SUCEAVA COUNTY - Geography and history
Suceava county is located in northern Romania, on the border with Ukraine. With an area of 8 553.5 km2, Suceava is the second county (3.6% of the national territory). The administrative organisation of the territory, as of 31 December 2000, was the following: 5 municipalities and 3 towns, 90 communes and 396 villages. Its neighbours are: Ukraine (north), counties of Botosani (east), Iasi (south-east), Neamt, Harghita, and Mures (south) and Bistrita-Nasaud and Maramures (west). The county's capital city is Suceava.
With respect to the main types of geography, the county covers a part of the Eastern Carpathians and the Suceva Plateau. The geography gradually descends from west to east, is strip-like from north to south, in general with strips parallel to each other.
The mountain area includes mounts, groups of mounts and peaks, separated by deep couloirs and depressions: the Suhard and Calimani Mountains (with Pietrosu Peak, 2 102 m) - the most imposing volcanic mountains in the country, Obcina Mestecanis, the Giumalau-Rarau Mountains, the Obcina Feredeului, Obcina Mare, and Stânisoarei Mountains, the Dornelor Depression, and the Vatra Dornei - Câmpulung Moldovenesc - Gura Humorului depression couloir. The plateau region includes plateaus, slopes with sliding micro-relief, valleys, depressions, piedmont hills at the Marginea, Radauti depression, the Suceava-Falticeni plateau, the Dragomirna plateau, the Liteni depression, the Baia piedmont Plain, and the Siret valley.
The county has a continental climate, with a rather colder air in autumn and winter and draughty influences in the summer.
The hydrographical network includes rivers (Bistrita, Dorna, Moldova, Siret, Somesul Mare, and Suceava), creeks, lakes, ponds, marshes and significant underground water resources. The largest hydrographical area belongs to the Moldova river that drains through its influents about 35% of the county's area. The territory has considerable resources of mineral and mineralised waters, some of them sparkling. The most known springs are in Saru Dornei, Poiana Negri and Cosna. Besides mineral waters, the county has sulphated, sulphured and chlorinated springs, which make the county rich in natural treatment resources.
The county's territory, also called "the upper land" or "the beech land" - the Middle Age name of northern Moldova - has strong historical traditions. Suceava is known from annals and chronicles, especially for the economic, political and cultural development times of Stephen the Great. Yet the area is archaeologically attested since the upper Palaeolithic period (hunters' and croppers' settlements at Baia, Dolhasca, Udesti, Suceava, and Bogdanesti).
The city of Suceava was first mentioned in a document dated 11 February 1388, issued by voivode Petru Musat. Suceava faced glorious times when resisted the Turks during the reign of Stephen the Great. The city was the capital of Moldova between 1388 and 1565.
The mountain area has poly-metallic minerals, manganese, complex sulphurs, and baritine deposits. The main treasures of the sub-mountainous area are the salt deposits. The plateaus hide inferior coals.
The main tourist attractions are the stronghold of Suceava, Zamca monastery, Landlord's Inn, the monasteries of Voronet, Putna, Sucevita, Dragomirna, Humorului, and Slatioarei, the sanctum of Daniel the Hermit, the Dornelor depression, Pietrele Doamnei, several natural reservations, museums and memorial houses (that of Nicolae Labis, Ciprian Porumbescu, Eusebiu Camilar, and Ion Irimescu ) together with the entire literature, ethnographic, musical, and choreographic heritage passed on over the centuries by the people of these places.
Economy
The main economic activity of the county is agriculture, especially animal breeding, fruit trees, wood processing, food industry, cellulose and paper processing. The economic activity was carried out in 2000 by 7 157 active companies, more than 99% with with private capital. Of the total active companies, analysing the main activity, industry accounted for 16.7% while services represented 77%.
In 2000 Suceava county was the first at paper production, the second at production of timber and resinous wood and milk, the third at cheese and butter, the fifth at beech timber and wooden boards, and the sixth at leather footwear.
The county has an agricultural land of 349 502 ha, with 178 473 ha of arable land (at the end of 2000), representing 51.1% of the entire agricultural land. About half of the farmed area (45.9%) was covered with cereals, 17.7% with potatoes, and 28.5% with forage plants. Suceava county is the first at sugar beet production, giving 12.4% of the national production. The weather conditions provide intense crops of potatoes and the county is the first at the total potato production, giving 14.4% of the national production, and the third at the potato production per ha (15 691 kg/ha).
Animal breeding is a specific activity of this county. The county is the first in cattle (164.8 thousand in 2000) and the second at total production of meat (56 thousand tons live weight). In 2000 the cow milk production was of 3 149.5 thousand hl (1st place in the country). The arable land to tractor ratio was 50 ha in 2000.
At the end of 2000, the county had a railway network of 444 km, with 201 km electrified. The density of 51.9 km/1000 km2 is above the national average (46.2 km/1000 km2). Public roads totalled 2 465 km, of which 629 km national roads. The public road density of 28.8 km per 100 km2 places the county under the national average of 32.9 km per 100 km2. The length of city streets is 617 km, with 360 km modernised streets. Suceava county has a developed telecommunications network. At the end of 2000, there were 72 729 fixed telephony subscribers, as compared to 62 625 in 1996.
The development of the county's infrastructure, especially the modernised roads and the methane network, are a priority for the county's administration and provide the economic development of all the county's zones, of tourism and especially of agro-tourism in the mountain area.
The tourist accommodation capacity was 5 269 places as of 31 July 2000.
Population and social environment
Total population of Suceava county was 717 224 in 2000 (8th place), 0.9% higher than in 1996. Males are 49.4% and females 50.6%; 35.3% of the population lived in urban areas and 64.7% in rural areas, a structure that is almost constant since 1996. The average age was 35.4 in 2000, 1.8 years under the national average.
In 2000, the population aged 65 and more was 12.9%, as compared to 11.9% in 1996.
The population density was 83.9 inhabitants/km2 in 2000, with 58.2 inhabitants/km2 in rural areas and 439 inhabitants/km2 in urban areas.
The birth rate fell from 13.4 per 1 000 inhabitants in 1996 to 13.3 per 1 000 inhabitants in 2000, the overall mortality rate fell from 11.1 per 1 000 inhabitants in 1996 to 10.1per 1 000 inhabitants in 2000. The natural population growth increased from 2.3 per 1 000 inhabitants in 1996 to 3.2 per 1 000 inhabitants in 2000.
The marriage rate fell from 7.2 per 1 000 inhabitants in 1996 to 6.8 per 1 000 inhabitants in 2000, and the divorce rate fell from 1.87 per 1 000 inhabitants in 1996 to 1.65 per 1 000 inhabitants in 2000.
In 2000, the county had a low infant mortality rate - 16.7 per 1 000 live births compared to 18.6 per 1 000 live births nationwide and 23 per 1 000 live births in the North-East Region. The life expectancy at birth was 71.55 years in 2000, the highest in the North-East Region, 1.02 years over the national figure.
The labour force at the end of 2000 was 410.8 thousand persons, 6.8 thousand more than at the end of 1996. The activity rate was 75.8%, 3.7 points over the national rate. The employed population was 273.4 thousand persons, 10.9 thousand fewer than at the end of 1996. The employment rate was 66.6% (67.4% for males; 65.7% for females). Regarding the activity structure of the employed civil population in 2000, the largest share was represented by agriculture (56.3%), followed by industry with 15.4%, trade with 6.6%, education with 4.8%, health with 3.2%, constructions with 3% and transportation with 2.9%.
At the end of 2000, the county had an unemployment rate of 12.2% (compared to 11.1% at the end of 1996), with a peak at the end of 1998, i.e. 13.7%.
The educational system of Suceava county in the school year 2000/2001 included: 65 kindergartens, 383 primary and secondary schools, 37 high-schools, 3 vocational schools, one post-high-school unit and one higher education institution (9 faculties).
The health assistance of the county was provided in 2000 through 9 hospitals, 3 clinics, 35 medical consultation centres, 4 health centres, 3 nurseries, 134 pharmacies and other types of medical units.
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