Șimleu Silvaniei is a town in Sălaj County, Crișana, Romania with a population of 16,066 people. Is located near the ancient Dacian fortress Dacidava. Three villages are administered by the town: Bic, Cehei and Pusta.
History
Ancient times
Before the Roman conquest of Dacia, Șimleu was a political, social and administrative Dacian centre, of high importance. Seven Dacian fortresses, some with associated settlements, were arranged in an arc shape around the hills of Șimleu. They had a strategic role in the supervising the trade along the salt road coming from areas around Napoca, Potaissa and modern Dej, and heading to Pannonia. The centre of an early Gepidia, on the plains northwest of the Meseș Mountains, appears to have been located around Șimleu Silvaniei, where early 5th-century precious objects of Roman provenance have been unearthed.
Middle Ages
In 1258 it was mentioned as Wathasomlyowa. The name means "Wata's mountain"; the name Wata is of Old Turkish origin, while somlyowa is an archaic Hungarian word for mountain. The town belonged to the Báthory family, whose ancestral castle stood here. The castle was built by Miklós, voivode of Transylvania in the early 13th century and was first mentioned in 1319. After the Báthory family built a mansion in the town in 1592, the castle became deserted and today lies in ruins. The Catholic Church was built in 1534 by Transylvania's voivode Báthory István and his wife Telegdy Katalin with the occasion of their son's birth. Holy Trinity Statue was built in 1772. Reformed Church was rebuilt between 1729 and 1736. The synagogue was built in 1876. The mansion was occupied by Giorgio Basta from Zsigmond Báthory in 1600. It was occupied by the Ottomans in 1660 and was part of Varat Eyalet until 1692. In 1703 it was occupied by Kurucs. From 1876 to 1920, Șimleu Silvaniei was part of the Szilágy County of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Greek Catholic Vicariate of Șimleu Silvaniei was formed in 1910 and in 1817 the vicariate opened its own school. George Tatu, Georgiu Abraham, Isidor Alpini, Alexandru Sterca-Șuluțiu, Demetriu Coroianu, Alimpiu Barboloviciu, Alexandru Ghetie, Emil Bran, Petru Cupcea, Cornel Darabant, Gheorghe Țurcaș served as vicars of Șimleu Silvaniei. The old Greek Catholic church was destroyed by a storm in 1866. Notre Dame Church was built between 1871 and 1873. In 1919, Simion Bărnutiu Național College, the first Romanian language high school in Sălaj County was founded here, and today the town is home to three high schools. In 1940, Șimleu Silvaniei, along with the rest of Northern Transylvania, was given to Hungary through the Second Vienna Award imposed by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy; Romania regained the area in 1944. Since 1997, inside Bic Monastery, there is the wooden church from Stâna; built in 1778 it has a rectangular plan with nave and pronave.
Holocaust
The Cehei ghetto operated within the town's administrative area. The ghetto was one of the Nazi-era ghettos for European Jews during World War II. It was active in the spring of 1944, following Operation Margarethe. The deportations from Cehei took place in three transports: May 31, June 3 and June 6, with a total of 7,851 Jews sent to Auschwitz. Some 1,200 Sălaj Jews survived the Holocaust but later emigrated from Romania, so that by the 2000s, under fifty Jews remained in the county.
Population
According to the last census from 2011 there were 13,200 people living within the city. Of this population, 66.77% are ethnic Romanians, while 22.87% are ethnic Hungarians, 9.82 ethnic Romani and 0.51% others.
Politics
2012 election
The Șimleu Silvaniei Council, elected in the 2012 local government election, is made up of 17 councilors, with the following party composition: 7-Democratic Party, 4-Social Democratic Party, 3-Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, 2-National Liberal Party, and 1-People's Party – Dan Diaconescu.
