According to the

2011 Romanian census The 2011 Romanian census was a census held in Romania between 20 and 31 October 2011. It was performed by some 120,000 census takers in around 101,000 statistic sectors throughout the country established by the National Institute of Statistics (IN ...

, 2,543

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

live in Romania, mainly in the villages of Suceava County ( pl, Suczawa). There are three exclusively Polish villages, as follows: ''Nowy Sołoniec'' ( Solonețu Nou), ''Plesza'' ( Pleșa), and ''Pojana Mikuli'' ( Poiana Micului), as well a significant Polish presence in ''Kaczyca'' (

Cacica Cacica ( pl, Kaczyka, german: Kaczika) is a commune located in Suceava County, in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania. The commune is located in the central part of the county, from the town of Gura Humorului, from the city ...

) and ''Paltynosa'' (

Păltinoasa Păltinoasa (german: Paltinossa) is a commune located in Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast ...

). There is also a relatively sizable number of ethnic Poles living in the county seat,

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 ...

( pl, Suczawa). Poles in Romania form an officially recognised

national minority The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

, having one seat in the Chamber of Deputies (currently held by the

Union of Poles of Romania The Union of Poles of Romania ( ro, Uniunea Polonezilor din Romania, UPR; pl, Związek Polaków w Rumunii "Dom Polski"), or Dom Polski, is an ethnic minority political party in Romania representing the Polish community. History The UPR ...

) and access to Polish elementary schools and cultural centres (known as "Polish Houses" or "Dom Polski" in Polish).

History

Biserica Preasfanta Inima a lui Isus din Poiana Micului

The first Poles settled in

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

in the times of Casimir III (specifically during the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

). Most of the Poles immigrating after 1774 were looking for work. So it was that Polish miners from

Bochnia Bochnia (german: Salzberg) is a town on the river Raba in southern Poland. The town lies approximately halfway between Tarnów (east) and the regional capital Kraków (west). Bochnia is most noted for its salt mine, the oldest functioning i ...

and

Wieliczka Wieliczka (German: ''Groß Salze'', Latin: ''Magnum Sal'') is a historic town in southern Poland, situated within the Kraków metropolitan area in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. The town was initially founded in 1290 by Premislaus II of ...

were brought to salt mines in Cacica. Another wave of Polish immigration arrived in Bukovina in the early 19th century, when the region was a

crownland Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it ...

of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as was a significant portion of present-day southern Poland (see:

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...

). Around 1803, Polish highlanders from

Čadca Čadca (; until 1918 Čatca, Czača, hu, Csaca, pl, Czadca) is a district town in northern Slovakia, near the border with Poland and the Czech Republic. Etymology The name is derived from a word ''čad'' (smoke, soot; Proto-Slavic: ''čadъ'', ...

( pl, Czaca, Czadca) settled in ''Treblecz'' ( Tereblecea, now 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 ...

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 ...

) by

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 ...

, in ''Stara Huta Krasna'' and in ''Kaliczanka'' and again in 1814 to 1819, this time settling in ''Hliboka'' ( Adâncata) and ''Tereszna''. Nowy Sołoniec was settled in 1834, Plesza in 1835, and Pojana Mikuli in 1842. At that time, it must be mentioned that Bukovina was a very attractive region of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

to live in thanks to Austria's policy not to conscript recruits into its army from there (service in the Austrian army at that time was for a 14-year term). Furthermore, Bukovina was free from

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which deve ...

, primarily attracting immigrants of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

(who later formed the basis of the

Bukovina German ''Buchelanddeutsche'' , native_name_lang = , image = , image_caption = , image_alt = , image_upright = , total = , total_year = , total_source = , total_ref = , genealogy ...

community of the region),

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 ...

, and also Czecho- Slovak origin but also Polish ethnicity and even

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. There were probably other waves of migration from Poland after the November and

Kraków Uprising The Kraków uprising ( Polish: ''powstanie krakowskie'', ''rewolucja krakowska''; German: ''Krakauer Aufstand''; Russian: ''краковское восстание'') of 1846 was an attempt, led by Polish insurgents such as Jan Tyssowski and ...

s, but most Poles were from peasant families relocated there by the Empire's authorities after they participated in the

Jakub Szela Jakub Szela (was born 14 July 1787, Smarżowa, in Galicia - died 21 April 1860, Dealul Ederii, in Bukovina, now Romania) was a Polish leader of a peasant uprising against the Polish gentry in Galicia in 1846; directed against manorial property a ...

insurrection.

Communes with the highest Polish population percentage

* Suceava County **

— 20.04% ** Mănăstirea Humorului — 19.3% ** Mușenița — 4.06% ** Moara — 3.23% **

— 1.14%

Notable Polish Romanians

* Marian Kielec, footballer *

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (; born Corneliu Codreanu, according to his birth certificate; 13 September 1899 – 30 November 1938) was a Romanian politician of the far right, the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard or ''The Legion o ...

, politician, founder of the Iron Guard *

Ioan Gyuri Pascu Ioan Gyuri Pascu (; also credited as Ioan Ghiurico Pascu, Gyuri Pascu, and Ghyuri Pascu; August 31, 1961 – September 26, 2016) was a Romanian pop music singer, producer, actor, and comedian, also known for his participation in the comedy grou ...

(partly Polish), musician, actor, and comedian *

Octavian Smigelschi Octavian or Octav Smigelschi (last name also Smigelski, Smighelschi, Szmigelszki, or Szmigelschi; hu, Szmigelszki Oktáv; 21 March 1866 – 10 November 1912) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian painter and printmaker, one of the leading ...

(partly Polish), painter *

Stefan Norris Stefan Norris (1894–1979) was a Polish-born art director.Hames p.264 He designed the sets for more than a hundred films. After the Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic ...

(born in Poland; subsequently settled in Romania), art director * Mărgărita Miller-Verghy, author, journalist, critic, and translator *

Wojciech Weiss Wojciech Weiss (4 May 1875 – 7 December 1950) was a prominent Polish painter and draughtsman of the Young Poland movement. Weiss was born in Bukovina to a Polish family in exile of Stanisław Weiss and Maria Kopaczyńska. He gave up mus ...

, painter *

Leonard Mociulschi Leonard Mociulschi () (Leonard Moczulski) (27 March 1889 – 15 April 1979) was a Romanian Major General of Polish origin during World War II. Biography Early days Mociulschi was born in Siminicea, Botoșani County (now in Suceava County), a de ...

, major general * Henri Cihoski, lieutenant-general * Robert Sadowski, international footballer * Michał Belina Czechowski, Seventh-Day Adventist preacher * Ghervazen Longher, politician * Adolf Zytogorski (born in Romania; moved to Poland then England), chess master and translator * Tytus Czerkawski, politician * Izydor Kopernicki, physician * Iosif Malinovski, Roman Catholic vicar and publisher * Gustaw Otręba, physician * Witold Rola Piekarski, cartoonist and academic * Feliks Wierciński, Roman Catholic priest and schoolteacher

Gallery

File:Biserica Preasfanta Inima a lui Isus din Poiana Micului1.jpg,

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

bilingual sign at the entrance in the village of Poiana Micului ( pl, Pojana Mikuli) File:Plesza (Rumunia), Pleșa 12.jpg,

bilingual sign at the entrance in the village of Pleșa ( pl, Plesza) File:Plesza, Dom Polski.jpg, The Polish House ( pl, Dom Polski) in Pleșa ( pl, Plesza) File:Casa Polonă din Suceava.jpg, The Polish House in Suceava ( pl, Dom Polski w Suczawie), built at the round of the 20th century (more specifically between 1903 and 1907) File:Rum-Polo.JPG, Polish newspaper in Romania File:Cacica salt mine01.jpg, The salt mine in Cacica ( pl, Kaczyka), Suceava county, southern Bukovina File:Rumunia, Kaczyka, kościół rzymskokatolicki DSCF7626.jpg, Roman Catholic basilica in Cacica File:Plesza (Rumunia), Pleșa 01.jpg, View from the village of Pleșa ( pl, Plesza) File:Plesza (Rumunia), Pleșa 14.jpg, View from the village of Pleșa ( pl, Plesza) File:Nowy Sołoniec (Rumunia), Solonețu Nou 09.jpg, View from Solonețu Nou ( pl, Nowy Sołoniec) File:Plesza (Rumunia), Pleșa 03.jpg, Natural landscape from the village of Pleșa ( pl, Plesza) File:S - panoramio (10).jpg, Natural landscape from the village of Pleșa ( pl, Plesza)

References

External links

Map of Polish villages in Romania
*
Polonia w Rumunii
*
Polscy uchodźcy w Rumunii 1939–1947. Dokumenty z Narodowych Archiwów Rumunii / Refugiații polonezi în România 1939–1947. Documente din Arhivele Naționale ale României, t. 1, cz. 1 i 2The Polish organization in Romania

Polish minority in Cacica - Romania (archive)
{{Portal bar, Poland, Romania Bukovina Ethnic groups in Romania

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...