Crasna or Kraszna (; ) is a commune in

Sălaj County Sălaj County (; ) (also known as ''Land of Silvania'', ''silva, -ae'' means "forest") is a Counties of Romania, county (''județ'') of Romania, located in the north-west of the country, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of ...

Crișana Crișana (, , ) is a geographical and historical region of Romania named after the Criș (Körös) River and its three tributaries: the Crișul Alb, Crișul Negru, and Crișul Repede. In Romania, the term is sometimes extended to include areas ...

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

. It lies 14 km northwest of

Zalău Zalău (, unofficial and former official name: (; or , , ) is the seat of Sălaj County, Romania. In 2021, its estimated population was 52,359. History Ancient times Zalău is situated in the area inhabited by "Free Dacians", away from the h ...

and 11 km southeast of

Șimleu Silvaniei Șimleu Silvaniei (; , ) is a town in Sălaj County, Crișana, Romania with a population of 13,948 people (2021 census). It is located near the ancient Dacian fortress Dacidava. Three villages are administered by the town: Bic (''Bükk''), Cehei ...

, on the river Crasna. It is composed of four villages: Crasna, Huseni (''Krasznahosszúaszó''), Marin (''Máron'') and Ratin (''Ráton'').

History

Its name originates from the

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

word ''krasna,'' meaning "beautiful". The village was first mentioned in 1213, as ''Karasna''. It had a castle which was still inhabited in the 17th century. It was the county seat of the historical

Kraszna county Kraszna county () is a former administrative county () of the Kingdom of Hungary along the river Kraszna; its territory is now in north-western Romania. Its capital cities were Krasznavár (today in , ), Valkóvár () and Szilágysomlyó (, ). ...

of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

until 1876. Later it belonged to the Kraszna district of

Szilágy County Szilágy (Romanian language, Romanian: Sălaj) was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in north-western Romania. The capital of the county was Zilah (present-day Za ...

until the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

, which gave it to Romania.

Population

* In 1910 it had 3884 residents, with a significant Hungarian majority (3790 people). * In 2002, the commune had 6373 inhabitants: 63.8%

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

, 28%

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

and 8.1%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

. 53.1% were

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

, 30%

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...

, 9.4%

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, 2.1% each

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

and

Greek-Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gr ...

and 1.7%

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. * In 2011 it had 6,485 residents, with a significant Hungarian majority (4,103 people).

Sights to see

church, built in the late 14th century; with 4 spires and a painted sunken panel ceiling which was made in the 17th century.welcometoromania.ro - Reformed Church in Crasna, Sălaj County
retrieved on May 11, 2012 * Reformed Church in Ratin * Orthodox Church in Crasna * Greek Catholic Church in Marin *

Lake Vârșolț Vârșolț Reservoir () is the largest lake in Sălaj County, Romania. It is a reservoir, made in 1976–1979. Vârșolț Lake is situated in the Crasna River basin, between Crasna and Vârșolț. The dam has a height of and a length of . ...

Image gallery

File:RO SJ Crasna 1.jpg, Reformed church (Crasna) File:RO SJ Crasna 2.jpg, Orthodox church (Crasna) File:Satul Marin2.jpg, Marin File:Biserica de lemn din Marin, sfinţită în 1780 şi demolată în 1967.jpg, Greek-Catholic church, dedicated 1780, demolished 1967 (Marin) File:RO SJ Ratin Reformed Church 1.jpg, Reformed church (Ratin)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crasna, Salaj Communes in Sălaj County Localities in Crișana