Storojineț 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 ...

, in

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 ...

, with the capital city at Storojineț. 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 The Soviet occupation of Romania refers to the period from 1944 to August 1958, during which the Soviet Union maintained a significant military presence in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania. The fate of the territories held by Romania after 1 ...

), 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 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 Storojineț 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 with the former Vășcăuți County and parts of Vijnița County. In 1938, the county was abolished and incorporated into the newly formed Ținutul Suceava, together with the counties of Hotin,

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 ...

Cernăuți Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

, Dorohoi,

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 ...

, 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 ...

. 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 all of Storojineț 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. ...

). Storojineț 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 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 the 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 west, the counties of

to the north-east and

to the south.

Administration

The county consisted from 3 districts ('' plăși''):Portretul României Interbelice - Județul Storojineț
/ref> #Plasa Ceremuș, headquartered at Vășcăuți (Vășcăuți-pe-Ceremuș) #Plasa Flondoreni, headquartered at Storojineț #Plasa Răstoace, headquartered at Vijnița

Coat of arms

The Coat of Arms depicted three trees in the lower half and a deer in the upper half.

Demographics

Population

According to the Romanian census of 1930 the population of Storojineț County was 169,894, of which 45.5% 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 ...

, 33.9% 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, ...

, 9.0% 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 ...

, 5.3% 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 ...

, 4.7% 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. 430-433 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 Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

, as well as other minorities.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 736-737

Urban population

In 1930, the urban population consisted of the following: Storojineț with 8,695 inhabitants, Vășcăuți with 6,336, and Vijnița with 3,799. In 1930 the urban population of Storojineț County was 18,830, which included 31.9% Jews, 31.2% Ukrainians, 20.2% Romanians, 10.7% Poles, 4.2% Germans and 1.5% Russians by ethnicity, as well as other minorities. This population was classified by religion: Classified by religion: 46.2% were Orthodox Christian, 31.9% Jewish, 14.9% Roman Catholic, 6.3% Greek Catholic. 1.2%

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, 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

*
Storojineț County on memoria.ro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Storojinet County Bukovina Former counties of Romania 1918 establishments in Romania 1925 establishments in Romania 1938 disestablishments in Romania 1941 establishments in Romania 1944 disestablishments in Romania States and territories established in 1918 States and territories established in 1925 States and territories disestablished in 1940 States and territories established in 1941 States and territories disestablished in 1944