Dej


Dej is a municipality in Transylvania, Romania, 60 km north of Cluj-Napoca, in Cluj County. It lies where the river Someșul Mic meets the river Someșul Mare. The city administers four villages: Ocna Dejului, Peștera, Pintic and Șomcutu Mic.
The city lies at the crossroads of important railroads and highways linking it to Cluj-Napoca, Baia Mare, Satu Mare, Deda, Bistrița, and Vatra Dornei.

History

Like the rest of the territory of Cluj County, Dej was part of Hungary prior to 1920. The city was first mentioned in 1214 as Dees, in 1236 as Deeswar, in 1310 as Deesvitta, in 1351 both Deés and Deésvár occurred, the earlier has been used until eventually it was changed to Dés. It had a royal charter as a free city and was the capital of Szolnok-Doboka County. In 1905 it had a protestant church from the 15th Century, and a tower from 16th Century fortifications. It was primarily a market town for local wines and other agricultural products.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Romanian census, there were 33,497 people living within the city.
Of this population, 81.8% are ethnic Romanians, while 11.3% are ethnic Hungarians, 1.0% Roma and 0.1% others.

Natives