Suceava County

Suceava County () is a county ("județ") of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern portion of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat is the historical city of Suceava (), formerly the capital of the Principality of Moldavia during the late Middle Ages and then a pivotal, predominantly German-speaking commercial town of the Habsburg/Austrian Empire at the border with the Kingdom of Romania throughout the Modern Age up until 1918.
Demographics.
In 2011, Suceava County had a population of 634,810, with a population density of 74/km2. The proportion of each ethnic group is displayed as follows:
Geography.
Two thirds of the county lies within the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, but also incorporates territories from Western Moldavia proper.
In terms of total area, it covers a surface of , 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:
Historical county.
In the Kingdom of Romania, between the early 20th century up to the end of the 1940s, the county had a smaller size and population. The contemporary Suceava county is the result of the merger of other smaller former Romanian counties from the historical province of Bukovina that were functional mostly throughout the interwar period (e.g. Rădăuți County or Câmpulung County).
The present-day Suceava County also incorporates part of Baia County. As per the administrative reform of 1938 under King Carol II, the whole counties which divided Bukovina in the Kingdom of Romania were united into a bigger land called Ținutul Suceava.
As for the historical interwar Suceava County, this administrative unit was located in the northern part of Greater Romania and the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina respectively. Its territory is situated entirely within the borders of the current Suceava County, constituting thus the central-eastern part of the contemporary namesake county. During the interwar period, it was the smallest county of Greater Romania by area, covering .
It is bordered on the east by the counties of Dorohoi and Botoșani, to the north by Rădăuți County, to the west by Câmpulung County, and to the south by Baia County.
Administrative organization.
As of 1930, the county was administratively subdivided into three districts ("plăṣi"):
In 1938, the county was administratively reorganized into the following districts:
Population.
According to the 1930 census data, the county population was 121,327, ethnically divided among Romanians (79.5%), Germans (primarily Bukovina Germans but also Zipsers) (8.2%), Jews (5.5%), Poles (2.7%), Ukrainians (1.7%), as well as other minor ethnic minorities.
By language the county was divided among Romanian (76.5%), German (9.4%), Ukrainian (5.5%), Yiddish (4.3%), Polish (2.5%), as well as other languages. From the religious point of view, the population consisted of Eastern Orthodox (80.1%), Roman Catholic (8.4%), Jewish (5.5%), Evangelical Lutheran (3.3%), Greek Catholic (1.4%), as well as other minor religions.
Urban population.
The county's urban population consisted of 19,850 inhabitants (17,028 in Suceava and 2,822 in Solca), ethnically divided among Romanians (61.5%), Jews (18.7%), Germans (13.9%), Poles (2.6%), as well as other minor ethnic minorities.
As a mother tongue in the urban population, Romanian (60.4%) predominated, followed by German (18.7%), Yiddish (13.8%), Ukrainian (3.2%), Polish (2.2%), as well as other minor spoken languages. From the religious point of view, the urban population consisted of 60.6% Eastern Orthodox, 18.8% Jewish, 15.3% Roman Catholic, 2.0% Greek Catholic, 1.7% Evangelical Lutheran, 0.7% Baptist, as well as other confessional minorities.
Economy.
The predominant industries/economic sectors in the county are as follows:
Suceava occupies the first place among the Romanian cities with the most commercial spaces per inhabitant.
Notable supermarket chains correlated with the aforementioned economic areas: Metro, Carrefour, Auchan, Selgros, Kaufland, and Lidl (some of the biggest supermarket chains in Romania).
Tourism.
In 2018, Suceava County was designated 'European destination of excellence' by the European Commission. Furthermore, back in 2017, Suceava ranked 3rd in Romania regarding total tourist accommodation capacity.
The main touristic attractions of the county are:
Politics.
The Suceava County Council, renewed at the 2020 local elections, consists of 36 counsellors, with the following party composition:
Administrative divisions.
Suceava County has 5 municipalities, 11 towns, and 98 communes.
2010 floods.
During June 2010, Gheorghe Flutur, the president of Suceava County, told the Mediafax news agency that his region was one of the worst hit in the country. In the morning of June 29, relief work was coordinated to deal with flooding that killed 21 people, and caused hundreds to be evacuated from their homes.