Suceava County - Wikiwand

Suceava County (Romanian pronunciation: [suˈtʃe̯ava]) is a county (Romanian: județ) of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat and the most populous urban settlement of the county is Suceava.

Quick Facts Județul Suceava, Country ...

Suceava County Județul Suceava
County
Rarău-Giumalău mountainous range in Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania
Coat of arms

Coordinates: 47.58°N 25.76°E / 47.58; 25.76
Country	Romania
Development region	Nord-Est
Historical region	Southern Bukovina
Seat	Suceava
Government
• President of the County Board	Gheorghe Șoldan (PSD)
• Prefect	Gheorghe-Alexandru Moldovan [ro]
Area
• Total	8,553 km² (3,302 sq mi)
• Rank	2nd
Population (2021-12-01)^[1]
• Total	642,551
• Rank	8th
• Density	75/km² (190/sq mi)
Telephone code	(+40) 230 or (+40) 330^[2]
ISO 3166 code	RO-SV
GDP (nominal)	US$3.188 billion (2015)
GDP per capita	US$5,022 (2015)
Website	County Council Prefecture

Demographics

Summarize

Perspective

More information Year, Pop. ...

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1948	439,751	—
1956	507,674	+15.4%
1966	572,781	+12.8%
1977	633,899	+10.7%
1992	700,799	+10.6%
2002	688,435	−1.8%
2011	634,810	−7.8%
2022	642,551	+1.2%
Source: Official Romanian census data^[3]^[4]

In 2011, as per the official census conducted that year, Suceava County had a population of 634,810, with a population density of 74/km². The proportion of each constituent ethnic group is displayed below as follows, according to how they were officially recorded:^[5]

Romanians – 96.14%
Romani – 1.92%
Ukrainians (including Hutsuls and Rusyns) – 0.92%
Lipovans – 0.27%
Germans (namely Bukovina Germans, Zipser Germans/Saxons, and Regat Germans) – 0.11%
West Slavs (i.e. Poles, Slovaks, and Czechs) as well as minor other ethnic groups (including Hungarians or Szekelers, more specifically the Székelys of Bukovina) – 0.5%

Historical population in the 20th and 21st centuries

In the recent past, during the early 20th century, Suceava County used to be more ethnically heterogenous or mixed (due to the ethnic legacy and heritage of the former Austro-Hungarian times when most of the territory of the county was part of the Duchy of Bukovina), with sizeable minority populations of Germans (more specifically Bukovina Germans, including Zipsers), Jews, Ukrainians, Poles, or Hungarians (more specifically Székelys of Bukovina). These minority communities gradually dwindled throughout much of the 20th century.

In addition, small German minority groups/communities existed (and still exist) on the territory of Suceava County which forms part of Western Moldavia as well, more specifically Regat Germans (German: Regatsdeutsche) inhabiting the small town of Fălticeni (German: Folitscheni) for example.

Nowadays, during the early 21st century, the county is inhabited mostly by Romanians with very few minority ethnic groups, therefore making it very ethnically homogenous. Additionally, the primary language of the majority of the population is Romanian and the main religion is Eastern Orthodoxy represented by the Romanian Orthodox Church.

Geography

Summarize

Perspective

Most of Suceava County is situated in southern Bukovina, which is represented by the darker area on this map.^[a]

The location of Suceava, the county seat town of Suceava County, in the northeast of Romania.^[b]

Two-thirds of the county lies within the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the rest of it incorporates territories from Western Moldavia proper.

In terms of total area, it covers a surface of 8,553 square kilometres (3,302 sq mi), making it thus the second in Romania in this particular regard, just after Timiș County in Banat.

The western side of the county consists of mountains from the Eastern Carpathians group: the Rodna Mountains, the Rarău Mountains, the Giumalău Mountains, and the Ridges of Bukovina, the latter with lower heights.

The county's elevation decreases towards the east, with the lowest height in the Siret River valley. The rivers crossing the county are the Siret River with its tributaries: the Moldova, Suceava, and Bistrița rivers.

Neighbours

The county of Suceava is bordered by the following other territorial units:

Ukraine to the north – Chernivtsi Oblast.
Mureș County, Harghita County, and Neamț County to the south.
Botoșani County and Iași County to the east.
Maramureș County and Bistrița-Năsăud County to the west.

Economy

The predominant industries/economic sectors in the county are as follows:

Lumber – producing the greatest land mass of forests in Romania;
Food and Cooking;
Mechanical components;
Construction materials;
Mining;
Textile and leather;
Tourism.

Suceava occupies the first place among the Romanian cities with the most commercial spaces per inhabitant.^[6] Notable supermarket chains correlated with the aforementioned economic areas: Metro, Carrefour, Auchan, Selgros, Kaufland, and Lidl (some of the biggest supermarket chains in Romania).

In June 2022, it was reported that there are projects worth 1 billion EUR for the Suceava County from the PNRR/Next Generation EU plan by County Council president Gheorghe Flutur, former acting/ad interim president of the National Liberal Party (PNL).^[7]

Tourism

Summarize

Perspective

Arable lands near the town of Suceava (2012)

Medieval Seat Fortress of Suceava (2015)

Typical winter landscape in Suceava County (2012)

Gothic-style 14th century Bogdana Monastery from Rădăuți (2010)

In 2017, Suceava was ranked 3rd in Romania regarding the total tourist accommodation capacity, after Brașov and Constanța counties.^[8] Furthermore, one year later in 2018, Suceava County was designated "European destination of excellence" by the European Commission (EC).^[9]

The main tourist attractions of the county are:

The town of Suceava with its medieval fortifications;
The Painted churches of northern Moldavia and their monasteries:
- The Voroneț Monastery;
- The Putna Monastery;
- The Moldovița Monastery;
- The Sucevița Monastery;
- The Bogdana Monastery from Rădăuți;
- The Humor Monastery;
- The Arbore Monastery;
- The Probota Monastery;
- The Dragomirna Monastery;
The medieval salt mine of Cacica (Polish: Kaczyka);
Mocăniță narrow-gauge steam train network, built during Austrian times, in the Moldovița commune and other rural parts of the county;
The Vatra Dornei resort;
The cities and towns of Rădăuți, Fălticeni, Câmpulung Moldovenesc, Gura Humorului, and Siret;
The Via Transilvanica long-distance hiking and biking trail, which crosses the county.

Mocănița-Huțulca-Moldovița narrow-gauge steam train in Moldovița commune (July 2013), a popular touristic attraction of Suceava County.
Example of picturesque rural landscape of the countryside of Suceava County in Fundu Moldovei (German: Luisenthal or Louisenthal)
Câmpulung Moldovenesc (German: Kimpolung)
Slătioara secular forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a waldhufendorf (i.e. forest village) in the background.

Politics and local administration

Summarize

Perspective

1992–1996

The elected President of the County Council was Constantin Sofroni (FSN).^[10] The Suceava County Council, elected at the 1992 local elections, consisted of 45 councillors, with the following party composition:^[11]