Chernivtsi (Ukrainian: Чернівці, Tschernivtsi, Russian: Черновцы,
English: Chernivtsi, Russian: Cernăuţi, Polish: Czerniowce) is a city in
Chernivtsi Oblast in western Ukraine, and was the capital of the
historical Bukovina region. Together with Bessarabia in the south and
Galicia in the north, this formed the border zone between the Ottoman
Empire, the Russian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy for
centuries. A battlefield of many bloody conflicts, but also a remarkable
place of cultural exchange. Germans, Jews, Ruthenians, Poles, Romanians
and other peoples lived here. The image of the old town is shaped by the
more than 240-year period of the k. and Imperial monarchy, especially
buildings from around 1900, when the city was at its peak.
From
1359 to 1775, Bukovina, and thus also Czernowitz, belonged to the
Principality of Moldova, a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. The city
was first mentioned in documents in 1408, which is why the city
celebrated its 600th anniversary in 2008. In the second half of the 18th
century, however, the region fell to the Austro-Hungarian monarchy as
the Duchy of Bukovina with Chernivtsi as its capital. A result of the
Fifth War between the Russian and Ottoman Empires.
During this
Habsburg period, the city flourished, both economically and culturally.
It attracted Jews in particular, both liberal and Hasidic, when all
anti-Jewish laws in Bukovina were repealed in 1867. A creative,
multicultural mix of Jews, Germans, Romanians, Ukrainians and Poles
developed in "Little Vienna", as Czernowitz was soon called. The German
language was used as the lingua franca. The writers Paul Celan, Rose
Auslander, Gregor von Rezzori, Alfred Margul-Sperber, Karl Emil Franzos,
worked and wrote in German in Czernowitz, as well as scientists such as
Erwin Chargaff, Wilhelm Reich and Joseph Schumpeter. But this
German-speaking cultural dominance was tolerant and did not exclude
other values and cultures, at the same time Chernivtsi was also a center
of national movements, such as the Romanians as well as the Ukrainians.
The Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu, for example, attended a German high
school here, and the Ukrainian national poet Olga Kobylanska wrote her
first texts in German in Chernivtsi.
With the First World War,
however, the multinational Austro-Hungarian monarchy disintegrated into
various national states. And Bukovina was assigned to the state of
Romania in the Treaty of St. Germain. Chernivtsi renamed Cernăuţi. This
Romanianization had only a limited effect. World War II was crucial. On
June 28, 1940, the Soviet Union incorporated the city into its sphere of
influence on the basis of the secret Hitler-Stalin pact, and the German
authorities brought all non-Jewish German nationals from Bukovina "home
to the Reich" within three months ".
Romania then allied itself
with Nazi Germany and, together with the German Wehrmacht, attacked the
Soviet Union in July 1941. The Romanian troops entered Bukovina. Just
one month later, the Romanian military dictator Antonescu ordered the
creation of a Jewish ghetto and the deportation of tens of thousands to
Transnistria, where the majority of them died of starvation and
epidemics. When the Red Army recaptured Czernowitz in 1944, the
Romanian-speaking population had to evacuate the city, and Ukrainians
and Russians settled in the region. If Jews survived the years of
persecution and massacres, they usually emigrated, especially to the
newly founded state of Israel.
After the Second World War, the
multi-ethnic and multi-cultural heritage of the city was largely lost
due to the extermination of many Jews and the resettlement and expulsion
of Germans, Romanians and Poles. Today's Chernivtsi is a less colorful
Ukrainian university town, where student youth sets the tone. But if you
stroll through the streets and admire the magnificent, well-kept
buildings from the Habsburg era, you will always find traces of the time
when this medium-sized city on the Carpathians was a cultural metropolis
known throughout Europe.
Streets and squares
The architectural
legacy of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in the center of the old town,
on the former Ringplatz, today's Central Square, is well maintained due
to the 600th anniversary. The three-storey town hall from the middle of
the 19th century, from whose tower a trumpeter "Maritschka" blows daily
at 12 o'clock, crowns this harmoniously laid out square, which has
experienced an eventful history. Where today a monument to the Ukrainian
national poet Taras Shevchenko can be seen next to flower beds, there
was a Pieta, a statue of Mary, from the Austrian period, from 1922 a
Romanian soldier statue as a symbol of "reunification" with Romania and
after 1940 a Lenin monument with a red flag Star. Among the houses on
the square are particularly beautiful and worth seeing: the art museum
in the former savings bank building and the former hotel "Zum Schwarzen
Adler", central square no. 7, where Franz Liszt once spent the night, as
a plaque on the front of the house reveals.
A few streets further on
you come across the Theaterplatz, originally Fischplatz, then in honor
of the wife of the Austrian Emperor Elisabethplatz and in Romanian times
Alexanderplatz. The magnificent theater building with ornate portal arch
architecture was built in 1905 as the "Czernowitz German City Theatre"
according to plans by the famous Viennese architects Fellner & Helmer.
But since the citizens of Chernivtsi hesitated too long with payment,
these architects did not hesitate to sell their construction plans a
second time. And so now in Fürth in Bavaria there is an identical twin
of this Olga Kobylanska Theater for Music and Drama. Until 1922 there
was a monument by Friedrich Schiller in front of the theatre. Then one
by the Romanian writer Mihai Eminescu. And now, from 1980, a monument to
the Ukrainian national poet Olga Kobylanska. The street names behind the
theater building alone are reminiscent of the past: Schillerstrasse,
Goethestrasse.
Eight streets meet at the central square, including
the city's promenade, the former Herrengasse, now Olha Kobylanska
Street. To this day, it preserves a closed street scene from the late
19th century. The national folk houses, the so-called "doma", are
particularly striking here. The German House (No. 53), where you can
enjoy the best apple strudel, is diagonally opposite the Polish House,
with a bust of Adam Mickiewicz at the entrance. A little further is the
Ukrainian House. The Romanian House is adorned with a picture by Mihai
Eminescu right on the central square, near the town hall. And a museum
was opened in the Jewish House on Theaterplatz. A gratifying sign that
the city administration is obviously trying to maintain the cultural
heritage of the peoples who have lived together in Chernivtsi for a long
time with these cultural centers.
buildings
Yuri Fedkovych
National University (Чернівецький державний університет), 2
Kotsubynskogo Str. The central complex was originally the residence of
the Orthodox metropolitans of Bukovina and Dalmatia. Built between 1864
and 1882 by Czech architect Joseph Hlawka. The brick building is an
imposing, historicizing style mix of Romanesque, Gothic and Byzantine
elements. The university has been housed there since Soviet times. In
2011, the building complex, which includes a former seminary, a
monastery and a domed, cruciform seminary church with a garden and park,
was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The UNESCO Commission
recognized that the residence was "an exceptional testimony to the
cultural tradition of the Orthodox Church, characterized by the use of
Byzantine forms for the cross-domed church and the decorative patterns
in the complex's roofs, which refer to the folk culture of the people of
Bukovina Clues".
Museums
Kunstmuseum, Zentralplatz 10. Tel:
(0372) 526071. The museum was established in the building of the former
Sparkasse, one of the most architecturally interesting buildings in the
Vienna Secession style. Built by Hubert Gessner, who completed his
apprenticeship with the famous Art Nouveau master builder Otto Wagner.
The mosaic image on the front of the building depicts twelve ancient
deities symbolizing provinces of Austria-Hungary - Bukovina is depicted
as a young man dressed in a goatskin. The museum presents fine arts and
folk art of Bukovina from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
Regional
Museum, 28 Olha Koblianska Str. Tel.: (0372) 524489. The museum was
founded in 1863. Today this museum has more than 90,000 exhibits of
various types and quality. Among other things, old prints, such as a
unique bible by Ivan Fedorov from 1581, a large collection of coins,
weapons, and a collection of costumes.
Open-Air Museum (Чернівецький
обласний державний музей народної архітектури та побуту), Switlowodska
Str. Tel.: (0372) 62970 More than three dozen wooden houses from
Bukovina villages have been built on the premises of the museum: two
windmills from the village of Rukshyn near Chotyn, a smithy, chicken
coops, wells, stables for horses. A wooden church with a bell tower from
the Kitsman region. The interior of the houses, with many authentic
details, gives a good impression of country life in the 19th and 20th
centuries.
Museum of Culture and History of Jews of Bukovina (Музей
історії та культури євреїв Буковини), Theater Square 5, Театральна
площа, 5/1, Чернівці, Україна. Tel.: (0372) 550666, email:
jm.chernivtsi@gmail.com The museum was opened in 2008 for the 600th
anniversary of Chernivtsi. The exhibition is located in the former
Jewish National House on Theaterplatz. It evokes the atmosphere of
Jewish life in Chernivtsi between 1774 and 1941. The exhibits include
many authentic items from everyday Jewish life and religious practice:
old books, documents, postcards, photographs. In addition, the rich
cultural heritage of the Bukovinian Jews is documented here, and the
important international Yiddish conference in Chernivtsi in 1908 is
discussed, when the question was whether Yiddish or Hebrew should be the
Jewish national language. The museum also offers audio guides and a
detailed brochure in German. Open: Tue-Fri 11am-3pm, Sat 10am-2pm, Sun
10am-1pm.
Monuments
Two of the most
important German-speaking poets of the last century are honored with
plaques on the front of the house in Chernivtsi.
Birthplace of
Rose Auslander, Sagaydachnogo Str. 56. In this house the young poetess
survived the two-year period of persecution during the Romanian
occupation with her mother in a hiding place in the basement.
Birthplace of Paul Celan, Saksojanska Street 5. When a memorial plaque
was placed on this house, the house number was wrong. Celan was born in
the house next door, in a more modest building that has not yet been
restored. Celan's parents were deported to Transnistria in 1942. His
father died of typhoid and his mother was shot. Celan himself survived
the forced labor in Romanian labor camps.
Churches, Mosques,
Synagogues, Temples
Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, 85 Holovna St. The
cathedral was built in 1864 by the Orthodox Metropolitan Hakman, whose
monument stands in the church grounds. The archbishop's crown and the
crosier can be seen on a blue background above the main entrance. Some
paintings inside the neoclassical building were lost during the Soviet
era, when the church was turned into an exhibition hall. The renovated
cathedral is now used again for masses by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Nicholas Cathedral (Собор святого Миколая Чудотворця), Russka Str. 35
The also Ukrainian Orthodox cathedral is nicknamed the "Drunken Church"
because of its four twisted and crooked towers that act like an optical
illusion. This cathedral is a modern neo-Romanesque copy of a
14th-century cathedral. A cathedral in Kurtja de Ardjesh (Romania) where
the last Romanian kings are buried.
Nicholas Church (Миколаївська
церква), Sahajdatschni Str. At a time when the Orthodox were forbidden
to build churches on the territory of the Ottoman Empire.
Virmen
Church, Russka Str. 28. The church is used by the Greek Catholic
community. This church community maintains the orthodox-Byzantine rite,
but has been united with Rome since 1593 and recognizes the Catholic
Pope as its spiritual leader.
Peter and Paul Armenian Church
(Вірменська церква (Чернівці)), Ukrainska Str. The church was built in
1869-1875 in Byzantine-Gothic style and was used by the Armenian ethnic
group in Chernivtsi until 1940. Since 1992, the organ concerts of the
Philharmonic have been held here.
Benjamin Synagogue, Luciana
Kobylytsja Str. 5. The small Hasidic synagogue from 1923 is the only
place of worship in Chernivtsi still used by members of the Jewish
faith. The facade combines Mauritanian and neo-Romanesque style
elements. Other synagogues have been rebuilt into a sports hall, a
furniture factory, or a movie theater on Universytetska. Paul Celan once
went into this building, which is now called "Cinemagoge", and served
Joseph Schmidt, a celebrated tenor in the 1930s, as a child as
"Schammes" and sang in the choir.
festivals
International motocross competitions are regularly held
in the sports park around the Supercross route (226-B, Ruska Street). In
May 2013 there was the Motocross World Championship for motorcycles with
sidecars and in July 2013 the Motocross World Championship in the MX3
class.
In mid-July, at the traditional Petrivka fair, artisans,
so-called folk masters, from Bukovina present themselves at the 'Peter
and Paul' fair: potters, stonemasons, weavers, fur makers, glass
blowers, wood carvers, etc watch dances.
In early September, the city
promotes the city's cultural and literary tradition with its latest
festival, the Meridian International Poetry Festival. National Ukrainian
literature and international cultural exchange, especially with
German-language literature, are maintained with public poetry readings,
theater performances and book publications.
And on the first weekend
of October, the city decorates itself on all streets and squares for
mass games and performances of variety groups and brass bands at the
Chernivtsi City Festival.
City walks
Tourist information center, Holovna street 16. Here you can borrow audio
guides for a city tour for free. A passport is required as security.
Open: 10.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
To the right of the main entrance to the
art museum at Zentralplatz 10 is a souvenir shop with a tourist office
that organizes German-language tours (EUR 15 per hour).
Denkdach
Center, Kozyubynskoho Street 2, Yuriy Fedkovich University of
Chernivtsi, Building No. 6, Room No. 46. Tel.: +38 (0372) 526865,
e-mail: info@geddankendach.org The center places German-speaking
students for private city tours through Chernivtsi.
By plane
Chernivtsi Airport (Міжнародний аеропорт «Чернівці»,
IATA: CWC), V. Chkalov St. 30. Tel.: +38 (03722) 4-15-30
Airport
code: CWC
Flights to and from Kiev with FlexFlight and YanAir. By
Carpatair (tel: + (380 50) 062 6281, e-mail: chernivtsi@carpatair.com)
connections between Chernivtsi and Timisoara, Bacau, Craiova, Iasi in
Romania; Florence, Milan-Bergamo, Rome-Fiumicino, Venice in Italy;
Dusseldorf, Munich, Stuttgart in Germany; Chisinau in Moldova; Lviv in
Ukraine
Minibus number 38 connects the airport with the city
center (1.50 UAH). A taxi ride to the center costs about 15 UAH. You
should negotiate the price beforehand.
Other nearby airports:
Ivano-Frankivsk International Airport (IFO )117 km, Suceava Stefan cel
Mare Airport, Romania (SCV) 69 km.
In the city center there is
this one
Airlines Ticket Office, Zentralplatz 7. Tel.: +38 (0372)
58-52-95.
By train
Main Railway Station (Чернівці), 38 Y.
Gagarin St. Tel.: +38 (0372) 59-21-90, +38 (0372) 59-23-02 (ticket
office)
Even if you don't want to take the train, a visit to the
magnificent building is worthwhile. Austrian architects built it in
1909. There are daily connections with Kyiv (15 hours, 119 UAH), Lviv
(5.5 - 11 hours, 70 UAH), Odessa (17 hours, 170 UAH). The Moscow-Sofia
international line runs through Chernivtsi. And four times a week: Varna
- Moscow. The schedule of the Chernivtsi station
By bus
Central Bus Station (Автовокзал "Центральний" / Avtovoksal
"Zentral'nyj"), Holovna St. 219. Tel.: +38 (03722) 4-16-35.
The
bus station is about 3 km from the city center on Holovna street. There
are regular buses to Khotyn (2 hours), Kamianets-Podilskyi (2.5 hours),
Ivano-Frankivsk (4 hours) and Lviv (7.5 hours). Twice daily
long-distance buses to Kiev (9 hours) and Odessa (13 hours). In the
morning at 7 a.m. a bus to Suceava, (Romania).
In this bus
station you can also find minibuses for different routes, which only
leave when all seats are occupied
In the street
The 2300 km
long European Route 85 runs through the city, which begins on the Baltic
Sea in Klaipėda in Lithuania and runs through Lithuania, Belarus,
Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria to the Mediterranean Sea to Alexandroupoli in
Greece. Another important road connection exists in the direction of
Lviv (Lemberg) via Ivano-Frankivsk.
Since a lot of things can be easily reached on foot in the city
center of Chernivtsi, you only need a bus and taxi in exceptional cases.
By bus
Trolleybus lines 3 and 5 connect the main train station
and the central bus station via the city center. However, they are
usually overcrowded. You pay on the bus to the driver or conductor. If
you change, you need a new ticket.
Taxi
Taxi rides within the city range from 10 to 25 UAH. Here are some phone
numbers: Czerniwtzi Taxi 559191, Favorit Taxi 556677, Elit Taxi 545454.
Reflection, 66, Holovna Str. Tel.: +38 (0372) 526682. Good Ukrainian
cuisine.
Wiener Café, 49, O. Kobyljunska Str. Tel.: +38 (0372)
522-821. Coffee house with a large selection of cakes and freshly baked
pastries.
Restaurant Knaus, 4, Khudyakov Str. Tel.: +38 (0372)
510255. German bratwurst and German beer.
Potato House, 11,
M.Zan'koveskoji Str. Snack bar with potato dishes and pancakes. Open:
10am-10pm.
Bar Koleso, 4, Kobylyanska Str. Tel.: +38 (0372) 523700.
Ukrainian and Western European cuisine. Open: 12.00 - 22.00.
Hotel Bukovyna, 141, Holovna Street. Tel.: +38(0372) 585-625, e-mail:
info@bukovyna-hotel.com. Price: SR 225-285 UAH, DR pp 120-225 UAH.
Hotel Cheremosh, 13-А, Komarov Street. Tel: +38(0372) 585-588, email:
marketing@hotel-cheremosh.com.ua. Price: SR 160-315 UAH, DR pp 105-210
UAH.
Hotel Delta, 3, Gaidar Street. Tel.: +38(03722) 35325, email:
delta.cv.ua@gmail.ru. Price: SR 150 UAH.
Hotel Kaiser, 51, Gagarin
Street. Phone: +38(0372) 585-275, email: info@kaiser-hotel.com.ua.
VIP Suits Knaus, 4/3, Hudyakov Street. Phone: +38(0372) 510-255. Price:
EZ 690 UAH.
Hotel Kviv, 46, Holovna Street. Phone: +38(0372) 520-856.
Price: SR 90-190 UAH, double room p.p. 90-145 UAH.
Hotel Leoton,
30-C, Chkalov Street. Tel: +38(0372) 589-028, Email:
hotelleoton@gmail.com. Price: SR 160-350 UAH, DR pp 110-150 UAH.
Hotel Magnate, 16А, L. Tolstoy Street. Phone: +38(0372)526-420. Price:
EZ 130 UAH.
Hotel Magnate Lux, 6, Sheptytsky Street. Phone: +38(0372)
583-212.
Hotel Premium, 124-B, Holovna Street. Tel.: +38(0372)
528-899, e-mail: hotel-premium@mail.ru. Price: SR 240 UAH, double room
p.p. 290 UAH.
Hotel Premium Club, 4-D, Jasminna Street. Tel.:
+38(0372) 554-698, Email: premier_club@e-masl.ua. Price: double room
p.p. 150 UAH.
The Thought Roof Center, 2 Kozyubynskoho Street, Chernivtsi Yuriy Fedkovich University, building No. 5, room No. 150. Tel.: +38 (0372) 526865, e-mail: info@gedankendach.org. was initiated by the German department at the university and includes the "Ukrainian-German Cultural Society" and the "Center for German-language Studies". It offers internships in the field of German as a foreign language and in the conception and organization of intercultural and scientific projects for students from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The minimum period for an internship is 6 weeks.
Pharmacy, Holovna street 17. Tel.: +380 (0)372 510768. Edit info
Pharmacy, Holovna street 44. Tel.: +380 (0)372 522372. Edit info
Medicines are relatively cheap, they are sold freely. Prescriptions are
not necessary.
Ambulance: Tel. 103
Chernivtsi Tourist Information Center, 16 Holovna St. Tel.: +38
(0372) 553-684, (0372) 585-157.
Main Post Office, Khudiakova Str. No.
6.
Telephone tip: To call between Ukrainian cities, dial zero and
then the area code without the leading zero. To call abroad, 00 + then
the country code. The Chernowitz area code is: 0372 for 6-digit numbers
and 03722 for 5-digit numbers.