Main roads out of Czernowitz.
West was a good direction - it led to Prag, Vienna, Berlin and
civilization.
Therefore the street leading in this direction was called
Lembergerstrasse.
And it led , naturally, to the North.
This was the main street of Czernowitz until the railway.
After that it became Bahnhofstrasse for the Central Station and now
it is Gagarina leading into outer space. A T34 tank stands there as
a reminder.
East was a bad direction - it led to Ukraina and Russia and Asia.
All the things bad came from there : The Russians ,the Slavs the Huns and
Turks.
Also the harsh winters.
The street in this direction was the Russischegasse which went
South-East, following
the Prut river leading into Valachia. To come to Russia you had to cross
the Prut at some point fording the river . Later there were bridges at
Novoselitza ,
Lipcani and more.
Crossing these you would come to Russia safely if they didn’t mug
you on your way.
The Rumanians changed it Strada Romana - Roman or Rumanian street.
On the West were the mountains and no major route led through this
Hutzul country.
The Carpathians climbing to 1000 m. had no easy passes , rivers came
down the
mountain and at night the wolves and vampirs.
To the South there were two main routes : the Siebenburgerstrasse and the
Kutschumarerstasse.
At the fork stood the Kriegersdenkmal , a memorial for the brave
Austrian warriors.
Kutschumarerstrasse took the name from an insignificant shtetl not far
down the road.
Later it joined the Siebenburgerstrasse , a german name of Transylvania
.
Nothing left for Rumania where these roads ultimately led.
No Moldova road , no Suceava road ,no Siret road.
To reach the destination contained in its name ,you had to turn West
at Suceava
crossing the Carpathians at the Borgo pass - to Bistritz.
Then you reached Siebenburgen ,land of the seven castles (or towns) .
Well, this was Habsburg land and therefore the name.
The Rumanians changed Kutschumarerstrasse to Bulevardul Regele Carol 2
but Siebenburgerstrasse stayed Bul. Transylvania which is
Siebenburgen.
Hardy
