Cernăuți County was a county ( județ) of

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

, in Bukovina, with the capital city at Cernăuți. The area was incorporated into the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1940 (after the Soviet occupation of Northern Bukovina) and again in 1944 (after the Soviet occupation of Romania), and has been part of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

since 1991.

History

Following the Union of Bukovina with Romania decided by the General Congress of Bukovina on 15/28 November 1918, the Cernăuți County was created on 18 December 1918 by the Decree No. 3715 for the administration of Bukovina. In 1925, according to the Law of Administrative Unification of 14 June 1925, the territory of the county was enlarged in the north with the former Zastavna and Cozmeni counties. In 1938, the county was abolished and incorporated into the newly formed Ținutul Suceava, together with the counties of Hotin, Suceava, Storojineț, Dorohoi, Rădăuți and Câmpulung. In 1940, following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the Soviet ultimatum on 26 June 1940, Northern Bukovina (including the whole Cernăuți County) was occupied by the Soviet Union and incorporated into the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

( Chernivtsi Oblast,

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

). Cernăuți County was re-established (as part of the Bukovina Governorate) after Northern Bukovina was recovered by Romania in July 1941, following the invasion of the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, in August 1944 the Northern Bukovina was taken over again by the Soviet Army, and the borders as of 1 January 1941 were confirmed by the 1947 Paris Peace Treaties.

Geography

Neighbours of the county were Stanisławów Voivodeship of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

to the north and west, and counties of Storojineţ and Dorohoi to the south and Hotin to the east.

Administration

The county consisted of four '' plăși'' (districts):Portretul României Interbelice - Județul Cernăuți
/ref> * Plasa Cosmin, headquartered at Cernăuți * Plasa Nistru, headquartered at Zastavna * Plasa Prut, headquartered at Sadagura * Plasa Șipeniț, headquartered at Cozmeni

Coat of arms

The coat of arms featured three trees, one of which was white, under two crossed swords.

Demographics

Population

According to the Romanian census of 1930, the population of Cernăuți County was 305,097, of which 48.9% were ethnic

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

, 21.8% ethnic

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

, 13.1% ethnic

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, 12.5% ethnic

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

and 4.6% ethnic

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

, as well as other minorities.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 120-123 Classified by religion: 78.1% were Orthodox Christian, 9.1%

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, 9.1%

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, 1.9% Greek Catholic, as well as other minorities.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 581-582

Urban population

As of 1930, there were four urban population centres in the county: Cernăuți with 111,147 people, Sadagura with 9,005, Zastavna with 5,038, and Cozmeni with 5,015. In 1930 the urban population of Cernăuți was 130,205, which included 29.1% Jews, 25.9% Romanians, 23.3% Germans, 11.3% Ukrainians, 8.8% Romani, 7.5% Poles and 1.6% Russians by ethnicity, as well as other minorities.

Gallery

File:Bucov.png, Demographic composition of Bukovina in 1930, with the 1940 border drawn in the centre File:GUVERNAMANTUL_BUCOVINEI.png, Governorate of Bukovina (1942)

References

External links

*
Cernăuți County at memoria.ro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cernauti County Bukovina Former counties of Romania 1918 establishments in Romania 1925 establishments in Romania 1938 disestablishments in Romania States and territories established in 1918 States and territories disestablished in 1938 States and territories established in 1925 1940 establishments in Romania States and territories established in 1940 States and territories disestablished in 1944 1944 disestablishments in Romania History of Chernivtsi