Valcău de Jos

Valcău de Jos (Hungarian: Alsóvalkó) is a commune in Sălaj County, Romania. It is the administrative centre to which the following villages belong: Valcău de Sus, Preoteasa, Ratovei, Lazuri, Lazuri and Sub Cetate. It is 14 km southwest of Şimleu Silvaniei.

History

Its name comes from the Slavic word vlk ("wolf"). Its Hungarian name Alsóvalkó means "Lower Valkó"; before 1899 it was called Magyarvalkó. Felsővalkó ("Upper Valkó") is now Valcău de Sus. Its castle was built in the late 13th century, and was unlawfully occupied by Dezső Elefánti in 1312. King Sigismund of Luxemburg laid siege to it in 1404. In 1665 the Ottoman army destroyed it and it was not rebuilt again.

In 1910 the village had 900 residents, with a Romanian majority and a significant Hungarian minority. Before it was ceded from Hungary to Romania in accordance with the Treaty of Trianon, it belonged to the Kraszna district of Szilágy county of the Kingdom of Hungary.

In 2002 the commune of which Valcău de Jos is the administrative center had 3302 inhabitants: 2909 Romanians, 287 Roma, 105 Hungarians, and one Slovak.

References

This article is based on a translation of the equivalent article from the Hungarian Wikipedia on 22 February 2007.