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University of Chernivtsi (Main Entrance)

The Chernivtsi University (current full name Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University) is the leading Ukrainian institution for higher education in Northern Bukovina, located in Chernivtsi, a city in the south-west of Ukraine.

The University was founded as a Franz-Josefs Universitat in 1875 on the basis of the Chernivtsi Higher Theological School. Originally, the main language of instruction was German with separate departments for Ukrainian and Romanian language and literature. During the period of Austrian rule the University operated three faculties: Orthodox theology, law and philosophy. At the time Ukrainians and Romanians comprised for about 20-25% of the student body while the majority of the students were Jewish and German.

Upon the Romanian takeover of the Northern Bukovina, the University was renamed to the 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, the Ukrainian professors were dismissed and the instruction was fully switched to Romanian. In 1933, of 3,247 University students, there were 2,117 Romanians, 679 Jews, 199 Germans, 155 Ukrainians (decreasing from 239 out of 1671 students in 1920), 57 Poles, and 40 of other nationalities. Ion Nistor, a prominent Romanian historian and one of the most vocal proponents of Greater Romanian 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 to Chernivtsi State University, was significantly expanded and reorganized. Teaching of Science was greatly increased and the Theological department was dissolved and then reopen 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 has 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)[1]. Also, 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 the National status, it operates under its current name Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University. Under Ukrainian rule, the number of Romanian students at the University continued to decline, reaching only 3.9% in 1992-93 [2], which is much less than the overall percentage of Romanians in the general population. The cause is that the young Romanian people are going to Romania to get the higher education.

The University Library was founded in 1852 as Krayova Library - the first public library in Bukovina-, and since the University foundation it is the University library. 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 German, Romanian, English, Latin, Polish, Ancient Greek, French, Hebraic, Yiddish and other languages. The scientific library includes 11 departments: collection department, scientific processing department, department of native fund preservation, department of foreign fund preservation, department of rare and valuable books, book borrowing departments, reading halls, branch department, department of cultural work, department of information technologies and information-bibliographic department.

• Chernivtsi University official site
• Chernivtsi University in Encyclopedia of Ukraine