The city was named after an old noble family, the Károlyi. Carei administers one village, Ianculești.
History
In 1262, in a document, Karul appears as a name of a person, but the etymology of the word can be traced back to the name of a bird karul-karvaly, taken from the ancient Turkish language. Karul may be derived from "car" in Romanian. The bird that can be found on the coat of arms of the Karolyi family. King Louis I of Hungary permitted the organization of weekly market gatherings in Carei in 1346, as a result of the military achievements of the Károlyi family. The development of regional trade in the region stimulated the development of the town. In the 14th century, the settlement was a small township with a few streets built around the Károlyi estate. Wars, plague and famine during the Middle Ages decimated the population and the Károlyi family took steps to bring Swabian settlers to their lands. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Carei was often devastated by wars. The town and the surroundings villages suffered great losses during Rákóczi's War of Independence. The first group of settlers came in 1712, opening a century-long period of gradual colonization with Swabians, Slovaks, and Jews. Between 1712 and 1774, some 466 Swabian families settled in Carei, forming two districts in town. Effects on cultural and social life began to show: in 1727 the Piarist Gymnasium was established, in 1754 the first typography was built, and in 1756 a pharmacy was opened. The town's urban shape was outlined after the great fire that occurred in May 1887, when 250 houses were burnt down. The rebuilding of the houses and the organizing of the streets were done according to the planning regulations adopted by the town's council. Light industry began to bloom in Carei starting with the 19th century, when the first public institutions were also created. In 1887 the Zalău–Carei railway was built and in 1905 the railway between Carei and Mátészalka was restored for transportation purposes. After the collapse of Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I, Carei became part of the territory ceded to Romania in 1920 under the terms of the Treaty of Trianon. In 1940, under the auspices of the Third Reich, which imposed the Second Vienna Award, Hungary retook this territory from Romania. During World War II, however, it was taken back from Hungarian and German troops by Romanian and Soviet forces on 25 October 1944, a day which has been celebrated since then as the Day of the Romanian Armed Forces. Although between 1760 and 1920 the town was the seat of the Szatmár County, the industrial development was not significant and it basically preserved its agricultural specificity until about 1960. In 1926 Carei was attached to Sălaj County. After 1945, Carei was included in the Baia Mare district, while after 1968, along with the administrative-territorial reorganization of the country, it returned to Satu Mare County. Until World War II, the industry of the town consisted of mills, the Oil Factory Ardealul, a station for collecting and fermenting tobacco and some small workshops. During the Communist period, Carei gradually turned into an industrial town.
Tourism
The most important historical building in the city is the Károlyi castle. Built originally as a fortress around the 14th century, it was converted to a castle in 1794, undergoing further transformations during the 19th century. The manor is surrounded by an arboretum, covering a surface of about and containing a great variety of species of trees and plants.
Demographics
According to the 2011 census, Carei had a population of 21,112; out of those, 51.9% were Hungarian, 38.3% were Romanian, 2.3% were German, and 2.2% were Roma. As to religion, 36% of the commune population were Roman Catholic, 32% of them were Romanian Orthodox and 20% were Reformed.
