Cetatea Albă County was a county (

județ A (, plural ) is an administrative division in Romania, and was also used from 1940 to 1947 in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic and from 1998 to 2003 in Moldova. There are 41 in Romania, divided into municipii (municipalities), ''ora ...

) 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 ...

between 1925 and 1938 and between 1941 and 1944, in

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

, with the capital city at Cetatea Albă. It had an area of and a population of 340,459 as of the 1930 census.

Geography

The county was located in the eastern part of

Greater Romania Greater Romania () is the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union or the related pan-nationalist ideal of a nation-state which would incorporate all Romanian speakers.Irina LivezeanuCultural Politics in Greate ...

, in the south of the historical region of

. Currently, the territory of the former county is partly administered by

Odesa Oblast Odesa Oblast (), also referred to as Odeshchyna (Одещина), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administrative centre is the city of Ode ...

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 ...

. It was bordered to the west by Cahul County, to the north by Tighina County, to the south by Ismail County, to the east by the

, and in the southeast the county bordered the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

Administration

1938 map of interwar county Cetatea Alba

The county originally consisted of six districts ('' plăși''):Portretul României Interbelice - Județul Cetatea Albă
/ref> #Plasa Cazaci, headquartered at #Plasa Tarutino, headquartered at Tarutina #Plasa Tașlâc, headquartered at Arciz #Plasa Tatar-Bunar, headquartered at Tatar-Bunar #Plasa Tuzla, headquartered at Cetatea Albă #Plasa Volintiri, headquartered at Volințiri Subsequently, the territory of the county was reorganized into eight districts: #Plasa Arciz, headquartered at Arciz #Plasa Cazaci, headquartered at #Plasa Ivăneștii-Noi, headquartered at Ivăneștii Noi #Plasa Liman, headquartered at Cetatea Albă #Plasa Sărata, headquartered at Bairamcea #Plasa Tarutino, headquartered at Tarutina #Plasa Tuzla, headquartered at #Plasa Volintiri, headquartered at Volințiri On the territory of Cetatea Albă County there were two urban localities: Cetatea Albă, a city and the county seat, and , an urban commune (town).

Coat of arms

The Coat of Arms featured a tree on the sinister and the fortress of Cetatea Albă on the dexter.

Population

According to the Romanian census of 1930 the population of Cetatea Albă County was 340,459, of which 20.9% were ethnic

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

, 20.5% 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 ...

, 18.5%

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, ...

, 17.3%

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

16.3% 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 ...

, 3.3%

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 ...

, 3.3% Gagauz and 0.1%

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

. Classified by religion: 79.0% were Orthodox Christian, 16.3% Lutheran, 4.7% Jews.

History

After the

Union of Bessarabia with Romania The union of Bessarabia with Romania was proclaimed on by Sfatul Țării, the legislative body of the Moldavian Democratic Republic. This state had the same borders of the region of Bessarabia, which was annexed by the Russian Empire following t ...

in 1918, the county belonged to Romania, which set up the county formally in 1925. After the 1938 ''Administrative and Constitutional Reform'', this county merged with the counties of Lăpușna,

Orhei Orhei (), also formerly known as Orgeev (), is a city, municipality and the administrative centre of Orhei District in the Moldova, Republic of Moldova, with a population of 21,065. Orhei is approximately north of the capital, Chișinău. Hist ...

and Tighina to form

Ținutul Nistru Ținutul Nistru was one of the ten ''ținuturi'' ("lands") of Romania, founded in 1938 after King of Romania, King Carol II of Romania, Carol II, initiated an institutional reform by modifying the 1923 Constitution of Romania, 1923 Constitution and ...

. The area county of the county was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940 and became part of the

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. ...

. The area returned to Romanian administration as the

Bessarabia Governorate The Bessarabia Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its administrative centre in Kishinev (Chișinău). It consisted of an area of and a population of 1,935,412 inhabitants. The Bessarabia Governorate bordered t ...

following the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in July 1941. A military administration was established and the region's Jewish population was either executed on the spot or deported to Transnistria, where further numbers were killed. As the Soviet Union's offensive pushed the Axis powers back, the area again was under Soviet control. On September 12, 1944, Romania signed the Moscow Armistice with the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

. The Armistice, as well as the subsequent peace treaty of 1947, confirmed the Soviet-Romanian border as it was on January 1, 1941.

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

. Foreign relations of the United States, 1946
Paris Peace Conference: documents Volume IV (1946)
/ref> The area of the county became part of the Ukrainian SSR and eventually of the independent

after the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1991.

References

External links

*
Județul Cetatea Alba
(Romanian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cetatea Alba County Former counties of Romania Counties of Bessarabia 1925 establishments in Romania 1938 disestablishments in Romania 1941 establishments in Romania 1944 disestablishments in Romania States and territories established in 1925 States and territories disestablished in 1938 States and territories established in 1941 States and territories disestablished in 1944