Unguraș ( hu, Bálványosváralja) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Cluj County Cluj County (; german: Kreis Klausenburg, hu, Kolozs megye) is a county (județ) of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat ( ro, Oraș reședință de județ) is Cluj-Napoca (german: Klausenburg). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Kolozs megye ...

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 ...

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

. It is composed of five villages: Batin (''Bátony''), Daroț (''Daróc''), Sicfa (''Székfa''), Unguraș, and Valea Ungurașului (''Csabaújfalu'').

Geography

The commune lies on the

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau ( ro, Podișul Transilvaniei; hu, Erdélyi-medence) is a plateau in central Romania. The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the East ...

, on the banks of the river Bandău, a right tributary of the

Someșul Mic The Someșul Mic (''Little Someș'', Hungarian: ''Kis-Szamos'') is a river in north-western Romania (Cluj County). At its confluence with the Someșul Mare in Mica, the Someș is formed. Its total length is , and its drainage basin area is .

. It is located in the northeastern part of the county, on the border with

Bistrița-Năsăud County Bistrița-Năsăud () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Bistrița. Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Beszterce-Naszód megye'', and in German as ''Kreis Bistritz-Nassod''. The name is identical with ...

, at a distance of from the city of Dej and from the county seat, Cluj-Napoca. Unguraș borders the following communes: Braniștea to the north, Nușeni to the east (both in Bistrița-Năsăud County), Sânmartin to the south, and Mintiu Gherlii and Mica to the west (the last three in Cluj County). The commune is crossed by

county road A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can ...

DJ161D, which starts in Valea Ungurașului and ends in Dej.

The Unguraș Fortress

The was built after the Mongol invasion of 1241–1242, and was first attested in 1269. The ruins of the fortress (listed as ''

monument istoric ''Monument istoric'' (plural: ''Monumente istorice''), a "historic monument", is the Romanian term of designation for national heritage sites in Romania. Classifications A ''Monument istoric'' is defined as: *an architectural or sculptural wor ...

'') are located on top of the nearby Fortress Hill; a small monument has been placed there in 1996.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, 61.5% of inhabitants were

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 ...

, 35.7%

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Roman ...

, and 1.5% Roma.Tab8. Populația stabilă după etnie – județe, municipii, orașe, 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 ...

, accessed 17 February 2020.

Natives

* Ioan Oltean

References

*''Atlasul localităților județului Cluj'' (Cluj County Localities Atlas), Suncart Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca, Communes in Cluj County Localities in Transylvania {{ClujCounty-geo-stub