Related Directory Categories
- Chernivtsi Oblast (10)
- Chernivtsi (10)
- Travel and Tourism (1)
Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Chernivtsi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chernivtsi Чернівці |
|||
 |
|||
|
|||
| Nickname: Little Vienna | |||
 |
|||
| Coordinates: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Ukraine |
||
| Oblast | Chernivtsi Oblast | ||
| City Municipality | Chernivtsi City Municipality | ||
| First mentioned | 1408 | ||
| City rights | 14th century | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Mykola Fedoruk | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 153 km² (59.1 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2001 census) | |||
| - Total | 242,300 | ||
| - Density | 1,625/km² (4,208.7/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
| Postal code | 58000 | ||
| Area code(s) | +380 372 | ||
| Sister cities | Salt Lake City, Konin, Suceava, Nazareth Illit, Saskatoon, Klagenfurt, Podolsk | ||
| Website: http://www.city.cv.ua/ | |||
Chernivtsi (Ukrainian: Чернівці; German: Czernowitz; Romanian: Cernăuţi; Russian: Черновцы́, translit. Chernovtsy; Yiddish: טשערנאוויץ, translit. Tshernovits; see also: Cities' alternative names) is a city located in the administrative Chernivtsi Oblast (province) and historic Northern Bukovyna region of western Ukraine.
Chernivtsi is the administrative center of Chernivtsi Oblast, and is also designated as a "city of oblast subordinance", thus being directly subordinate to the oblast authorities rather than the city administration housed within itself.
With the city of Lviv, Chernivtsi is considered to be a cultural centre of western Ukraine. Many famous Ukrainians were born or lived in the city ranging from the poet Ivan Franko to the first President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk. Chernivtsi is also considered as one of Romania's greatest cultural and educational centres in history. As a cultural and architectural center, Chernivtsi was dubbed as Little Vienna,[1][2], Jerusalem upon the Prut and the European Alexandria.[citation needed]
Chernivtsi is currently twinned with eight other cities around the world. Chernivtsi is also a major point of railway and highway crossings in the region, and houses an international airport.
Contents |
Chernivtsi is located in the historic Northern Bukovyna region of western Ukraine. The city lies 248 meters above sea level and is surrounded by forests and fields. The Prut River runs through the city's landscape.
Archeological evidence discovered in the area surrounding Chernivtsi indicates that a local population existed in that area since the neolithic era. Later settlements included those of the Trypillian culture (Cucuteni),[3] 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 also being 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.[4] Legendary accounts refer to this fortress-city as Chern’, or Black city, and 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.[5] 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 17th 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.[6] During the 19th and early 20th century, Chernivtsi 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 and its surrounding area became a part of the Kingdom of Romania.[7] In 1940, Red Army forces claimed the area and it subsequently became a part of the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union.[7]
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, Chernitvtsi has been a part of independent Ukraine. In May 1999, Romania opened a consulate general in the city.
Chernivtsi is the administrative center of the Chernivtsi Oblast (province) as well as of the Chernivtsi City Municipality housed within the city. However, Chernivtsi is a city of oblast subordinance, thus being subject directly to the oblast authorities rather to the city municipality housed in the city itself.
The territory of Chernivtsi is divided into 3 administrative raions (districts).
- Pershotravnevyi Raion (Ukrainian: Першотравневий район)
- Sadhirskyi Raion (Ukrainian: Садгірський район)
- Shevchenkivskyi Raion[8] (Ukrainian: Шевченківський район)
The mayor of Chernivtsi is Mykola Fedoruk, who has held the position since 1994.[5]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1775 | 2,300 | N/A |
| 1794 | 5,000 | +2.17% |
| 1832 | 11,000 | +2.2% |
| 1869 | 34,000 | +3.1% |
| 1890 | 54,200 | +1.6% |
| 1910 | 87,100 | +1.3% |
| 1930 | 112,400 | +1.1% |
| 1941 | 78,800 | -0.7% |
| 1970 | 187,000 | +2.37% |
| 1984 | 238,000 | +1.27% |
| 2001 | 236,700[9] | +0.99% |
| 2005 | 242,300 | +1.02% |
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.[10] 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 50,000, about half of whom survived World War II thanks to the intercession of a Romanian lawyer and reserve officer, Theodor Criveanu.[11]
However, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the majority of the Jewish population emigrated to Israel and the 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.[9] 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.[5]
The city of Chernivtsi has a lot of important architectural 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.[12] The city is sometimes dubbed Little Vienna, because its architecture is reminiscent of the Austro-Hungarian capital Vienna.[1][2]
The main architectural attractions of the city include: the Chernivtsi Drama Theater (1905); the Chernivtsi University — a former residence of the Metropolitans of Bukovyna (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 most popular kinds of sports in Chernivtsi include arching, judo, field hockey, karate, power-lifting and orienteering.[13] Chernivtsi's baseball, hockey, and football clubs (FC Bukovyna Chernivtsi) are participants of the Ukrainian national championships.
Chernivtsi has a number of well-developed sports establishments and facilities, including 5 stadiums, 186 sports grounds, 2 tennis courts, 11 football fields, 4 skating rinks, 21 shooting galleries, 3 swimming pools, 69 gyms, and 62 gyms with special training equipment and an international motorcycle racing track.[13]
Over 7,950 inhabitants are members of sport clubs within the city, and more than 50,000 people participate in various sport activities.[13] Currently, 8 sportsmen from the city are the members of national teams and 12 are members in the Ukrainian youth national teams.[13] Three athletes from Chernivtsi were prize-winners of various world tournaments, 2 who were winners of European and 42 of national championships in 2002.[13]
| Find more information on Chernivtsi by searching Wikipedia's sister projects | |
|---|---|
 |
Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary |
 |
Textbooks from Wikibooks |
 |
Quotations from Wikiquote |
 |
Source texts from Wikisource |
 |
Images and media from Commons |
 |
News stories from Wikinews |
 |
Learning resources from Wikiversity |
- ^ a b Bukovyna Week in Austria. Den (Zhytariuk, Natalia). Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
- ^ a b Bukovina. The beech tree land. Ukraine Cognita. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
- ^ Trypillya — a culture that was contemporaneous with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Welcome to Ukraine. Retrieved on 2007-09-27.
- ^ City of Chernivtsi -- History. The Komkon Site. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- ^ a b c History. Chernivtsi City Official Site. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- ^ Chernivtsi. Ukrainian heraldy. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- ^ a b Bukovina. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
- ^ The raion was formerly named Leninskyi Raion. The raion was renamed in accordance with the Rivne Oblast Council's decision.[1]
- ^ a b City of Chernivtsi, Chernivetska Oblast (English). Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (December 5 2001). Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
- ^ For more information, see the Russification article.
- ^ Righteous Romanian Honored at Yad Vashem. Bridges for Peace. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- ^ Sport & Tourism II. Chernivtsi City Official Site. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- ^ a b c d e Sport & Tourism. Chernivtsi City Official Site. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- Main Page (English/Ukrainian). Chernivtsi City Official Site. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- Chernovtsy (Russian). Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- Chernivtsi photo gallery and links. GeoCities. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
