Rădăuți County was one of the historic counties of

Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

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 ...

. The county seat was

Rădăuți Rădăuți (; ; ; ; , ''Radivtsi''; ''Radevits''; ) is a town in Suceava County, north-eastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. According to the 2021 census, Rădăuți is the second largest urban settlement in the ...

History

Following the

Union of Bukovina with Romania The union of Duchy of Bukovina, Bukovina with Kingdom of Romania, Romania was declared in 28 November 1918, being officially recognized by the international community in 1919 and 1920. Timeline of events 1918 *22 October - Constantin Isopescu-Grecu ...

decided by the

General Congress of Bukovina The General Congress of Bukovina () was a self-proclaimed representative body created in the aftermath of the Romanian military intervention in Bukovina, which proclaimed the union of the region with the Kingdom of Romania in 1918. On 28 Novemb ...

on 15/28 November 1918, the Rădăuți 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 east with the former Siret County and in northwest with parts of the former Vijnița County. In 1938, the county was abolished and incorporated into the newly formed Ținutul Suceava. In 1940, following the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...

and the Soviet ultimatum on 26 June 1940,

Northern Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

(including the north and northwestern parts of the Rădăuți 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 Chernivtsi Oblast (), also referred to as Chernivechchyna (), is an oblast (province) in western Ukraine, consisting of the northern parts of the historical regions of Bukovina and Bessarabia. It has an international border with Romania and Moldo ...

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. ...

). Rădăuți County (with its reduced territory) was re-established in September 1940 (after the fall of

Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930, until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. As the eldest son of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, ...

's regime) and completely re-instated (as part of the Bukovina Governorate) after Northern Bukovina was recovered by Romania in July 1941, following the

invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...

. 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. Rădăuți County was ultimately abolished in 1950 by the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

Geography

Rădăuți County covered 2,360 km² and was located in

. The territory that comprised Rădăuți County is now included in

Suceava County Suceava County () is a county (') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat and the ...

, while its northwestern part now belongs to

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 ...

. In the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, the county neighbored Storojineț County to the north, Dorohoi County to the east,

Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...

and

Câmpulung Câmpulung (also spelled ''Cîmpulung'', , , Old Romanian ''Dlăgopole'', ''Длъгополе'' (from Middle Bulgarian), or ''Câmpulung Muscel'') is a municipiu, city in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is attested on the Fra Mauro map fro ...

to the south,

Maramureș County Maramureș County () is a county (județ) in Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Máramaros megye'', in Ukrainian language, Ukrainian as Мараморо́щ ...

to the southwest, and

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 ...

(

Stanisławów Voivodeship Stanisławów Voivodeship () was an administrative district of the interwar Poland (1920–1939). It was established in December 1920 with an administrative center in Stanisławów. The voivodeship had an area of 16,900 km2 and comprised twe ...

) to the west and northwest.

Administrative organization

Administratively, Rădăuți County was divided into three districts ('' plăși''): #Plasa Putila, with headquarters at Seletin. #Plasa Siret, with headquarters at

Siret Siret (; ; ; ; ) is a town, municipality and former Latin bishopric in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Siret is the 11th largest urban settlement in the county, with a population of 6,708 ...

. #Plasa Ștefan Vodă, with headquarters at

Population

According to the Romanian census of 1930 the population of Rădăuți County was 160,778, of which 55.4% were ethnic Romanians, 11.1% Germans, 8.7% Ukrainians, 7.6% Hutsuls, 7.2% Jews, 6.4% Hungarians, 1.4% Poles, as well as other minorities.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 356-359 Classified by religion: 70.6% were Eastern Orthodox, 16.2% Roman Catholic, 7.2% Jewish, 2.6% Lutheran, 1.3% Greek Catholic, as well as other minorities.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 699-700

Urban population

In 1930 the urban population of Rădăuți County was 26,693 (the city of Rădăuţi had 16,788 inhabitants, and

had 9,905), which included 38.3% Romanians, 28.9% Jews, 23.5% Germans, 4.7% Ukrainians, 1.8% of Poles, as well as other minorities, by ethnicity. The religious mix of the urban population was 41.3% Eastern Orthodox, 29.1% Jewish, 23.6% Roman Catholic, 3.4% Greek Catholic, 2.2% Lutheran, 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

*
Rădăuți County on memoria.ro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radauti County Former counties of Romania Bukovina 1925 establishments in Romania 1938 disestablishments in Romania States and territories disestablished in 1938 States and territories established in 1925 1940 establishments in Romania 1950 disestablishments in Romania States and territories established in 1940 States and territories disestablished in 1950