Salonta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| County | Bihor County | ||
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| Status | Municipality | ||
| Mayor | László Török, from the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, since 2000 | ||
| Population (2002) | 18,137 | ||
| Geographical coordinates | |||
| Web site | http://www.salonta.net | ||
Salonta (Hungarian: Nagyszalonta) is a city and municipality in Bihor county, Romania with a population of 18,137 (as of 2002), made up of Hungarians (57.3%), Romanians (40.1%), Roma (2.1%), Germans (0.4%), and other (0.1%). Almost a half of the population is Hungarian Reformed (Calvinist); the remaining half is split between Christian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal and other faiths. Its sister cities are Békéscsaba and Sarkad.
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[edit] History
The city was first documented in 1214 under the name of Zolonta and in 1332 a Papal document used the name Zalanta. From 1587 the Hungarian spelling Szalonta was used.
Until the 16th century, it was only a small village of about 300 inhabitants and was on the land of the Toldi family. A bigger city was the fort of Culiser, which was however destroyed by the Turks in 1598.
Culiser was never rebuilt and Salonta began to have a more important role in the region after 1606, when the prince of Transylvania, Stephan Bocskai settled 300 soldiers here and appropriated land for them. They built their own farms, but had to keep their arms ready to repel an eventual attack of the Turks. 3 June, the day in which the soldiers were settled, is nowadays declared "the day of the city".
Renowned Hungarian 19th Century poet, János Arany, was born and lived in Salonta for most of his life. Lajos Zilahy, another noted Hungarian author, was also born in Salonta (at that time known as Nagyszalonta and in Hungary) on 27 March 1891.
[edit] Trivia
The city of Salonta is the host for the 2006 Romanian National Gliders Championship (Campionat naţional de aeromodelism) and its team, Metalul Salonta, has won the championship several times.
[edit] Politics
The Salonta Municipal Council, elected in the 2004 local government elections, is made up of 17 councillors, with the following party composition:
| Party | Seats | Current Council | ||||||||||||
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| Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Justice and Truth Alliance | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Social Democratic Party | 1 | |||||||||||||
[edit] External links
| Localities in Bihor County, Romania | |||||
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