Bukovina

Bucovina / Bukovyna die Bukowina ← 1775–1918 → Flag Coat of arms Duchy of Bukovina within Austria-Hungary Capital Czernowitz Language(s) Romanian, Ukrainian, German Government Military district (1775–1787) Kreis (1787–1849) Kronland (1849–1918) History  - Annexation of Northwestern Moldavia by the Habsburg Monarchy January 1775  - Duchy of Bukovina March 4, 1849  - Awarded to Romania November 28, 1918

Map of Bukovina.

Bukovina (Ukrainian: Буковина Bukovyna) is a historical region in eastern Europe, located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.

Bukovina was, from 1774 to 1918, part of the Habsburg Monarchy: the Austrian Empire, and Austria-Hungary.

A 2017 book on Czernowitz, described as "a little Vienna".

Following World War I, Bukovina was taken from Austria and awarded by the victorious plutocratic western Allies to Romania, without any plebiscite and notwithstanding Romania's total defeat in that war. Romanians then established themselves as the new masters under the aegis of the Romanian military establishment, and took over all the important government posts. But they remained isolated from those who spoke other languages, notably the solid ethnic-German (Austrian) burghers. One of them wrote: "we ended up in a colony, deserted by our colonial masters. We were no longer masters of anything, taken over by another class to which we deemed ourselves superior - Romania was 'part of the East' - but which, in fact, treated us as second-rate citizens and a minority" of only 9% overall - though that proportion rose to 38% in the city of Czernowitz. With its former Habsburg bureaucracy and German University, Czernowitz had once seemed to be the gateway from 'Half-Asia' to 'Germandom'. However, from mastery to minority represented a precipitous fall. After Romania's take-over their authorities drove German-speaking teachers out of Bukovina if their grasp of the Romanian language was insufficient; one effect was to cripple the German literature department of Czernowitz's once renowned university. Romanian students would with impunity storm the German Theatre in order to disrupt performances of, say, Schiller's Die Rauber, the Romanian Police doing nothing.

Around 38% of the population were then Ruthenians (Ukrainians) and 34% Romanians. In some respects Bukovina mirrored Czechoslovakia where the Czechs only constituted 43% of the population but who ruled everyone else oppressively.

In 1940 the northern half of Bukovina was annexed by the Soviet Union. With the collapse of the latter in 1991 it is today part of Ukraine.