Zalău (, unofficial and former official name: ro, Zălau (; german: Zillenmarkt or , hu, Zilah, tr, Zile) is the seat of Sălaj County, Romania. In 2011, its estimated population was 56,202.

History

Ancient times

Zalău is situated in the area inhabited by "

Free Dacians The so-called Free Dacians ( ro, Daci liberi) is the name given by some modern historians to those Dacians who putatively remained outside, or emigrated from, the Roman Empire after the emperor Trajan's Dacian Wars (AD 101-6). Dio Cassius named th ...

", away from the historical landmark of

Porolissum Porolissum was an ancient Roman city in Dacia. Established as a military camp in 106 during Trajan's Dacian Wars, the city quickly grew through trade with the native Dacians and became the capital of the province Dacia Porolissensis in 124. The sit ...

, a well-preserved Roman Castrum with an imposing fortress, an amphitheater, temples, houses and a customs house in the ancient

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...

. Zalău was the crossing point between

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

and

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, along the so-called "

Salt Route A salt road (also known as a salt route, salt way, saltway, or salt trading route) refers to any of the prehistoric and historical trade routes by which essential salt was transported to regions that lacked it. From the Bronze Age (in the 2nd ...

Archaeological discoveries revealed evidence of human existence in this area since the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

, approx. 6500 years ago. Dacian coins found in archaeological perimeters of the city central area and on the Valea Mâții, west of the city, plus important items belonging to Roman culture, are evidence of free Dacian continuity in this area and of developing economic relations with the Roman ancient city of Porolissum. After the conquest of Dacia by

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

(106), the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

border stood atop the

Meseș Mountains The Meseș Mountains ( ro, Munții Meseșului, hu, Meszes-hegység) are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Apuseni Mountains. The highest peak is , at . The mountains are located in Sălaj and Cluj counties, south ...

, just away from the city. Just north from the border, on the actual Zalău city area were the free

Dacians The Dacians (; la, Daci ; grc-gre, Δάκοι, Δάοι, Δάκαι) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often consid ...

tribes, and to the east, south-east (of Meseș Mountains) were Roman border fortifications, towers, walls, ditches and defense sides. Zilah 021

Middle Ages

The first written mention about Zalău, was in the " Gesta Hungarorum", also called the "Chronicle of

Anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...

" (probably notary of the King Béla III of Hungary), published around year 1200. According to this source, Zalău settlement would have been there as early as around 900. Later, Zalău is referred to as ''Villa Ziloc'' in 1220, ''Zylac'' in 1246, ''Zylah'' in 1282, ''Zyloh'' and ''oppidum Zylah'' in 1318, ''Zila'' in 1601, ''Zilahu'' in 1808, ''Sziláj'' / ''Szilágyi'' in 1839, ''Szilaju'' in 1850, and ''Zalău'' / ''Sziláju'' / ''Walthenberg'' in 1854. After the great

Mongol invasion The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire ( 1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...

, which destroyed the city in 1241, Zalău came in 1246 under the administration of the Catholic Bishopric of

Oradea Oradea (, , ; german: Großwardein ; hu, Nagyvárad ) is a city in Romania, located in Crișana, a sub-region of Transylvania. The county seat, seat of Bihor County, Oradea is one of the most important economic, social and cultural centers in the ...

. The trusteeship was maintained until 1542, when Zalău became part of Principality of Transylvania. On 1 August 1473

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...

, king of Hungary and

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, acknowledged Zalău as a market town for the first time (called '' oppidum Zilah'' – Zilah fort), a privilege that freed the city from the county domination, granted its citizens the right of free trade and gave it a larger degree of economic autonomy. At the end of the 16th century, the city had an independent administrative leadership, composed of 33 elected senators (one of whom was the mayor), a notary, a registrar and a treasurer. Other important events in the development of the city occurred in 1571 during the reign of Prince Istvan Bathory and in 1600 under the reign of

Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600). ...

. After Transylvania had been annexed to the Habsburg Empire, the city experienced an economic decline due to the infusion of products from

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. After Michael the Brave's victory in the Battle of Guruslău on 3 August 1601, Zalău received administrative, legislative, fiscal and military own rules, which provided real autonomy freedoms to citizens. A chronicle from the 17th century, first mentioned the main crafts of city residents: belt-makers, potters, wheelwrights, shoemakers, butchers, tailors, blacksmiths, carpenters, hat makers and armorers. The city was under the rule Principality of Transylvania between 1526 and 1660. It was also controlled by the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

between 1660 and 1692, the city being part of Varat Eyalet. The Calvinist college was formed in the first half of the 17th century. On 9 November 1714,

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

rested for a night in a building on ''Király'' street (now named after Corneliu Coposu) with an acquaintance György Zoványi as is indicated by a notice still on the house. Until the administrative reform of 1876, the city had been the seat of Közép-Szolnok for centuries.

Modern times

Zalău is one of the most important urban centers in the region. It had a Reformed college (Wesselényi College), a township school for civil service (for boys only), and a national civil school (for girls only). It had the largest hospital in the region and a tax revenue office. In 1850, it held a population of 4,294 and, in 1910–8,062 (7,477 Hungarians, 19 Germans, 529 Romanians and 23 belonging to other ethnic groups). By religion, there were 1,333

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, 873 Greek Catholics, 5,363 members of the Reformed Church, and 415

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. The city had 1,427 households, and most of its inhabitants were employed by the manufacturing industry. The

Reformed Church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

was built in 1246. It is one of the city's oldest buildings and one of the largest in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

. In 1876, Zalău became the seat of the Szilágy County. After the proclamation of the

Union of Transylvania with Romania The union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia. The Great Union Day (also called ''Unification Day''), celebrated on 1 December, is a national holiday in Romani ...

(1 December 1918), by the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in ...

Zalău has been part of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

– except between 1940 until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...

became part of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

as a result of the Second Vienna Award. On 8 September 1940, upon arrival in Zalău, the Hungarian Army killed 10 people just outside the city; in the following days, the

Nușfalău Nușfalău ( hu, Szilágynagyfalu or ''Nagyfalu'') is a commune located in Sălaj County, Crișana, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Bilghez (''Bürgezd'') and Nușfalău; Boghiș and Bozieș split off in 2005 to form Boghiș commune. Th ...

Treznea Treznea ( hu, Ördögkút, lit. "The Devil's Fountain"; german: Teufelsbrunnen) is a commune in Sălaj County, Crișana, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Bozna (''Szentpéterfalva'') and Treznea. These were part of Agrij Commune until 199 ...

, and Ip massacres were perpetrated in nearby villages. Between 1892 and 1896, one of the most famous Hungarian poets

Endre Ady Endre Ady (Hungarian: ''diósadi Ady András Endre,'' archaic English: Andrew Ady, 22 November 1877 – 27 January 1919) was a turn-of-the-century Hungarian poet and journalist. Regarded by many as the greatest Hungarian poet of the 20th century ...

attended the Protestant school in Zalău (since 1957, there has been a statue of Endre Ady in front of the school). The poet also published his first poem in the local newspaper " Szilágy" on 22 March 1896. A memorial plaque on the frontage of the building where he lived reminiscents of Ady Endre's time spent there. At the end of the 19th century, Lajos Szikszai donated his private collection to the municipality and the first museum in Zalău was created. An exhibition was also organized in 1926, but the Zalău County Museum was officially inaugurated in 1951. On 9 July 1981, a new section of the Zalău County Museum was inaugurated and was named the " Ioan Sima" Arts Gallery. The "Central Library," owning 7,000 Romanian and Hungarian books, was opened on the 23 August 1950. In 1952 it became "Rayon Library," coordinating all the Zalău Rayon libraries. In 1957 it took the name of Ioniță Scipione Bădescu. It became the "County Library" with the administrative reform of February 1968. As of the end of the 1960s, the city became a regional industrial center for the first time, which was heavily impacted by the Systematization process. Industrial factories like Armătura Zalău, Silcotub Zalău and Anvelope Silvania (recently bought by

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

) hired thousands of workers, which sparked an increase in population as a result. The population influx gradually led to changes in the ethnic structure with the Romanians being now the majority and the Hungarians reduced to a minority. However, in many of the surrounding communes, the ethnic structure still remained unchanged (for example

Vârșolț Vârșolț ( hu, Varsolc) is a commune located in Sălaj County, Crișana, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Recea (''Krasznarécse''), Recea Mică (''Kisrécsepuszta'') and Vârșolț. At the 2002 census, 64.1% of inhabitants were Hungar ...

) are still populated by Hungarians; on the other hand, nearby villages such as

Marin Marin (French) or Marín (Spanish "sailor") may refer to: People * Marin (name), including a list of persons with the given name or surname * MaRin, in-game name of professional South Korean ''League of Legends'' player Jang Gyeong-hwan (born 19 ...

have a 100% ethnic Romanian population, basically unchanged for more than a century. In the 1970s with the working-class population expanding, housing estates of high-rise blocks of flats were built in both the centre and the outskirts of the town. In 2007, due to the negligence of the local natural gas distributor, a gas accumulation produced an explosion that led to casualties and significant material damage. Today Zalău is crossed by

European road The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads cross national borders. It also reaches Centr ...

E81 and the national road DN1F. A new motorway (the Transylvania Highway) is being built to connect Zalău to Western Europe. The town has two nationally accredited University colleges, a public library, one

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

, an

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

, more than four hotels, a motel, and two student halls of residence.

Geography

Zalău lies in the Zalău Valley, at the junction of the

Apuseni The Apuseni Mountains ( ro, Munții Apuseni, hu, Erdélyi-középhegység) is a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians, also called ''Occidentali'' in Romanian. Their name translates from Rom ...

Mountains and the

Eastern Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya Sy ...

, in Sălaj County, at . Zalău is in the central part of Sălaj County, in

Zalău Zalău (, unofficial and former official name: ro, Zălau (; german: Zillenmarkt or , hu, Zilah, tr, Zile) is the seat of Sălaj County, Romania. In 2011, its estimated population was 56,202. History Ancient times Zalău is situated in the a ...

watershed where the depression of the same name and the Meseș Peak meet. It neighbours Țara Maramureșului and the county of Satu Mare, in the northwestern part of the historical region of

, which in the past was a mainly independent small state but since 1918 has belonged to Romania (except between September 1940 and October 1944, when it was under the administration of

following the Second Vienna Award). Whether Zalău lies in Crișana or Transylvania is still a matter of debate because, geographically, Zalău lies on the eastern border of Crișana. It lies along the bank of the small river

, between three narrow valleys in the

. It is the county seat and the largest city in Sălaj County. The city includes a total surface of . This includes the one village it administers, Stâna (''Felsőnyárló''), situated south-east of Meseș, in the hydrographic basin of

Agrij Agrij ( hu, Felsőegregy) is a commune located in Sălaj County, Crișana, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Agrij and Răstolțu Deșert (''Pusztarajtolc''). It was called ''Treznea-Agrij'' from 1988 to 1995, when Treznea and Bozna village ...

. Măgura Stânii has .

Sights

The most important of the 24 monuments and buildings in the county capital of Zalău are: "

Transilvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

" (theatre in 1895), the city hall (court and seat of the prefects office in 1889), the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

(1878), the

reformed church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

(1904–1907), the

Greek Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

" Dormition of the Theotokos Church" (1930–1934), the Orthodox deanery (built in the late 19th century), the

Historical Museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

(built about 1900 – casino of the artisans fellowship), the primary school "Simion Bărnuțiu" (girls' school in 1895) and the

National College Silvania Silvania National College ( ro, Colegiul Național Silvania, hu, Silvania Főgimnázium) is a bilingual high school in Zalău, Romania, with both Romanian and Hungarian language classes. In 2002 it had 949 students, of whom 747 participated in Ro ...

(Reformed College in 1860), all these being valuable urbanistic elements for the historical and cultural patrimony of the land. The famous statuary group

Wesselényi Monument The Wesselényi Monument ( ro, Monumentul Wesselényi; hu, Wesselényi szobra) is a monument in the Zalău, Romania. This classified historic monument, conceived by János Fadrusz and opened on September 18, 1902, represents Miklós Wesselényi ...

of the heroic Hungarian nobleman with the same name (1902) by

János Fadrusz János Fadrusz (2 September 1858, Pressburg – 26 October 1903, Budapest) was a Hungarian sculptor in the Neoclassical style. He was especially noted for his works on historical subjects. Biography He was the son of a poor cheesemaker, who h ...

, and the bust made in the honour of Simion Bărnuțiu by Romul Ladea are worth visiting as well. Zalău hosts lively pageants each year, including a summer festival known as the "Zalău Days". There is a

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

of Baron Wesselényi in Iuliu Maniu Square of the town center; the Tuhutum Memorial (both made by

in 1902); the Zalău County Museum of History and Art displays artifacts ranging from neolithic times to modern times, with a focus on the Roman period and hosts works of modern art. There are several churches, including the Calvinist Cathedral, which is one of the most beautiful and largest in Transylvania.

Population

The population of Zalău went through important evolutions throughout times (see above), and at present the data indicated by the 2011 census are the following: 56,202 inhabitants.Tab8. Populaţia stabilă după etnie – judeţe, municipii, oraşe, comune
2011 census results,

Institutul Național de Statistică The National Institute of Statistics ( ro, Institutul Național de Statistică, INS) is a Romanian government agency which is responsible for collecting national statistics, in fields such as geography, the economy, demographics and society. The i ...

, accessed 3 March 2020. From an ethnic point of view, according to the census in 2002 the population had the following structure: 80.89%

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...

, 17.50%

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

, 1.36%

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

, 0.25% others. At the 2011 census, Zalău had 76.5% Romanians, 15.4% Hungarians and 1.4% Romani. For 6.5% no ethnicity information was available.

Ethnic structure

Confessional structure

Etymology

The location had various names: "Ziloc" in 1220, "Oppidum Zilah" in 1473, "Zila" in 1601, and "Zilahu" and "Zalahu" in the 19th century, or forms of German toponimy "Waltenberg" and "Zillenmarkt".

Politics

At the end of the 16th century, the town had an independent administrative rule made of 33 elected senators, from whom one of them was the mayor. There were also a notary, an archivist and a treasurer. Formed by 21 members, the Local Council has the following attributes: to approve the local budget, loans, credit transfers and the means of the use of the budgetary reserve; it establishes local taxes as well as special taxes; to elect the vice-mayors, to decide on the staff of attendants number.

2012 election

The Zalău Council, elected in the 2012 local government elections, was made up of 21 councilors, with the following party composition: 3- Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, 12- Social Liberal Union, 3- Democratic Liberal Party, 3-

People's Party – Dan Diaconescu The People's Party – Dan Diaconescu ( ro, Partidul Poporului – Dan Diaconescu; abbreviated PP-DD) was a populist political party in Romania created in 2011 by television presenter Dan Diaconescu. In June 2015 it merged into the National Unio ...

. Mayor Radu Căpîlnășiu was re-elected.

2008 elections

Mayor Radu Căpîlnășiu was elected first time in 2004 as member of

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

(PD) and re-elected in 2008 and 2012 as member of National Liberal Party (PNL). The Zalău Municipal Council, elected in the 2008 local government elections, was made up of 21 councilors, with the following party composition:

2004 elections

The Zalău Municipal Council, elected in the 2004 local government elections, was made up of 21 councillors, with the following party composition:

Sports

The city has a women's handball team, named HC Zalău, that is coached by

Gheorghe Tadici Gheorghe Tadici (born 27 March 1952 in Piatra Neamț) is a Romanian handball coach in charge of the Romanian top division side HC Zalău. In 2012 he also became head coach of the Romania women's national handball team, Romanian women's national han ...

, the former head coach of Romania's national handball team.

Media

''Graiul Sălajului'', ''Magazin Sălăjean'', ''Sălajeanul'', ''Țara Silvaniei'' (1940, 1989), ''Năzuința'' (1960–1989), ''Sălajul Orizont'', ''Gazeta de Duminică'', ''Glasul copilăriei'', '' Repere transilvane'', ''Sălajul european'', ''Acta mvsei porolissensis'', ''Caiete silvane'', '' Limes'', ''Árkád'', '' Szilágy'', ''Szilágyság''.

Online media

* Zalau24.ro On scene news reports happening in Zalau or in Salaj county

Notable natives and residents

(1877–1919), Hungarian poet *

Dacian Cioloș Dacian Julien Cioloș (; born 27 July 1969) is a Romanian agronomist who served as Prime Minister of Romania from November 2015 to January 2017. He previously served as Agriculture Minister under Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu between October 2007 and ...

(born 1969), politician, Prime Minister of Romania * Alexandru Dragomir (1916–2002), Romanian philosopher *

Ramona Farcău Ramona Farcău (former Maier; born 14 July 1979) is a Romanian retired handballer. She competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where she was top goalscorer with a total of 56 goals, and also voted into the All-star team. She also competed ...

(born 1979), Romanian handball player * Virgil D. Gligor (born 1949), Romanian-American professor of electrical and computer engineering *

Eduard Hellvig Eduard Raul Hellvig (born 27 October 1974) is a Romanian political scientist, journalist and politician who has served as director of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) since 2015. A former member of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and pre ...

(born 1974), director of the Romanian Intelligence Service * Iuliu Maniu (1873–1953), Romanian politician *

Florian Pop Florian Pop (born 1952 in Zalău) is a Romanian mathematician, a professor of mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania. Pop received his Ph.D. in 1987 and his habilitation in 1991, both from the University of Heidelberg. He has been a membe ...

(born 1952), Romanian-American mathematician * Codruț Șereș (born 1969), Romanian engineer and politician *

(born 1952), Romanian handball coach *

Talida Tolnai Talida Tolnai (born 21 August 1979) is a Romanian female handballer. She participated at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, where the Romanian team placed seventh. International honours *EHF Champions League: **''Finalist'': 2010 **''Semifinali ...

(born 1979), Romanian handball player *

Miklós Wesselényi Baron Miklós Wesselényi de Hadad (; archaically English: Nicholas Wesselényi;Robert J. Hunter : Racing Calendar - Page xxv 1842 20 December 179621 April 1850) was a Hungarian statesman, leader of the upper house of the Diet, member of the Bo ...

(1796–1850), Hungarian statesman *

Gyula Zilahy Gyula Zilahy (22 January 1859, Zilah – 16 May 1938, Budapest) was a Hungarian stage and film actor. He co-directed several films with Alexander Korda in 1914-1915 including Korda's first film ''Watchhouse in the Carpathians''. Zilahy was ...

(1859–1938), Hungarian stage and film actor

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Zalău is twinned with: *

Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical re ...

, Italy *

Sandwell Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. According to Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, t ...

, United Kingdom *

Kamianets-Podilskyi Kamianets-Podilskyi ( uk, Ка́м'яне́ць-Поді́льський, russian: Каменец-Подольский, Kamenets-Podolskiy, pl, Kamieniec Podolski, ro, Camenița, yi, קאַמענעץ־פּאָדאָלסק / קאַמעניץ, ...

, Ukraine *

Szentendre Szentendre () is a riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, between the capital city Budapest and Pilis Mountains, Pilis-Visegrád Mountains. The town is known for its museums (most notably the :hu: Szentendrei Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, Open- ...

, Hungary

Climate

Zalău has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(''Cfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

Photo gallery

File:Zilah 012b.jpg, Reformed Church, Zalău File:Josephinische Landaufnahme pg039.jpg, Stâna in Josephinische Landaufnahme File:Josephinische Landaufnahme pg027.jpg, Zalău in Josephinische Landaufnahme

Works

* János Kovács Kuruc, Zilah vallási életéről, In: Limes, 2000, 3, nr. 1–2, p. 138–143. * Éva Lakóné Hegyi; Wagner, Ernő. A zilahi kalandosok, In: EM, 2001, 63, nr. 1–2, p. 30–41. * Florin Mirgheșiu, Modernitatea Zalăului. In: AMPZ, 2001, 2, nr. 4, p. 11–19. * Moroti, Elisabeta. Scurtă privire istorică asupra dezvoltării economice a orașului Zalău. In: AMPZ, 2001, 2, nr. 4, p. 36–39. * Municipiul Zalău. Prezentare. In: AMPZ, 2002, 3, nr. 7–8, p. 154–161. * Elena Muscă, Meșteșugari zălăuani și locul lor în structurile administrației publice locale, In: AMP, 2003, 25, p. 325–332. * L. Nicoară; Pușcaș, Angelica. Rolul municipiului Zalău în zona de contact dintre depresiunea Transilvaniei și Dealurile de Vest. In: Studia geogr., 1999, 44, nr. 1, p. 99–112.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20090117041059/http://www.salaj.insse.ro/main.php * http://www.insse.ro/cms/files/pdf/ro/cap2.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Zalau Cities in Romania Populated places in Sălaj County Capitals of Romanian counties Localities in Crișana