Suceava
city in Suceava County, Romania
Suceava (Romanian: [suˈtʃe̯ava] ) is a city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban settlement and county seat of Suceava County, with a population of 84,308 inhabitants according to the 2021 Romanian census.
During the Late Middle Ages, namely between 1388 and 1564 (or from the late 14th century to the late 16th century), this middle-sized town was the capital of the Principality of Moldavia. Later on, it became an important, strategically located commercial town of the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire, and Austria-Hungary (formerly belonging to Cisleithania or the Austrian part of the dual monarchy) on the border with the Romanian Old Kingdom.
Nowadays, the town is known for its reconstructed medieval seat fortress (further rebuilt through the EU-funded Regio programme) and its UNESCO-recognized World Heritage Site Saint John the New Monastery (part of the Churches of Moldavia), both local and national tourist attractions. In addition, the Administrative Palace, a historic and civic building dating to imperial Austrian times and designed by Austrian architect Peter Paul Brang, is located in the historic town centre along with the Roman Catholic Saint John of Nepomuk church (one building facing the other). Suceava is also an academic centre of Romania, represented by the Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava (USV).
Suceava is the 22nd largest Romanian city. The city's population increased exponentially during the second half of the 20th century, from just over 10,000 people in the late 1940s to over 100,000 in the early 1990s.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Suceava” is city in Suceava County, Romania. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Suceava, city and County, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “city in Suceava County, Romania” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q46400. VIAF identifies the subject as 143076392. The Library of Congress control number is n81066701. Authority coordinates are 47.651, 26.256. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2021, 1388 and 1564.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Suceava”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Suceava primary sources, Suceava archive and Suceava research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Suceava”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Suceava” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.