian , roumanophones, become definitely minority, according to the official census of 2001, their number being today of only 173.000 people (either 20% of the population of the area).

A minority Rumanian E compact lives the south of the area of Cernăuţi (current Tchernivtsi). The percentage of the Rumanian of the population in the following districts represents a significant proportion, as the results recent of the census indicate it:

Herţa - 95%
Novoselitza (Suliţă Tied) - 61%
Hlyboka (Adâncata) - 50%
Storozhinetz (Străsineţ) - 30%

Everywhere else in Bucovine of north, including in the town of Cernăuţi (current town of Tchernivtsi in Ukraine post-Soviet), with the Political favor of the S ethnic S Soviet S, the Ukrainian became majority.

Bucovine gave many characters of culture to Romania, Austria and the Ukraine, but with international, they are two writers and poets of German language: Paul Celan and Gregor von Rezzori (Răzoare), which is most known. The latter, citizen Austrian almost all his life, expressed a very personal point of view on its Bucovine native, by affirming that it was " a ground of personne" , " old province turque" , and while occulting or by marginalizing several centuries of its Moldavian past.

Cities

Bucovine of North

Berehomet (Berhomet)
Tchernivtsi (Cernăuţi)
Hertsa (Herţa)
Hlyboka (Hliboca)
Khotyn (Hotin)
Kel' mentsi (Chelmenăuţi)
Kitsman' (Kotzman, Coţmani)
Krasnoil' K (Mesteceni)
Luzhany (Lujeni)
Nepolokivtsi (Niplocăuţi)
Novoselytsia (Suliţa)
Novodnistrovs' K (Onutu)
Putyla (Putila)
Sadagóra (Sadagura)
Sokyriany (Secureni)
Storizhynets' (Străsineţ)
Vashkivtsi (Văscăuţi)
Vyzhnytsia (Visniţa, Wiznitz)
Zastavna

Bucovine of the South

Câmpulung Moldovenesc (Kampulung)
Fălticeni (Falticzany)
Gura Humorului (Homorhura)
Rădăuţi (Radautz, Radovcy)
Săveni
Siret (Sereth)
Solca (Solka)
Suceava (Suczawa)
Vatra Dornei (Dorna Watra, Dornavatre)

See too

:Category: Bucovine

External bonds

Bukovina Society off the Americas
Bucovine, a tonic area - presentation in photographs

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