Gherla
Gherla | |
|---|---|
 Overview of Gherla in May 2004 | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location in Cluj County | |
  Gherla Location in Romania | |
| Coordinates: 47°1′12″N 23°54′0″E / 47.02000°N 23.90000°E | |
| Country | Romania |
| County | Cluj |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2024) | Ovidiu Drăgan[1] (PNL) |
| Area | 36.3 km2 (14.0 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 250 m (820 ft) |
| Population (2021-12-01)[2] | 19,873 |
| • Density | 550/km2 (1,400/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3) |
| Postal code | 405300 |
| Area code | (+40) 02 64 |
| Vehicle reg. | CJ |
| Website | gherla |
Gherla (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡerla]; Hungarian: Szamosújvár; German: Neuschloss) is a municipality in Cluj County, Romania (in the historical region of Transylvania). It is located 45 kilometres (28 mi) from Cluj-Napoca on the river Someșul Mic, and has a population of 19,873 as of 2021. Three villages are administered by the city: Băița (formerly Chirău, and Kérő in Hungarian), Hășdate (Szamoshesdát) and Silivaș (Vizszilvás).
The city was formerly known as Armenopolis[3] (Armenian: Հայաքաղաք Hayakaghak; German: Armenierstadt; Hungarian: Örményváros) because it was populated by Armenians.[4]
History
A clay tablet containing a fragmentary
The locality was first recorded in 1291 as a village named Gherlahida, (probably derived from the
The modern city was built in the early 18th century by Armenians, successors of the Cilician Armenian diaspora, who had originally settled in Crimea and Moldavia, and moved to Transylvania sometime after 1650. After a two years' campaign by the Armenian-Catholic Bishop Oxendius Vărzărescu, they converted from the Armenian Apostolic Church to the Armenian Catholic Church.[citation needed]
Gherla is the seat of the
During the Years of Revolution of 1848 and 1849, Gherla was the stage for numerous battles between the warring parties, changing hands several times. The Austrian commander Karl von Urban and his Romanian Regiment liberated the city three times from Hungarian revolutionary forces, winning the Battle of Szamosújvár on 13 November 1848, a landmark of the stormy period.
A
The town is often visited by Orthodox pilgrims on their way to the nearby village of Nicula and Nicula Monastery.
Gherla also had a significant Jewish population which was decimated during the Holocaust. After the war most of the remaining Jewish population left the city. The Synagogue and the Holocaust Memorial Monument are visited by tourists from many countries.[citation needed]
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 6,857 | — |
| 1930 | 6,608 | −3.6% |
| 1948 | 6,663 | +0.8% |
| 1956 | 7,617 | +14.3% |
| 1966 | 12,766 | +67.6% |
| 1977 | 17,599 | +37.9% |
| 1992 | 26,277 | +49.3% |
| 2002 | 24,232 | −7.8% |
| 2011 | 20,982 | −13.4% |
| 2021 | 19,873 | −5.3% |
| Source: Census data | ||
According to the 2021 Romanian census, Gherla has a population of 19,873, a decrease of 5.3% from the previous census.[8] At the 2011 census, there were 20,982 people living within the city; of those, 15,952 (76.0%) were Romanians, 3,435 (16.4%) Hungarians, 735 (3.5%) Roma, and 61 (0.3%) others, including 16 Germans (more specifically Transylvanian Saxons).[9]
For Armenian Catholics, see Ordinariate for Armenian Catholics of Romania.
Natives
- Tamás Aján (born 1939), President of the International Weightlifting Federation and member of the International Olympic Committee
- Laur Aștilean (born 1973), footballer
- Mihai Chezan (born 1935), volleyball player
- Cristian Coroian (born 1973), footballer
- Cyrill Demian (1772–1849), inventor, organ and piano maker
- Nechita-Adrian Oros (born 1965), veterinarian and politician
- Gergely Pongrátz (1932–2005), veteran of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
- Silviu Prigoană (born 1963), businessman and politician
References
- ^ "Results of the 2020 local elections". Central Electoral Bureau. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ^ "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
- ISBN 9781841622309.
- ISBN 9781741041491.
Gherla Once a predominantly Armenian settlement called Armenopolis in the 17th century...
- ^ Kuhrt 2013, p. 197.
- ^ Frye 1984, p. 103.
- ^ Schmitt 2000, p. 53.
- ^ "Populația rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (in Romanian). INSSE. 31 May 2023.
- ^ Tab8. Populaţia stabilă după etnie – județe, municipii, orașe, comune, 2011 census results, Institutul Național de Statistică, accessed 17 February 2020.
Sources
- Kuhrt, A. (2013). The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period. Routledge. ISBN 978-1136016943.
- Frye, Richard Nelson (1984). Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaft: Alter Orient-Griechische Geschichte-Römische Geschichte. Band III,7: The History of Ancient Iran. ISBN 978-3406093975.
- Schmitt, Rüdiger (2000). The Old Persian Inscriptions of Naqsh-i Rustam and Persepolis. Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum by School of Oriental and African Studies. ISBN 978-0728603141.
External links
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Armenierstadt". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.- Armenians in Romania at the Central European University site
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