Suceava County
Suceava County () is a county (, ) 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 Suceava.

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:

 Romanians - 96.14%
 Romani - 1.92%
 Ukrainians (including Hutsuls and Rusyns) - 0.92%
 Lipovans - 0.27%
 Germans (Bukovina Germans, Zipser Germans, and Regat Germans) - 0.11%
 West Slavs (i.e. Poles, Slovaks, and Czechs) as well as other ethnic groups - 0.5%

Geography 

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:

 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.

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 in 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):
Plasa Arbore, headquartered at Arbore
Plasa Dragomirna, headquartered at Dragomirna
Plasa Ilișești, headquartered at Ilișești

In 1938, the county was administratively reorganized into the following districts:
Plasa Arbore, headquartered at Solca (containing 15 villages)
Plasa Bosancea, headquartered at Bosancea (including 36 villages)
Plasa Ilișești, headquartered at Ilișești (including 17 villages)

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 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 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:

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

Suceava occupies the first place among the Romanian cities with most the 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 
Suceava has been designated "European destination of excellence" by the European Commission.
Suceava is ranked 3rd in Romania regarding the tourist accommodation capacity.

The main touristic attractions of the county are:

 The city 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 Sucevita Monastery;
 The Bogdana Monastery from Rădăuți;
 The Humor Monastery;
 The Arbore Monastery;
 The Probota Monastery;
 The Dragomirna Monastery;
  The medieval salt mine of Cacica;
 The Vatra Dornei resort;
 The cities and towns of Rădăuți, Fălticeni, Câmpulung Moldovenesc, Gura Humorului, and Siret.

Politics
The Suceava County Council, elected at the 2016 local government elections, is made up of 37 counselors, with the following party composition:

Administrative divisions 

Suceava County has 5 municipalities, 11 towns and 98 communes
Municipalities
Câmpulung Moldovenesc
Fălticeni
Rădăuți
Suceava - capital city; population within city limits: 116,404 (as of 2016)
Vatra Dornei

Towns
Broșteni
Cajvana
Dolhasca
Frasin
Gura Humorului
Liteni
Milișăuți
Salcea
Siret
Solca
Vicovu de Sus

Communes
Adâncata
Arbore
Baia
Bălăceana
Bălcăuți
Berchișești
Bilca
Bogdănești
Boroaia
Bosanci
Botoșana
Breaza
Brodina
Bunești
Burla
Cacica
Calafindești
Capu Câmpului
Cârlibaba
Ciocănești
Ciprian Porumbescu
Comănești
Cornu Luncii
Coșna
Crucea
Dărmănești
Dolhești
Dorna-Arini
Dorna Candrenilor
Dornești
Drăgoiești
Drăgușeni
Dumbrăveni
Fântâna Mare
Fântânele
Forăști
Frătăuții Noi
Frătăuții Vechi
Frumosu
Fundu Moldovei
Gălănești
Grămești
Grănicești
Hănțești
Hârtop
Horodnic de Jos
Horodnic de Sus
Horodniceni
Iacobeni
Iaslovăț
Ilișești
Ipotești
Izvoarele Sucevei
Mălini
Mănăstirea Humorului
Marginea
Mitocu Dragomirnei
Moara
Moldova-Sulița
Moldovița
Mușenița
Ostra
Păltinoasa
Panaci
Pârteștii de Jos
Pătrăuți
Poiana Stampei
Poieni-Solca
Pojorâta
Preutești
Putna
Rădășeni
Râșca
Sadova
Șaru Dornei
Satu Mare
Șcheia
Șerbăuți
Siminicea
Slatina
Straja
Stroiești
Stulpicani
Sucevița
Todirești
Udești
Ulma
Vadu Moldovei
Valea Moldovei
Vama
Vatra Moldoviței
Verești
Vicovu de Jos
Voitinel
Volovăț
Vulturești
Zamostea
Zvoriștea

Villages
Probota
Solonețu Nou

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.

Gallery

Natives and residents

 Matei Vișniec - Romanian-French playwright
 Olha Kobylianska - Ukrainian-German writer
 Ludwig Adolf Staufe-Simiginowicz - Ukrainian-German writer and educator
 Elisabeth Axmann - German writer
 Nichita Danilov - Lipovan poet
 Iulian Vesper - Romanian poet and writer
 Nicolae Labiș - Romanian poet
 Grigore Vasiliu Birlic - Romanian actor
 Ion G. Sbiera - Romanian folklorist
 Ion Costist - Romanian 16th century Roman Catholic monk
 Józef Weber - German Roman Catholic archbishop
 Liviu Giosan - Romanian-American marine geologist
 Elisabeta Lipă - Romanian Olympic rower
 Constantin Schumacher - Romanian-German footballer
 Lothar Würzel - German linguist, journalist, and politician
 George Ostafi - German abstract painter
 Anton Keschmann - German politician in the Imperial Austrian Parliament
 George Löwendal - Russian-Danish painter