Poles in Romania

According to the 2011 census, 2,543 Poles live in Romania, mainly in the villages of Suceava County (Polish: Suczawa). There are three exclusively Polish villages: Nowy Sołoniec (Solonețu Nou), Plesza (Pleșa) and Pojana Mikuli (Poiana Micului), as well a significant Polish presence in Kaczyca (Cacica) and Paltynosa (Păltinoasa). Poles in Romania form an officially recognised national minority, having one seat in the Chamber of Deputies of Romania (currently held by the Union of Poles of Romania) and access to Polish elementary schools and cultural centres (known as "Polish Houses").

Poles in Romania
Poles in Romania (2002 census)
Total population
2,543 (2011)
Regions with significant populations
Suceava County
Languages
Polish, Romanian
Related ethnic groups
Polish diaspora

History
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1930 48,310—    
1948 6,753−86.0%
1956 7,627+12.9%
1966 5,860−23.2%
1977 4,641−20.8%
1992 4,232−8.8%
2002 3,559−15.9%
2011 2,543−28.5%
Official census data

The first Poles settled in Bukovina in the times of Casimir III (specifically during the Late Middle Ages). Most of the Poles immigrating after 1774 were looking for work. So it was that Polish miners from Bochnia and Wieliczka were brought to salt mines in Cacica. Another wave of Polish immigration arrived in Bukovina in the early 19th century, when the region was a crownland of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as was a significant portion of present-day southern Poland (see: Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria).

Around 1803 Polish highlanders from Čadca (Polish: Czaca, Czadca) settled in Treblecz (Tereblecea) by Siret, in Stara Huta Krasna and in Kaliczanka and again in 1814-1819, this time settling in Hliboka (Adâncata) and Tereszna. Nowy Sołoniec was settled in 1834, Plesza in 1835 and Pojana Mikuli in 1842. At that time, Bukovina was a very attractive place to live in because of Austria's policy not to conscript recruits into its army from there (service in the Austrian army at that time was for a 14-year term). Moreover, Bukovina was free from serfdom, attracting immigrants of German (Bukovina Germans), Jewish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Italian, and Polish nationality.

There were probably other waves of migration from Poland after the November and Kraków Uprisings, but most Poles were from peasant families relocated there by the Empire's authorities after they participated in the Jakub Szela insurrection.

Communes with the highest Polish population percentage
Map of Suceava County, southern Bukovina (in Polish)

Notable Polish-Romanians
  • The Polish House in Suceava (Dom Polski w Suczawie), built at the round of the 20th century (between 1903-1907)
  • Polish newspaper in Romania
  • The salt mine in Cacica, Suceava county, southern Bukovina
  • Roman Catholic basilica in Cacica
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See also
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