Siret (; german: Sereth; hu, Szeretvásár; uk, Серет, Seret; yi, סערעט, Seret) is a town, municipality and former Latin bishopric in

Suceava County Suceava County () is a county ('' ro, județ'') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat is the historical town ...

, northeastern

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It is situated in the historical region of

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berge ...

. Siret is the 11th largest urban settlement in the county, with a population of 7,721 inhabitants, according to the 2011 census. It is one of the oldest towns in Romania and was the capital of the medieval

Principality of Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Central ...

during the late 14th century. Furthermore, the town administers two villages: Mănăstioara and Pădureni.

Administration and local politics

Town council

The town's current local council has the following political composition, according to the results of the 2020 Romanian local elections:

Geography

The town of Siret is located at the north-eastern limit of Suceava County, from the border with Ukraine, being one of the main border passing points in the north of the country, having both a road border post and a rail connection. The rail is on a

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...

on the Romanian side and continues as a Russian-style

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union ( C ...

into Ukraine. Siret (actually the nearby border passing point called VicșaniVadul Siret) is one of the few places in Romania which provides a gauge change equipment, allowing transportation without transfer. Siret is situated at the half distance between

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the u ...

and Suceava, on the right banks of

Siret River The Siret or Sireth ( uk, Сірет or Серет, ro, Siret , hu, Szeret, russian: Сирет) is a river that rises from the Carpathians in the Northern Bukovina region of Ukraine, and flows southward into Romania before it joins the Danube. ...

. The European route E85 crosses the city.

History

During the period 1211–1225, on a hill near Siret a fortress was built by the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

. The town and the Teutonic castle were destroyed by the

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different Turki ...

in 1241. The first document of Siret dates back to 1339, according to some historical sources. Seret is mentioned as a Russian city in Wallachia in the List of Russian cities (1370-1390). The town was the capital of the former principality of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

, in the late 14thcentury. The Russian Imperial Army occupied the town in 1770, and, as a consequence, an epidemic of

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting an ...

broke out. Together with the rest of

, Siret was under the imperial rule of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

(later

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

) from 1775 to 1918. During the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1774-1918) Siret was a city with a number of important Ukrainian institutions (branches of the

Ruska Besida in Bukovina Ruska may refer to: Places Slovak villages *Ruská *Ruská Bystrá *Ruská Kajňa *Ruská Poruba *Ruská Voľa *Ruská Volová *Ruská Nová Ves Other *Rava-Ruska, a city in Ukraine *Ruska Bela, a city in Bulgaria *Ruska, a village in Seliatyn, ...

and the

Ukrainska Shkola Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state lan ...

society; the

Ukrainian Bursa Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * S ...

, etc.). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Siret was captured on 3April 1944 by

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

troops of the

1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...

in the course of the Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive.

Religions

Given the 14th century decline of the

Byzantine empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

as Orthodox regional superpower-ally and Latin mendicant orders missions since the 13th century, the prince

Bogdan I of Moldavia Bogdan I, or Bogdan the Founder ( ro, Bogdan Întemeietorul), was the first independent ruler, or voivode, of Moldavia in the 1360s. He had initially been the voivode, or head, of the Vlachs in the Voivodeship of Maramureș in the Kingdom of Hu ...

obtained virtual independence in 1359 as founding ''

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

'' (autonomous prince), seeking aid and protection from Poland, welcomed Latin missionaries, Francescans (founding a monastery at Siret in 1340) and Dominicans. His son and indirect successor

Lațcu of Moldavia Lațcu was Voivode of Moldavia from c. 1367 to c. 1375. He converted to the Roman Catholic faith and attempted to strengthen his realm's autonomy by establishing a Roman Catholic diocese directly subordinated to the Holy See. However, he see ...

(1365-1373) promised Rome his and the people's conversion to Catholicism and asked

Pope Urban V Pope Urban V ( la, Urbanus V; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was the head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the ...

to send missionaries and erect a Latin diocese in his principality's capital, Siret, which happened in 1371, initially directly subject to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

until 1412 when it was made suffragan of the Archbishopric of Lviv (Lwów in Polish; now in Ukraine). Siret Holocaust memorial, Holon cemetery, Israel

This Roman Catholic Diocese of Siret started to decline in 1388 when prince

Petru of Moldavia Petru (Peter) I may have been a Voivode (prince) of Moldavia from the end of 1367 to after July 1368. Several historians, including Constantin Rezachevici and Ioan Aurel Pop, believe him to have been the son of prince Ştefan, oldest son of voiv ...

transferred the Moldavian voivode's capital from Siret to Suceava, and was effectively suppressed, but from circa 1418, the Holy See erected another Moldavian bishopric, the Diocese of Baia, which inherited its territory ( 1434). There was a Jewish community by the mid-16th century. Zionist activity began at the turn of the 20thcentury, a time when most of the local Jews worked in commerce. From 1912 to 1918, the mayor was Jewish and the town council included Jews. During World WarI, Jews fled in advance of the Imperial Russian Army, and found their property destroyed when they returned. After the union of Bukovina with Romania, the new authorities revoked licenses for Jewish members of the free professions and removed Jewish officials from their posts. In 1930, there were 2,121 Jews or 14% of the town's population. In 1936, Baruch Hager of the Vizhnitz dynasty was named rabbi and opened a yeshiva. During the interwar period, there was activity by Zionist youth movements. On June20, 1941, just before Romania's entry into World WarII, the authorities of the

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and ''Conducător'' during most of World War II. A Romanian Army career officer who mad ...

regime forced the Jews of Siret to march to Dornești before transporting them to

Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...

and Calafat and finally

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

(''see The Holocaust in Romania''). Soviet troops liberated 460 Siret Jews there in 1944; 400 of them subsequently

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album '' Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * ...

for Palestine. Today, most of the population is Romanian Orthodox, with Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Greek-Catholic, and several Evangelical Christian minorities.

Demographics

Siret reached its peak population in 1992, when more than 10,000 people were living within the town limits. In 2016, Siret had a population of 10,000 inhabitants. According to the 2011 census data, 7,721 inhabitants lived in Siret, a decrease from the figure recorded at the 2002 census, when the town had a population of 9,329 inhabitants. In 2011, of the total population, 95.85% were ethnic Romanians, 2.55%

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

, 0.72%

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in ...

, 0.42%

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

(

Bukovina Germans ''Buchelanddeutsche'' , native_name_lang = , image = , image_caption = , image_alt = , image_upright = , total = , total_year = , total_source = , total_ref = , genealogy ...

), 0.28%

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

( Lipovans). Siret is the eleventh most populated urban locality in

Notable natives

Yitzhak Artzi Yitzhak Artzi ( he, יצחק ארצי, born 14 November 1920, died 17 September 2003) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1984 and 1988. Biography Artzi was born Izo Hertzig in Siret, Romania into a Hassidic ...

- Israeli politician * Elisabeth Axmann - Romanian-German poet * Leo Katz (1892–1954) - writer and journalistMatch, Richard (July 20, 1947).
Trouble in Sereth
. Review of ''Seedtime'' by Leo Katz. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved July 20, 2019. * Mykhailo Mykhailyuk Ilkovych - Ukrainian poet *

Elisabeta Lipă Elisabeta Lipă (; née Oleniuc on 26 October 1964) is a retired rower and government official from Romania. She is the most decorated rower in the history of the Olympics, winning five gold, two silver and one bronze medals. She holds the recor ...

- Romanian rower * Ivan Pavlovich Maksimovich - Ukrainian Colonel of the UGA * Victorin Ursache - Romanian archbishop * Antin Varivoda - Ukrainian Commander of the Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen; Colonel of the Ukrainian Galician Army

International relations

Siret is a member of the

Douzelage The Douzelage is a town twinning association with one town from each of the member states of the European Union. The name is a portmanteau of the French words "douze" for twelve and "jumelage" for twinning and stands for the twelve founder member ...

, a unique

town twinning A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

association of 24 towns across the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

. This active program began in 1991, and regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals. Discussions regarding membership are also in hand with three additional towns ( Agros in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

Škofja Loka Škofja Loka (; german: Bischoflack) is a town in Slovenia. It is the economic, cultural, educational, and administrative center of the Municipality of Škofja Loka in Upper Carniola. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Geography Škofja Loka lies ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

, and Tryavna in Bulgaria).

Twin towns – sister cities

Siret is twinned with: *

Altea Altea (, ) is a city and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain, on the section of Mediterranean coast called the Costa Blanca. At present, the economy of Altea is based on tourism, which started to grow in the 1950s because of ...

, Spain - 1991 *

Bad Kötzting Bad Kötzting (; before 2005: Kötzting; Northern Bavarian: ''Bad Ketzing'') is a town in the district of Cham, in Bavaria, Germany, near the Czech border. It is situated in the Bavarian Forest, southeast of Cham. Overview Bad Kötzting has the ...

, Germany - 1991 * Bellagio, Italy - 1991 * Bundoran, Ireland - 1991 * Granville, France - 1991 * Holstebro, Denmark - 1991 *

Houffalize Houffalize (; german: Hohenfels; wa, Oufalijhe) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium.Sven Vrielinck: De territoriale indeling van België 1795-1963 Volume 1. Universitaire Pers Leuven 2000. page 4 ...

, Belgium - 1991 * Meerssen,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

- 1991 * Niederanven, Luxembourg - 1991 *

Preveza Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epiru ...

, Greece - 1991 *

Sesimbra Sesimbra () is a municipality of Portugal, in the Setúbal District, lying at the foothills of the ''Serra da Arrábida'', a mountain range between Setúbal and Sesimbra. Due to its particular position at the Setúbal Bay, near the mouth of the S ...

, Portugal - 1991 *

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. ...

, United Kingdom - 1991 * Karkkila, Finland - 1997 *

Oxelösund Oxelösund is a locality and the seat of Oxelösund Municipality in Södermanland County, Sweden with 11,488 inhabitants in 2018. It is located less than south from the city centre of its larger neighbour Nyköping, with the two urban areas formi ...

, Sweden - 1998 *

Judenburg Judenburg ( bar, Judnbuag) is a historic town in Styria, Austria. It is the administrative centre of the Murtal district, which was created on 1 January 2012 from the former Judenburg District and former Knittelfeld District. Until 31 Decembe ...

, Austria - 1999 *

Chojna Chojna (german: Königsberg in der Neumark; csb, Czińsbarg; la, Regiomontanus Neomarchicus "King's Mountain in the New March") is a small town in northwestern Poland in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It lies approximately south of Szcz ...

, Poland - 2004 *

Kőszeg Kőszeg (german: Güns, ; Slovak: ''Kysak'', sl, Kiseg, hr, Kiseg) is a town in Vas County, Hungary. The town is famous for its historical character. History The origins of the only free royal town in the historical garrison county of Vas ...

, Hungary - 2004 *

Sigulda Sigulda (; german: Segewold, pl, Zygwold, russian: Сигулда) is a town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, from the capital city Riga. Overview Sigulda is on a picturesque stretch of the primeval Gauja river valley. Because of the reddish De ...

, Latvia - 2004 *

Sušice Sušice (; german: Schüttenhofen) is a town in Klatovy District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administ ...

, Czech Republic - 2004 *

Türi Türi is a town in Järva County, Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Türi Parish. Since 2000, Türi is known as the "spring capital" of Estonia. It has a railway station on the Tallinn - Viljandi railway line operated by Elron (rail tra ...

, Estonia - 2004 *

Zvolen Zvolen (; hu, Zólyom; german: Altsohl) is a town in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers, close to Banská Bystrica. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the West ...

, Slovakia - 2007 * Prienai, Lithuania - 2008 *

Marsaskala Marsaskala ( mt, Wied il-Għajn), also written as Marsascala and abbreviated as M'Skala, is a seaside town in the South Eastern Region of Malta which has grown around the small harbour at the head of Marsaskala Bay, a long, narrow inlet also kno ...

, Malta - 2009 *

Dębica Dębica (; yi, דעמביץ ''Dembitz'') is a town in southeastern Poland with 44,692 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Dębica County. Since 1999 it has been situated in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it had previously been ...

, Poland

Gallery

File:Statuia Margaretei Muşat1.jpg, Statue of Margareta Mușat in downtown Siret File:Scoala Petru Musat din Siret2.jpg, Petru Mușat High School File:Spitalul din Siret.jpg, The Chronic Diseases Hospital File:Gara veche din Siret.jpg, The Old Train Station File:Casa Iacob Zadik din Siret.jpg, Iacob Zadik House File:Casa S.F.Marian din Siret1.jpg, Simion Florea Marian House File:Bustul lui Simeon Florea Marian din Siret.jpg, Simion Florea Marian Statue File:Teodor V. Ştefanelli2.jpg, Teodor V. Ștefanelli Statue File:Biserica Nasterea Sf. Fecioare Maria din Siret2.jpg, The Roman Catholic Church File:Biserica Schimbarea la Faţă din Siret.jpg, The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church File:Biserica Sf. Constantin si Elena din Siret1.jpg, The Old Evangelical Church (now Orthodox) File:Templul evreiesc din Siret3.jpg, The Jewish Temple