Editing Chernivtsi (section)

=== Under Principality of Halych ===
A fortified settlement located on the left (north-eastern) shore of the Prut dates back to the time of the [[Galicia-Volhynia|Principality of Halych]] and is thought to have been built by [[Knyaz|Grand Prince]] [[Yaroslav Osmomysl]].<ref name="hist">{{cite web|url=http://www.komkon.org/~sher/chern/hist.html |title=City of Chernivtsi&nbsp;– History |access-date=25 September 2007 |work=The Komkon Site |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927041104/http://www.komkon.org/~sher/chern/hist.html |archive-date=27 September 2007 |df=dmy }}</ref> Legendary accounts refer to this fortress-city as ''Chern''', or ''Black city''; it is said to owe its name to the black color of the city walls, built from dark [[oak]] layered with [[chernozem|local black-colored soil]].<ref name="city.cv.ua">{{cite web|url=http://www.city.cv.ua/English/History/|title=History|access-date=25 September 2007|work=Chernivtsi City Official Site}}</ref> This early stronghold was destroyed during the [[Mongol invasion of Europe]] by [[Boroldai]] in 1259. However, the remaining ramparts of the fortress were still used for defense purposes; in the 17th century they were augmented with several bastions, one of which is still extant.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

[[File:Greater austria ethnic.svg|thumb|right|250px|Map of the ''[[United States of Greater Austria]]'', proposed in 1906, shows the city at the border of the areas inhabited by Romanians and Ukrainians.]]

Following the destruction of the fortress, later settlements in the area centered on the right (south-western) shore of the Prut River, at a more strategically advantageous, elevated location. In 1325, when the [[Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385)|Kingdom of Poland]] seized control of [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]], and came into contact with the early [[Vlachs|Vlach]] ([[Romanians|Romanian]]) feudal formations, a fort was mentioned under the name ''Țețina''; it was defending the ford and crossing point on the [[Prut River]]. It was part of a group of three fortifications; the other two being the fortress of [[Khotyn|Hotin]] on the Dniester to the east, and a fort on the [[Kolachin River]], an upriver tributary of Prut.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}