Gura Humorului

Gura Humorului (Romanian pronunciation: [ˌɡura huˈmoruluj]; Hebrew and Yiddish: גורה חומורולוי - Gure Humuruluei or גורא הומאָרא - Gura Humora; German and Polish: Gura Humora) is a town in Suceava County, north-eastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Gura Humorului is the seventh largest urban settlement in the county, with a population of 12,729 inhabitants, according to the 2011 census. It was declared a town in 1904 and it became a resort in 2005. The town administers the former village of Voroneț (which became a neighborhood), site of Voroneț Monastery.

Gura Humorului
Town
View from Gura Humorului's town center
Coat of arms
Location in Suceava County
Gura Humorului
Location in Romania
Coordinates: 47°33′14″N 25°53′21″E
Country Romania
CountySuceava
Government
 • MayorMarius Ioan Ursăciuc[1] (Ind.)
Area
60.90 km2 (23.51 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[2]
13,667
 • Density220/km2 (580/sq mi)
Time zoneEET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Vehicle reg.SV
WebsiteOfficial site

Administration and local politics

Town council

The town's current local council has the following political composition, according to the results of the 2016 Romanian local elections:

    Party Seats Current Council
  National Liberal Party (PNL) 12                        
  Social Democratic Party (PSD) 5                        

Geography

Gura Humorului is located in the north-eastern part of Romania, in southern Bukovina. The town is situated at the eastern limit of Obicinele Bucovinei mountains, in Humorului Depression, at the confluence of Moldova River and Humor River. The average altitude of the town is 470 meters. The European route E58 and the Suceava - Vatra Dornei railway pass through the town. Suceava, the county capital, is located 34 km away. The town of Frasin is located nearby Gura Humorului (only 7 km away).

Demographics

According to the 1775 Austrian Bukovina census, its population comprised only about 60,000 spread over 10,422 square kilometers. In order to encourage the development of this sparsely-settled land, the authorities subsidized the immigration of colonists to Bukovina. With the end of the first wave of settlement, colonists were to continue arriving at their own expense. As a result of these policies, the census of 1910 showed that the population had risen to over 800,000. People of many different ethnic groups took part in this immigration, including Germans, Rusyns, Hungarians, Ukrainians, Poles, Romanians, and Jews.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1910 5,308—    
1930 6,042+13.8%
1948 4,573−24.3%
1956 7,216+57.8%
1966 9,081+25.8%
1977 13,235+45.7%
1992 16,629+25.6%
2002 15,656−5.9%
2011 12,729−18.7%
2016 17,047+33.9%
Source: Austrian and Romanian census data and/or official estimates

In 1992, Gura Humorului had a population of about 17,000 inhabitants were living within the town limits. As of 2016, the town's population surpassed this limit by a very slim margin.[3]

According to the 2011 census data, Gura Humorului had a total population of 12,729 inhabitants: 97.03% were ethnic Romanians, 1.79% Roma, 0.52% Germans (Bukovina Germans), 0.27% Poles, 0.12% Ukrainians, 0.10% Hungarians and 0.07% Russians (including Lipovans).

Gura Humorului is the seventh most populated urban locality in Suceava County and the second most populated locality with the status of town (after Vicovu de Sus).

History
Austrian KK postal card mailed from Gurahumora in 1878

Between 1774 and 1918, Gura Humorului belonged to the Austrian monarchy. During World War I, Bukovina became a battlefield between Austria opposing Russian and Romanian troops. Although the Russians were finally driven out in 1917, defeated Austria would cede the Bukovina province to Romania through the Treaty of Saint-Germain (1919).

Jewish history of Gura Humorului
Main article: History of the Jews in Romania

No Jews lived in Gura Humorului before 1835, when they were allowed to settle, joining other, already represented, ethnic groups (such as Germans from Bohemia, mainly from the Böhmerwald: thirty families settled on the mountainous and densely forested lands nearby the town, establishing a quarter named Bori). The Jewish community began to flourish in 1869, when they formed around a third of the town's population (880 people); the same year, a Beth midrash was established.

A turning point in the town's history was the disastrous fire of May 11, 1899 which destroyed most of the town, more than 400 houses, including many Jewish businesses and homes. It was rebuilt with donations from the United States Jewish communities. The Jewish community in Gura Humorului continued to grow, reaching 1,951 members in 1927.

Jewish cultural life reached its peak in the inter-war period. The languages of choice in city life were Yiddish, German and Romanian. Most of the Jewish community adhered to Orthodox Judaism, and Jewish youngsters studied the Torah along with secular subjects such as geography, history, and mathematics. The community had established Jewish social and political institutions that contributed to all fields of public life.

While persecutions began to increase under the threats posed by Romanian fascist movements such as the Iron Guard, it was World War II that brought an end to Jewish presence in Gura Humorului. Under the dictatorship of Ion Antonescu, Jews were rounded up and deported to Transnistria, where most of them perished – mass murdered through various means, including shootings and criminal negligence (see Holocaust in Romania). Virtually all of the Jewish community in Gura Humorului was deported: 2,945 people were all transported on October 10, 1941.

The vast majority of survivors migrated to Israel in 1947–1951. Statistics show that they numbered below 500 people in all at the time of their departure.

Twin towns – sister cities

Natives
  • Panoramic view of the town
  • The Town Hall
  • The Town Court
  • School No. 1
  • School No. 2
  • Hotel Bucovina
  • Traditional Romanian wooden house
  • Olha Kobylianska Statue
  • The Roman Catholic Church
  • The Orthodox Cathedral
  • The Synagogue
  • Voroneț Monastery
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References
  1. "Results of the 2016 local elections". Central Electoral Bureau. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  2. "Populaţia stabilă pe judeţe, municipii, oraşe şi localităti componenete la RPL_2011" (in Romanian). National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  3. "Populaţia României pe localitati la 1 ianuarie 2016" (in Romanian). INSSE. 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-10-27. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  4. "Orașul Gura Humorului înfrățit cu localitatea poloneză Puck". Ziare.com. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  5. "Decision No 183 on 5 December 2006 by Sulina" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
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