Ion ȘTEFANOVICI, President of CAPDR: “Chernivtsi Remains a Landmark of European Memory and a Strategic Space for Romania–Ukraine Cooperation”
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My First Visit to Chernivtsi Left a Profound Impression on Me. It Is One of Those Cities Where History Can Be Felt Directly – in Its Buildings, Streets, Institutions, Names, and in the Memory of the Communities That Lived and Created Here.
Chernivtsi is a landmark of historical Bukovina, a place where Romanian culture, Ukrainian culture, and the heritage of Central Europe have converged in a model of civilization with genuine European value. Here, education, faith, administration, culture, and community life have, for generations, built a living bridge between peoples, languages, religious denominations, and traditions.
An important moment of the visit was my presence at the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, located within the former Residence of the Metropolitans of Bukovina and Dalmatia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This place possesses a unique symbolic power. Its architecture, the solemnity of its buildings, its spiritual legacy, and its academic vocation offer one of the most expressive images of historical Bukovina.
The University of Chernivtsi was founded in 1875 during the Austro-Hungarian Empire under the name Franz-Josephs-Universität Czernowitz. Following the Union of Bukovina with Romania, the institution became known as King Carol I University of Chernivtsi, entering a period of remarkable development in education, research, and Romanian cultural life in this part of Europe.
Chernivtsi also holds a special significance for Romanian culture through the personalities who were educated, worked, or were deeply connected to this space. Mihai Eminescu spent his formative secondary school years here, under the guidance of Aron Pumnul, one of Bukovina’s most important cultural figures. Ciprian Porumbescu absorbed the cultural and patriotic spirit of Chernivtsi, being closely associated with the Academic Society “Arboroasa” and with the ideals of a generation that transformed culture into national energy.
From the same Chernivtsi intellectual milieu emerged figures such as Dimitrie Onciul, historian and member of the Romanian Academy; Simion Florea Marian, theologian, folklorist, and ethnographer; Ion Nistor, historian of Bukovina, professor, and rector of the University of Chernivtsi; Sextil Pușcariu, a distinguished philologist and linguist; and Gheorghe I. Brătianu, a historian of European stature. Through these personalities, Chernivtsi contributed significantly to the development of modern Romanian culture and to the consolidation of an intellectual elite with European relevance.
During the visit, I also had the pleasure of reaching the Consulate General of Romania in Chernivtsi, an institution that plays an essential role in maintaining the connection between Romania, the Romanian community in Northern Bukovina, and the Ukrainian authorities.
It was a genuine pleasure to meet again with Consul General Irina Stănculescu, a diplomat who understands very well the sensitivity of this region and the importance of balanced, respectful cooperation focused on tangible results.
For CAPDR – the Center for Analysis and Regional Development Planning, dialogue with Romania’s institutional representatives in Chernivtsi holds strategic value. Romanian–Ukrainian cooperation can be further developed through educational, cultural, economic, tourism, academic, administrative, and cross-border projects.
CAPDR will support, through projects, partnerships, and practical initiatives, the strengthening of ties between communities, institutions, and professional environments in Romania and Ukraine. Historical Bukovina provides a natural framework for this direction of work, while Chernivtsi can become one of the key centers of a new chapter in regional cooperation.
The Romania–Ukraine relationship requires strong bridges built on trust, mutual respect, shared memory, and well-structured projects. CAPDR assumes the role of contributing to this process through analysis, planning, institutional dialogue, and initiatives capable of transforming neighborhood relations into a space of sustainable cooperation.
Chernivtsi therefore remains a place of living history—a city of Bukovina, of European culture, of Romanian memory, and of a form of cooperation that can look toward the future with dignity and confidence.
