Bukovina Day in Romania Date in the current year: November 28, 2024

Bukovina is a historical region in Eastern Europe. Today, it is divided between Romania (Southern Bukovina) and Ukraine (Northern Bukovina). The first state formation on the territory of present-day Bukovina was the Antes tribal union. After that, Bukovina was part of Kyivan Rus’ in the 10th and 11th centuries and of the Principality of Galicia—Volhynia in the 12th and 13th centuries.

In the mid-14th century, Bukovina became part of the Moldavian state. Two centuries later Moldova, and by extension Bukovina, became a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, the region was occupied by the Imperial Russian Army. When the war ended, the Austrian Empire expressed interest in Bukovina.

The region was occupied by the Austrian Empire in 1774 and was formally annexed in 1775. In 1777, Bukovina officially swore allegiance to the Habsburg monarchy. The region remained part of the Austrian Empire and, from 1867 onward, of Austria-Hungary until 1918.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed during World War I. On November 1, 1918, members of the Ukrainian national movement proclaimed the West Ukrainian People’s Republic in the ethnically Ukrainian part of Austria-Hungary, which included Northern Bukovina. Two days later, a popular assembly in Chernivtsi confirmed the reunification of Northern Bukovina and the West Ukrainian People’s Republic (it was assumed that ethnically Romanian Southern Bukovina would join Romania).

However, Romanian Bukovinian politician Iancu Flondor reached out to the Romanian government, and Romania occupied the entirety of Bukovina on November 11. On November 28, 1918, the self-proclaimed General Congress of Bukovina, which consisted of Romanian, Polish and German representatives (but no Ukrainians), proclaimed the union of Bukovina with the Kingdom of Romania.

During the interwar period, Romanian authorities initiated Romanianization policies to assimilate the Ukrainian population of Bukovina, closing public Ukrainian schools and limiting the enrollment of Ukrainian students in the Chernivtsi University. In 1940, the USSR annexed Northern Bukovina, and it became part of Chernivtsi Oblast of Ukraine. Southern Bukovina, however, remained with Romania.

Bukovina Day has been officially celebrated in Romania since 2015. It is observed primarily in Suceava County because most of its territory lies in Southern Bukovina. Local authorities organize commemorative events in Câmpulung Moldovenesc, Putna, Rădăuți, Suceava, Vatra Dornei, and other cities in the Romanian part of Bukovina.

Bukovina Day is also observed by ethnic Romanians in Chernivtsi Oblast of Ukraine, who attend events organized by the Romanian embassy and various Romanian cultural centers.