Gura Humorului (;

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

: גורה חומורולוי - ''Gure Humuruluei'' or גורא הומאָרא - ''Gura Humora''; German and Polish: ''Gura Humora'') is a town in

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

, northeastern

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It is situated in the historical region of

Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

. Gura Humorului is the seventh largest urban settlement in the county, with a population of 13,278 inhabitants, according to the 2021 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 The Voroneț Monastery is a medieval monastery in the Romanian village of Voroneț, now a part of the town Gura Humorului. It is one of the famous Painted churches of northern Moldavia, painted monasteries from southern Bukovina, in Suceava Co ...

Administration and local politics

Town council

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

Geography

Gura Humorului is located in the north-eastern part of Romania, in southern

. The town is situated at the eastern limit of Obcinele Bucovinei Mountains, in Humorului Depression, at the confluence of

Moldova River The Moldova (, ) is a river in Romania, in the historical region of Moldavia. It is a right tributary of the river Siret. The river rises from the Obcina Feredeu Mountains of Bukovina in Suceava County and joins the Siret in Cotu Vameș, east ...

and Humor River. The average altitude of the town is . The

European route E58 European route E 58 is a road part of the International E-road network. It begins in Vienna, Austria, and passing through Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania and Moldova, ends in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. It is approximately long. Since 2014, a pa ...

and the

Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...

– Vatra Dornei railway pass through the town. Suceava, the county capital, is located away. The town of Frasin is located nearby Gura Humorului (only away).

Demographics

According to the 1775 Austrian census of Bukovina, its population comprised only about 60,000 spread over . 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 Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

Rusyns Rusyns, also known as Carpatho-Rusyns, Carpatho-Russians, Ruthenians, or Rusnaks, are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group from the Carpathian Rus', Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn language, Rusyn, an East Slavic lan ...

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

, and

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. 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. According to the 2011 census data, Gura Humorului had a total population of 13,667 inhabitants: 97.03% were ethnic Romanians, 1.79% Roma, 0.52%

(

Bukovina Germans The Bukovina Germans ( or ''Buchenlanddeutsche'', ), also known and referred to as Buchenland Germans, or Bukovinian Germans, are a German diaspora, German Ethnicity, ethnic group which settled in Bukovina, a historical region situated at the cro ...

), 0.27%

, 0.12%

, 0.10%

, and 0.07%

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

(including

Lipovans The Lipovans or Lippovans are ethnic Russians, Russian Old Believers living in Romania, Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria who settled in the Principality of Moldavia, in the east of the Principality of Wallachia (Muntenia), and in the regions of D ...

). Gura Humorului is the seventh most populated urban locality in

and the second most populated locality with the status of town (after Vicovu de Sus).

History

Between 1774 and 1918, Gura Humorului belonged to the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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

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 Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, 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 American Jewish communities. The Jewish community in Gura Humorului continued to grow, reaching 1,951 members in 1927. Jewish cultural life reached its peak during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

. The languages of choice in the town life were

, German, and Romanian. Most of the Jewish community adhered to

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...

, and Jewish youngsters studied the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

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 Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

movements such as the

Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...

, it was

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

that brought an end to Jewish presence in Gura Humorului. Under the dictatorship of

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc� ...

, Jews were rounded up and deported to

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

, where most of them perished – mass murdered through various means, including shootings and

criminal negligence In criminal law, criminal negligence is an offence that involves a breach of an objective standard of behaviour expected of a defendant. It may be contrasted with strictly liable offences, which do not consider states of mind in determining c ...

(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 emigrated to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 1947–1951. Statistics show that they numbered below 500 people in all at the time of their departure.

Twin towns – sister cities

* Marly-le-Roi, France * Puck, Poland * Sulina, Romania

Natives

* Andreea Boghian - rower * Nathan Juran - American film director * Olha Kobylianska - Ukrainian-German writer * Viorel Lucaci - rugby player * Mihai Macovei - rugby player * Rixi Markus -

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

player * Vlad Nistor - rugby player * Daniel Plai - rugby player * Victor Săhleanu - physician and anthropologist * Dorin Semeghin - footballer * Cătălin Țăranu - professional go player (5 Dan) * Salomon Wininger - biographer

Gallery

File:Gura Humorului 725300, Romania - panoramio (1).jpg, Panoramic view of the town File:Primaria din Gura Humorului (1901)6.jpg, The Town Hall File:Judecatoria Gura Humorului.jpg, The Town Court File:Scoala nr. 1 din Gura Humorului.jpg, School No. 1 File:Scoala nr. 2 din Gura Humorului.jpg, School No. 2 File:Centrul orașului Gura Humorului.jpg, Hotel Bucovina File:Gura Humorului 725300, Romania - panoramio.jpg, Traditional Romanian wooden house File:Olga Kobyleanska2.jpg, Olha Kobylianska Statue File:Biserica romano-catolica din Gura Humorului10.jpg, The Roman Catholic Church File:La catedral ortodoxa.jpg, The Orthodox Cathedral File:Sinagoga Mare din Gura Humorului.jpg, The Synagogue File:Voronet.jpg,