Sălaj County

Location of Sălaj County in Romania

Map of the Salaj district

Salaj County coat of arms

Coat of arms of the Salaj district, at the time of real socialism

Coat of arms of the Salaj district, in the interwar period

Sălaj [ səˈlaʒ ] is a Romanian district ( Județ ) in the historical region of Transylvania with the district capital Zalău . Its common abbreviation and license plate number is SJ.

Demographics

In 2002 the district had 248,407 inhabitants and a population density of 64 inhabitants per km². In the past 50 years the population in this largely rural part of Romania has decreased slightly. Even today, around 60% of the population live in rural areas and only 40% in cities.

The population is made up of around 71.23% Romanians , 23.04% Hungarians , 5.05% Roma and 0.55% Slovaks ; the part not listed could not be precisely determined. Not only the ethnic but also the religious affiliation is very different. 66.65 of the population are Orthodox, 19.6% Reformed, 2.6% Roman Catholic, 2.8% Greek Catholic, 6.8% belong to new Protestant faiths, the remainder is 1.4%.

At the 2011 census, Sălaj County had 224,384 inhabitants, a population density of 58 inhabitants per km².

geography

The district has a total area of 3864 km², which corresponds to 1.62% of the area of Romania. The north-eastern part of Sălaj County lies in the Somesch Plain; the remaining part is in the north of the Apuseni Mountains . The dominant river is the Someș (Somesch) , smaller tributaries are Crasna, Barcău , Almaș, Agrij, Zalău and Sălaj.

The Sălaj district is enclosed by the Satu Mare and Maramureş districts in the north, Bihor in the west and southwest, and Cluj in the south and east. The climate is moderately continental, with westerly winds prevailing.

economy

The economic structure of the district is still largely shaped by agriculture . Are grown corn , wheat , rye , oats , potatoes , sunflowers and vegetables . In addition to cattle and pigs , a large number of sheep and goats are kept in animal production . The region is rich in natural raw materials, so raw materials such as lignite , gypsum , alabaster and kaolin can be found in the soil of Sălaj . Also hot springs in the region. The industry is dominated by the production of machines and automobile parts, textiles, food, wood products and paper. Especially with the latter, you can fall back on the local raw materials.

Attractions

Important sights are, for example, the region's wooden churches , which were built several hundred years ago using a special pile construction method. In addition to the famous wooden church of Cizer, there are other important buildings in the towns of Fildu de Sus , Sânmihaiu Almașului , Baica , Sârbi and Racâș . Many of these churches have been restored in recent years or will be repaired in the foreseeable future. There are also various monasteries in the region, many of which were only newly created in recent years. Here are Bălan and Rus to name. The Holy Trinity Nunnery in Bic is a good example of such a start-up. Here one sees oneself committed to the religious folk art of the region; so the old wooden church of Stana was rebuilt in the monastery grounds. In addition to these testimonies of religious activity, there are also various castles and country houses in the region. In Zalau and Șimleu Silvaniei museums provide further information about the culture of the region.

cities and communes

The Sălaj County officially consists of 290 localities. Four of them have the status of a city , 57 that of a municipality and the rest are administratively assigned to cities and municipalities.

Biggest places

City / municipality	population
Zalau ( German Zillenmarkt , Hungarian Zilah )	56.202
Șimleu Silvaniei (German Schomlenmarkt , Hungarian Szilágysomlyó )	14,436
Jibou (German Siben , Hungarian Zsibó )	10,407
Cehu-Silvaniei (German Bömischdorf , Hungarian Szilágycseh )	07.214
Crasna (German Krassmarkt , Hungarian Kraszna )	06,485
Sărmășag (Hungarian Sarmaság )	06.092
Pericei (Hungarian Szilágyperecsen )	03,768
Bobota (Hungarian Nagyderzsida )	03,766
Bălan (dt. Bladder churches , ung. Almásbalázsháza )	03,722
Ip (approx. Ipp )	03,648
Nușfalău (Hungarian Szilágynagyfalu )	03,600
Hereclean (Hungarian Haraklány )	03,575
Surduc (Hungarian Szurduk )	03,461
Sâg (ung. Felsőszék )	03,276
(As of October 20, 2011)

Web links

Commons : Sălaj County - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b 2011 census in Romania at citypopulation.de

[vz2011-1] 2011 census in Romania at citypopulation.de