Are Your Ancestors from Bukovina?

Posted on December 14, 2006 by Lorelle VanFossen

I don’t think I have any ancestors from Bukovina, but the The Bukovina Society of the Americas caught my attention.

Where, and what, is Bukovina?

From 1775 to 1918, the easternmost crown land of the Austrian Empire; now divided between Romania and Ukraine. As a multi-ethnic province, its name has several spellings: Bukowina or Buchenland in German, Bukowina in Polish, Bucovina in Romanian, and Bukovyna in Ukrainian, all of which mean Land of Beech Trees…Bukovina, on the eastern slopes of the Carpathian mountains, was once the heart of the Romanian Principality of Moldavia, with the city of Suceava being made its capital in 1388.

While under various rules over the years, including the Ottoman Turks, Russians, Austrians, Hungarian, and others, and a major battlefield during World War I, it became Russian territory after World War II and is now divided between the Chernivetska oblast of the Ukraine and Romania to the south.

An areas only 10,422 square kilometers, and home of a variety of cultures and ethnic backgrounds which moved through the area during it’s many hand offs to ruling parties, you will find “Armenians, Hungarians, Jews, Poles, Romanians and Ukrainians (at this time, generally referred to as Ruthenians). German colonists came from three distinct areas: Swabians and Palatines, from what is now Baden-Württemberg and Rheinland-Pfalz, in southwest Germany; German Bohemians, from the Bohemian Forest (BÃhmerwald), now in the Czech Republic; and Zipsers, from the Zips mountains, now Spis county, Slovakia.”

As few of us modern folks have ever heard of this place, it could be that one of your ancestors was either from or passed through the area, so it may be worth exploring if your family hails from Eastern Europe.

Again, I have no record of any family member from the area, so please do not ask for help finding your family members from Bukovina. This is provided as information. Go to the The Bukovina Society of the Americas for help.

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About Lorelle VanFossen

Lorelle VanFossen hosts Family History Blog covering her ancestors and related family members. She is one of the top bloggers in the world, and host of the Lorelle on WordPress, providing WordPress and blogging tips for bloggers of all levels. A popular keynote speaker and trainer, she is also editor, producer, contributor, and official disruptive thinker for Bitwire Media which includes WordCast, Making My Life Network, Stories of Our Journeys, Life on the Road, WordCast Conversations, and the very popular WordCast Podcast.
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