When the Bukovina was annexed by Austria in 1775, there were about 2000 people living in Chernivtsi, all in wooden houses. The photo shows the so called Generalshaus, the residence of the military govenor of the Bukovina. It was the first stone house in Chernivtsi, erected in 1780, and home of the military administration and the court. Later the house was used for other military purposes and remains basically unchanged to this day. The street it stands on was named after Karl von Enzenberg, head of the military administration of the Bukowina from 1778 to 1786. Before that it was called Lemberger Strasse, being part of the oldest and most important road in the Bukowina, the so called “Reichsstraße” (Imperial Road) coming from Lviv (Lemberg) in the north, going towards the southern Bukowina to Suceava (Suczawa) and from there westwards ascross the Carpathian mountains into Siebenbürgen (Transylvania). Helmut Kusdat
Tags:
Czernowitz, Hauptstrasse, Main Street, Generalshaus
