Regions and Towns of Present and Former Romania

Modern-day Romania is a combination of different historical regions, with different pasts. The most notable historical regions of modern-day Romania are as follows:

  • Moldavia, located in the Eastern part of Romania, which was united with Wallachia in 1859 to create the modern country of Romania, before which it was part of the Ottoman Empire. This includes communities such as Iași, Galați, Bacău, Botoșani, Dorohoi, Piatra Neamț, Fălticeni, and Focșani.

  • Wallachia, located in the Southern and Southeastern parts of Romania (and comprised of the territories of Muntenia and Oltenia), which was united with Moldavia in 1859 to create the modern country of Romania, before which it was part of the Ottoman Empire. This includes communities such as Bucharest, Craiova, Ploiești, and Brăila.

  • Dobrogea, also called Dobruja, located in the Southeastern part of Romania, which became part of Romania in 1878, before which it was part of the Ottoman Empire. This includes communities such as Constanța and Tulcea.

  • Bucovina, located in the Northeastern part of Romania, which became part of Romania in 1918, before which it was part of the Austrian Empire. Bucovina was historically German-speaking and is today divided between the modern-day borders of Romania and Ukraine. The communities located in modern-day Romania include Suceava (Suczawa), Rădăuți (Radautz), and Siret (Sereth). Communities that were located in Romania before World War II but are now in Ukraine include Cernăuți (Czernowitz/Chernivtsi), Sadagura (Sadagora/Sadhora), Vijnița (Wiznitz/Vyzhnytsya), and Storojineț (Storozynetz/Storozhynets).

  • Transylvania, located in the Western, Northwestern, and Central parts of Romania, which became part of Romania in 1918, before which it was part of Hungary. Reference to Transylvania often includes the historical regions of Crișana, Maramureș (part of which is now in Ukraine), and Banat. This includes communities such as Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár), Sighetu Marmației (Máramarossziget/Sighet), Satu Mare (Szatmár), Oradea (Nagy-Várad), Arad, Timișoara (Temesvár), Dej (Dés), and Târgu-Mureș (Maros-Vásárhely). Because this part of Romania was historically part of Hungary (with records written in Hungarian), please reach out to the Hungary Research Division regarding this area.

  • Bessarabia was part of Moldavia before 1812, after which it was part of the Russian Empire, only to return under Romanian control between 1918 and 1940. It generally comprises the modern-day Republic of Moldova, with small parts in Ukraine. This includes communities such as Chișinău (Kishinev), Hotin (Khotyn), Bălți (Bieltsy), Soroca (Soroki), Briceni (Brichany), Edineț (Yedintsy), Bender (Bendery), Lipcani (Lipkany), and Orhei (Orgeyev). This territory is not covered by the Romania Research Division, and you should instead contact the Bessarabia Research Division.

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Below is a list of all towns that were at any time part of Romania, for which there is a specific "town page" on JewishGen. This includes towns that are now located not only in Romania, but also in the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. You can click directly on the town to be redirected to JewishGen's page. As mentioned above, for those regions that were formerly Hungarian, inquiry should be made with the Hungary Research Division. For towns that are today in the Republic of Moldova, please contact the Bessarabia Research Division.

Historical regions of Romania, with the country's modern-day borders in red. Bessarabia is generally in the modern-day Republic of Moldova, while Bucovina is split between Romania and Ukraine.

Complete Index of Towns on JewishGen from Present and Former Romania

Clicking on any town name will bring you to that town's specific page on JewishGen.