| Şimleu Silvaniei Szilágysomlyó |
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| — Town — | |
| Şimleu Mountains and Şimleu Silvaniei | |
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Şimleu Silvaniei
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Romania |
| County | Sălaj County |
| Status | Town |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Cătălin Septimiu Ţurcaş (Democratic Party) |
| Population (2002) | |
| • Total | 16,066 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Website | simleusilvaniei.ro |
Şimleu Silvaniei (Romanian pronunciation: [ʃimˌle.u silˈvani.ej]; Hungarian: Szilágysomlyó, German: Schomlenmarkt) is a town in Sălaj County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 16,066 people (2002 census). Is located near an ancient Dacian fortress Dacidava.
Three villages are administered by the town: Bic (Bükk), Cehei (Somlyócsehi) and Pusta (Csehipuszta).
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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(side).
The town belonged to the Báthory family, whose ancestral castle stood here. The castle was built by Miklós, Voivod 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 theirs 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. In 1703 it was occupied by Kurucs.
The Greek Catholic Vicariate of Şimleu Silvaniei was formed in 1910 and in 1817 the vicariate opened its own school. George Tatu (1810-1824), Georgiu Abraham (1824-1828), Isidor Alpini (1828-1835), Alexandru Sterca-Şuluţiu (1836-1850), Demetriu Coroianu (1850-1873), Alimpiu Barboloviciu (1873-1914), Alexandru Ghetie (1914-1922), Emil Bran (1926-1932), Petru Cupcea (1932-1940), Cornel Darabant (1940-1945), Gheorghe Ţurcaş (2004-2009) served as vicars of Şimleu Silvaniei. The old Greek Catholic church was destroyed by a storm in 1866. Notre Dame Church was built between 1871 to 1873.[1].
In 1919, the first Romanian language high school in Sălaj County was founded here, and today the town is home to three high schools.
In 1940, Şimleu Silvaniei, along with the rest of Northern Transylvania, was given to Hungary through the Second Vienna Award imposed by the Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
Since 1997, inside Bic Monastery, there is the wooden church from Stâna; built in 1778 it has a rectangular plan with nave and pronave.[2].
Septimiu Ţurcaş was elected in 2004 and 2008 as mayor of Şimleu Silvaniei.
According to the last census from 2002 there were 16,066 people living within the city.
Of this population, 65.68% are ethnic Romanians, while 24.95% are ethnic Hungarians, 8.86 ethnic Roma and 0.51% others.[3]
Şimleu Silvaniei is twinned with:
This article is based on a translation of the equivalent article from the Hungarian Wikipedia on 18 March 2007.