![Ukraine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Ukraine._Pokutia._Beuaplan_1648.jpg)
Kitsman ( uk, Кіцмань, Kicmań, ; ro, Coțmani, older or ; yi, קאצמאן, Kotzman) is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
located in
Chernivtsi Raion,
Chernivtsi Oblast
Chernivtsi Oblast ( uk, Черніве́цька о́бласть, Chernivetska oblast), also referred to as Chernivechchyna ( uk, Чернівеччина) is an oblast (province) in Western Ukraine, consisting of the northern parts of the regio ...
, in the historical region of
Bukovina of western
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. It hosts the administration of
Kitsman urban hromada, one of the
hromadas of Ukraine.
The town is about 20 km (12 mi) northwest from
Chernivtsi on the road to
Zalishchyky
Zalishchyky ( ; uk, Залiщики, Zalishchyky; pl, Zaleszczyki), also spelled Zalischyky, is a small city located on the Dniester river in Chortkiv Raion of Ternopil Oblast (province), in western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Zal ...
. Population:
Name
The original name - Cozmeni - is derived from the Romanian/Moldavian surname ”Cozma” and had the meaning of "Cozma's kin settlement". Forming a village name from an existing name by adding the "-eni" suffix is widely spread an the Romanian speaking area. After the Habsburg annexation it was easier for the German speaking administration to use the "-mann" ending.
According other interpretations, the old surname ''Kitzman''/''Kotzman'' (and variations thereof) originated in
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
culture, which had gradually become more common in parts of western Ukraine. The name was
occupational and derivative of
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
roots; shortening the phrase ''kohen Tsedek'' ("priest of righteousness").
History
The first historical mention of Kitsman is dated to 1413, which also appears on the city's crest. Kuzmyn Forest (''Codrii Cozminului''), woods are situated between
Siret
Siret (; german: Sereth; hu, Szeretvásár; uk, Серет, Seret; yi, סערעט, Seret) is a town, municipality and former Latin bishopric in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Siret is ...
and
Prut
The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine.
Characteristics
The Prut originates ...
valleys next to the town are named so, because they are traversed by the roads that connect
Suceava
Suceava () is the largest urban settlement and the seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. Klaus Pet ...
, the Middle Ages' capital of the
Principality of Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Central ...
, with what was then its boundary town of Cozmin / Kozmyn (modern village
Valia Kuzmyna in
Chernivtsi Raion).
Just before the
Habsburg annexation of this part of the Principality of Moldova, both Romanian principalities (Moldova and
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
) - Ottoman vassals - were invaded by the Czarist Russia's army as a stage of a Russo-Turkish war. During the Russian occupation, Field-Marshal Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev ordered a census in these two principalities. According this census, the population in Cozmeni / Kitsman in 1774 was made of 105 Romanian families, one Jewish and 15 "Russian". The term "Russians" covered Ruthenians/Ukrainians, Muscovite Russians and
Lipovans
, flag = Flag of the Lipovans.png
, flag_caption = Flag of the Lipovans
, image = Evstafiev-lipovane-slava-cherkeza.jpg
, caption = Lipovans during a ceremony in front of the Lipovan church in the Romanian village of Slava Cercheză in 200 ...
all together in the quoted census).
In the Austrian period (1774-1918), Kitsman (known as Kotzman / Kotzmann in German), as part of the
Duchy of Bukovina
The Duchy of Bukovina (german: Herzogtum Bukowina; ro, Ducatul Bucovinei; uk, Герцогство Буковина) was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire from 1849 and a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary from 1867 until 1918 ...
, was the seat of the planning section of the district administration and it had a district court and a public school opened under the name of ”Moldavische Trivialschule” (German for ”Moldavian Elementary School”), where instruction was given in the Romanian language initially (1780s), then in German language (mid 19th century) and then Ruthenian (Ukrainian) language. From an ethnic perspective, the Austrian Empire supported Ruthenization - to keep the native Moldavians away from Moldova (1774-1859) and away from Romania (after
Moldova's 1859 union to Wallachia to form modern Romania); while from an religious perspective, the Austrians promoted the
Greek Catholic Church The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually.
The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...
, to keep the population away from the other neighbor - Orthodox Russia.
The farmers from the 13 surrounding villages brought their produce to the market in Kitsman.
During the period of Romanian rule (1918–1944), the Romanian authorities viewed the Ukrainians (Ruthenes) as Ruthenized Romanians and attempted to reverse such a process by prioritizing schooling in Romanian.
As a consequence of the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, Romania lost North Bukovina and Hertsa region to USSR, process being wrongly associated with the Jewish population; thus Jews were seen by some as enemies of the state whose suppression was one of the goals of the state, while others (like Chernivtsi's mayor Traian Popovici) worked hard to save the Jews from deportation.
A local newspaper is published here since June 1, 1941.
In January 1989 the population was 9500 people.
In January 2013 the population was 6762 people.
Until 18 July 2020, Kitsman served as an administrative center of
Kitsman Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Chernivtsi Oblast to three. The area of Kitsman Raion was split between Chernivtsi Raion and
Vyzhnytsia Raion
Vyzhnytsia Raion ( uk, Вижницький район) is an administrative raion (district) in the southern part of Chernivtsi Oblast, located in the historical region of Bukovina, in western Ukraine, on the Romanian border. The region has an ar ...
, with Kitsman being transferred to Chernivtsi Raion.
Notable figures
![Volodymyr Ivasyuk House](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Volodymyr_Ivasyuk_House.JPG)
Remarkably, Kitsman is the birthplace of several nationally well-known musicians including
Volodymyr Ivasyuk
Volodymyr Mykhailovych Ivasyuk or Volodymyr Ivasiuk ( uk, Володи́мир Миха́йлович Івасю́к) (4 March 1949 – 24–27 April 1979) was a Ukrainian songwriter, composer and poet. He is the author and composer of the ...
and
Ani Lorak
Karolina Myroslavivna Kuiek, russian: Каролина Мирославовна Куек (born 27 September 1978), popularly known as Ani Lorak,, russian: Ани Лорак is a Ukrainian singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur and former U ...
.
Jewish community
Out of the population of 6000 that Kitsman had, approximately 700 (11.6%) were
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
who had immigrated from nearby areas of
Galicia at the beginning of the 19th century and who dealt mainly with commerce in agricultural products. They also were occupied as
craftsmen and were practically the only representatives of the intellectual professions. There were Jews in the ranks of the judges and in the bureaucracy. To name a few, Nathan Seidmann, a clerk in the planning section of the district administration in Kitsman who in his time as a member of the executive committee 2 during the years 1921 to 1927 and intermittently as chairman of the Zionist organization, performed notable service. Before 1914, the Jews and the Ruthenian (Ukrainian) population of the town and the surrounding villages co-existed in peace.
References
External links
Site about Kitsman with photos and history (in Ukrainian)Kitsman museum of history and ethnographyHeraldry.com.ua entry for Kitsman, Ukrainedepartment of formation of city Kitsman'
{{Authority control
Cities in Chernivtsi Oblast
Bukovina
Cities of district significance in Ukraine
Duchy of Bukovina