[Cz-L]Translation of description of Czernowitz from a website advertising tours of Czernowitz

A few days ago I sent this list information about a website advertising
tours of Czernowitz in the German language. I enjoyed reading their
descriptions of the city and it's past, I hope you will too.
What follows is my translation:

Through the capital of Bukovina, there blows with pain, pride and glory,
the breath of old times. In the past 600 years, untold numbers of fates,
cultures, religions and origins became interwoven in a multi-fibrous carpet
of history. The city has much to report. You may experience the Jewish,
German, Ukrainian, Polish, Armenian, Romanian and Austrian past in a unique
mixture! In your departure for Europe you may discover a city neglected by
the world.

More about Czernowitz:

"Do not believe that Czernowitz is a city. It is a world. It could equally
well be a suburb of Vienna as of New-York" (Nora Gray, author)

In the year 1408, it belonged to the principality of Moldavia and as such,
is mentioned for the first time. The city on the Prut, situated on an
important mercantile route to the black sea, was always the object of desir=
e
of many powers. The region was occupied by Turkey, in the 16th century and
remained so until the peace of Küçük Kaynarca in the year 1774, which
signaled the end of the Russo-Turkish war. In 1775 the Bukovina, including
the city of Czernowitz fell to the Habsburgs and their rule. In 1848 it
became the capital of the crown-land of Bukowina, which led to a cultural
flowering and it remained such till the end of the first world war in 1918.

This period became a time of rich culturally creative endeavors, such as
The impressive architecture, which to this day lends the city its particula=
r
charm and earned it the name "Klein-Wien" (small-Vienna). A determining
factor for the cultural ascendancy of Czernowitz, was the multi-ethnic
composition of the population. Here there lived Ukrainians, Jews, Romanians=
,
Armenians and Germans peacefully next to each other and together imprinted
the community and the cultural life of the city. As such, Czernowitz,
starting from the second half of the 19th century, presented a widely
developed newspaper scene. From 1848 till 1940, there were published 370
different newspapers, among them 200 German, 68 Ukrainian, 50 Romanian,
28 Polish and 24 Jewish - this a considerable offering in comparison to
other European cities of the time.

Neither did technical progress stop short of Czernowitz. An electric
tram-way was introduced in 1897, actually half a year earlier than in
Vienna. Unfortunately this project had to be abandoned* due to technical
complications related to the ascending and descending terrain of Czernowitz=
.

After 1918 the city under the name of Cernauti belonged to Romania, from
1944, by the name of Cernovcy to the Soviet Union and since independence,
named Cernivci, to Ukraine.

* my note:
There definitely were tramcars in operation in Czernowitz in my childhood.
Long after 1897. Does anyone know when they were reinstated?
There also was a trolley-buss, which was called "omni-buss".

My question: Czernowitzer - hoch gebildet or eingebildet?
             (Czernowitzers - highly educated or conceited?)

Mimi

[some of the diacritical marks might not show properly if you don't have eu=
ropean fonts' installed - moderator j]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
--
This moderated discussion group is for information exchange on the subject =
of
 Czernowitz and Sadagora Jewish History and Genealogy. The opinions express=
ed
 in these posts are the opinions of the original poster only and not necess=
arily
 the opinions of the List Owner, the Webmaster or any other members
 or entities connected with this mailing list. The Czernowitz-L list has
 an associated web site at http://czernowitz.ehpes.com that includes a
 searchable archive of all messages posted to this list. Please post in "P=
lain
 Text" if possible (help available at:
<http://www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/PlainText.html>).

To remove your address from this e-list follow the directions at
http://www.cit.cornell.edu/computer/elist/lyris/leave.html

To receive assistance for this e-list send an e-mail message to:
owner-Czernowitz-L_at_list.cornell.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
--
Received on 2008-12-23 02:38:38