City Some History

The territory of Chernivtsi was settled in the 12th century. This settlement defended fort “Chern” (“Black”) on ount Tsetsyn (right bank of the Prut River), which was built by Volyn-Galician Princes called “Kniaz”.

In the early 14th century the town grew on the right bank of the Prut River. In the middle of the 14th century it was under Hungarian and, later, under Moldavian rule. In 1408 Chernivtsi was first mentioned in the deed of the Moldavian Master (Prince) Alexander Dobryy (Good). By 1457 the town was an administrative centre of the volost (county) and successfully developed thanks to its position on an important Black Sea trade route. From 1514 Chernivtsi as well as the whole of Moldavia were under protection, and then under the rule of, Turkey. Buildings were mostly wooden, including Orthodox churches built by Moldavian masters. During the years of the Ukrainian liberation war of 1650-1653 the troops of Bogdan Khmelnytskyy were twice in Chernivtsi.

In 1774 Chernivtsi became a part of the Austrian empire. Construction of stone buildings developed rapidly especially in the south part of the city. During the Habsburg period (till November 1918) of its history Chernivtsi became a European city with the architecture and urban infrastructure widespread in the Austria-Hungarian cities. This city situated in the far east of the empire, had a very special cosmopolitan multi-ethnic population mix. Different religious and cultural traditions of Ukrainians, Romanians, Poles, Jews, and Germans created the climate of Chernivtsi of the Habsburg period. The German influence was especially strong.

Before 1849 Chernivtsi was a part of Galicia, then it became the capital of an autonomous district. In 1866 a railway was constructed from Europe through Lviv to Chernivtsi. In 1875 the University was founded here. Scientists, writers, and artists of different nations contributed greatly to the development of the culture of the region: Y. Fedkovych, O. Kobylianska, M. Ivasiuk, Y. Piguliak, M. Eminescu, V. Alexandri, R.F. Keindl, Paul Celan, A. Kokhanowska, R. Auslander and others.

From November 1918 till June 1940 Chernivtsi was a part of Romania. After World War II Chernivtsi became an oblast (province) centre of the USSR. After Ukraine gained its independence the city gradually returned to its previous urban atmosphere and to its roots