Place:Suceava, Suceava, Romania

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Suceava is the largest city and the seat of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, north-eastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. During the late Middle Ages, namely between 1388 and 1564, the middle-sized town was the capital of the Principality of Moldavia.

From 1775 to 1918, Suceava was controlled by the Habsburg monarchy, initially part of its Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then gradually becoming the third most populous urban settlement of the Duchy of Bukovina, a constituent land of the Austrian Empire and subsequently a crown land within the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary. During this time, Suceava was an important, strategically-located commercial border town with the then Romanian Old Kingdom. Back during the Austrian domination of Bukovina, Suceava was also regarded as a "miniature Austria" by native intellectual Rudolf Gassauer given its significant ethnic diversity.

In the wake of World War I, after 1918, along with the rest of Bukovina, Suceava became part of the then newly enlarged Kingdom of Romania. After the end of World War II, the city slowly underwent a process of communist urbanization which increased its population about tenfold throughout the decades prior to the 1989 Romanian Revolution. It became a municipality in 1968. Suceava is also crossed by the namesake river to the northwest, in the neighbourhood of Ițcani.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Antiquity

The present-day territory of the city of Suceava and the adjacent surroundings were already inhabited since the Paleolithic period. Stemming from the late Antiquity, there are also traces of Dacian oppidum of the 2nd century. In stark contrast to several historical regions of Romania (most notably Transylvania and Oltenia), Suceava (along with the entire region of Bukovina for that matter) was not conquered by the legions of the Roman Empire and consequently was one of the lands of the Free Dacian tribes during the late Ancient Age. Nonetheless, according to Ptolemy, at that time in the region also dwelled two likely Celtic-speaking tribes, specifically the Anartes and the Taurisci, as well as the Germanic Bastarnae, who have also been attested there. The presence of Celtic-speaking tribes in Bukovina is further attested during the late La Tène culture period through archaeological studies.

Middle Ages

After the fall of Rome and during the Migration Period, the predominantly Carpiani population was successively invaded by East Germanic peoples (such as the Goths or the Gepids), Huns, Slavs, Magyars (i.e. Hungarians), Pechenegs, and ultimately Cumans. During the Late Middle Ages, the city of Suceava was the capital of the Principality of Moldavia and the main residence of the Moldavian princes for nearly two centuries (namely between 1388 and 1564).

The city was the capital of the lands of Stephen the Great, one of the pivotal royal figures in Romanian history, who died in Suceava in 1504. During the rule of Alexandru Lăpușneanu, the seat was moved to Iași in 1565 and Suceava failed to become the capital again. Michael the Brave captured the city in 1600 during the Moldavian Magnate Wars as he became the ruler of Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania, but he was defeated the same year.

Habsburg rule and unification with the Kingdom of Romania

Together with the rest of Bukovina, Suceava was under the rule of the Habsburg monarchy (and, later, the Austrian Empire as well as Austria-Hungary) from 1775 to 1918 (with the border of the Habsburg domains passing just south-east of the city).

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the city was the third largest in the Duchy of Bukovina, after Cernăuți and Rădăuți. Throughout this period of time, in the process of the Josephine colonization, the Habsburgs and, later on, the Austrians, attracted many German-speaking settlers from abroad to settle down in Bukovina and, implicitly, in the contemporary city of Suceava, then just a small market town. Over the passing of time, these newly arrived German settlers and their descendants became collectively known as Bukovina Germans. This community has since dwindled to a very small number.

Nonetheless, despite their current numbers, the Germans from Suceava are still culturally, socially, and politically active. Given its diverse ethnic background during the late Modern Age, Austrian architect Rudolf Gassauer stated that the city of Suceava could have well been perceived back then as a 'miniature Austria'. Additionally, at that time, on an administrative level, the city of Suceava was part of a namesake bezirk with a total population of 66,826 inhabitants.

In 1918, the city of Suceava (as well as the entire region of Bukovina) became part of what is known as "Greater Romania", after an overwhelming vote of the German, Romanian, and Polish representatives of the General Congress of Bukovina. All 7 political representatives of the Bukovina Germans led by Alois Lebouton voted for the union of Bukovina with the Kingdom of Romania.

Kingdom of Romania, communist period, and recent 21st century history

Throughout the interwar period, Suceava underwent further infrastructural development within the then enlarged Kingdom of Romania. Moreover, from an administrative point of view, it had also briefly belonged to Ținutul Suceava (between 1938 and 1940), one of the 10 lands established during King Carol II's reign.

In addition, the town had previously had sizable German, Jewish, and Polish ethnic communities which gradually dramatically dwindled throughout both the late 20th century and early 21st century.

Subsequently, from the 1950s onwards (along with the onset of Communism), Suceava was heavily industrialized and a significant series of historical buildings from its historical centre (including the entire Franz Josef Straße) were demolished in order for Plattenbau-like blocks of flats to be constructed at the orders of the former Communist officials.

After the 1989 Romanian Revolution, the town had increasingly lost both a significant amount of its population and its former industry which was forged mainly during Communism. Therefore, its local economy entered a period of decline for many years. However, during the early 21st century, Suceava's population raised, also in part due to the incorporation of several nearby communes in the main town as well as to sparse local economic development which occurred during the late 2010s and early 2020s which attracted new inhabitants from the neighbouring rural areas of Suceava County.

During spring 2020, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania began, Suceava was placed under lockdown due to its high rate of infection. The following year, the roof of the Administrative Palace (local landmark) was severely damaged by fire. In March 2022, the government of Romania approved a restoration/rehabilitation plan for the entire building.

The 2022 Romanian census (which could have normally occurred in 2021 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic) remains to report the total current population living in Suceava as of early 2022.

Research Tips