Suceava (suˈtʃe̯ava) is a municipality and the namesake county seat town of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania and at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe respectively. It is the largest urban settlement of Suceava County. 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.
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 building dating to imperial Austrian times designed by Viennese architect Peter Paul Brang, is located in the historic town centre.
During the Late Middle Ages, the town of Suceava was the capital of the Principality of Moldavia, being strategically located at the crossroads of several trade routes linking Central Europe with Eastern Europe, and, more specifically for that period of time, the former Principality of Moldavia with the Kingdom of Poland and the Kingdom of Hungary respectively. The town of Suceava had also operated under the Magdeburg law back in the Middle Ages (Das Magdeburger Recht).
From 1775 to 1918, Suceava was under the administration of the Habsburg Empire, initially part of its Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then gradually becoming the third most populous urban settlement of the Duchy of Bukovina, a constituent land of the Austrian Empire and subsequently a crown land within the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary. During this time, Suceava was an important, strategically-located commercial border town with the then Romanian Old Kingdom to the south-east (Vechiul Regat, Altreich).