The postcard shows a section of the Siebenbürgerstraße between its beginning at Rathaus Strasse (to be seen in the back of the photo) and the Franz Josefs Park from the 1870s (left side of the card). The Siebenbürgerstraße was an arterial road leading from the city center towards the south. It was part of the oldest and most important road in the Bukowina, the so called “Reichsstraße” (Imperial Road) coming from Lviv (Lemberg) in the north towards the southern Bukowina to Suceava (Suczawa) and from there westwards ascross the Carpathian mountains into Siebenbürgen (Transylvania). The Siebenbürgerstraße, todays Holovna street, is one of the longest streets in Chernivtsi. Many important public buildings (military barracks, hospitals, hotels) and parks are situted alongside the street. Due to a lack of space in the northern part of town bordering the river Pruth, the city developed into the southern direction. Most of the suburbian living districts from Soviet times can be found here.<br /><i>Helmut Kusdat</i>