Development of Municipal Self-Government of Chernivtsi in the Late 18th – Early 20th Centuries

Abstract

The article deals with local self-government in Chernivtsi. At the time of joining Austria, Chernivtsi was a small settlement, the centre of the region. The decisive role in the fate of the city was played by the Austrian administration, which made the city the capital of Bukovina. This contributed to the rapid development of the city. In 1786, Chernivtsi was granted the first Charter governing the city administration. An important step in the development of local self-government took place in 1832 when Chernivtsi received the Magdeburg rights. However, the city government remained still limited in its powers. The status of Chernivtsi has significantly increased after the separation of Bukovina from Galicia. The city received a separate Charter in 1864, which substantially expanded the community’s self-governing rights. The disadvantage of such status was the restriction imposed on the general population to participate in the elections for the city’s local administration. Chernivtsi developed as a multinational city. The Jewish, German, Ukrainian, Romanian and Polish communities were the largest ones. Following the general processes of democratization in the empire and in Bukovina, in particular, that took place in the early 20th century, the matter of updating the status of Chernivtsi arose. The Bukovina Diet adopted a draft project in 1912 according to which all voters were divided into national curiae. However, it was not authorized by the emperor before the outbreak of World War I.

Keywords

• municipal self-government
• chernivtsi
• bukovina
• austria-hungary
• city council
• city charter
• burgomaster.