Gherla

Gherla
Municipality

Coat of arms

Location on Romania map

Coordinates: 47°1′12″N 23°54′0″E / 47.02000°N 23.90000°E / 47.02000; 23.90000Coordinates: 47°1′12″N 23°54′0″E / 47.02000°N 23.90000°E / 47.02000; 23.90000
Country  Romania
County Cluj
Status Municipality
Government
 • Mayor Ioan Neselean (Social Democratic Party)
Area
 • Total 36.3 km2 (14.0 sq mi)
Population (October 20, 2011)[1]
 • Total 20,203
 • Density 560/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Website http://www.gherlainfo.ro/

Gherla (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡerla]; Hungarian: Szamosújvár; German: Neuschloss) is a city in Cluj County, Romania (in the historical region of Transylvania). It is located 45 km from Cluj-Napoca on the Someşul Mic River, and has a population of 20,203. Three villages are administered by the city: Băiţa (formerly Chirău, and Kérő in Hungarian), Hăşdate (Szamoshesdát) and Silivaş (Vizszilvás).

The city was formerly known as Armenopolis[2] (Armenian: Հայաքաղաք Hayakaghak; German: Armenierstadt; Hungarian: Örményváros) because it was populated by Armenians.[3]

History

Historical population
YearPop.±%
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 20,203−16.6%
Source: Census data
Armenian Catholic Cathedral

The locality was first recorded in 1291, as a village named Gherlahida (probably derived from the Slavic word grle, meaning "ford"). The second name was Armenian, Հայաքաղաք Hayakaghak, meaning "Armenian city"; it gave the Medieval Latin and Greek official name Armenopolis, as well as the German alternative name Armenierstadt. Later, the name of Szamosújvár was used in official Hungarian records, meaning "the new town on the Someş". Before 1918, Gherla was part of the Kingdom of Hungary comitatus of Szolnok-Doboka. It was again part of Hungary between 1940-1944.

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.

Gherla is the seat of the Ordinariate for Catholics of Armenian Rite in Romania as well as that of a Greek-Catholic diocese – the Cluj-Gherla Diocese (suffragan to the Greek-Catholic Archbishop of Alba Iulia and Făgăraş-Blaj, who resided in Blaj). In the center of the city lie the Saint Gregory the Illuminator and the Holy Trinity Armenian Cathedral. The main Armenian-Catholic church was built in 1792. The Greek Catholic diocese was created through the Papal Bull Ad Apostolicam Sedem of November 26, 1853, and the first bishop was Ioan Alexi.

A Habsburg fortress was built here, and in 1785 converted to a prison which, during the Communist regime, was used for political detainees (see Gherla prison). Today it is a Romanian high-security prison.

In 1937, a clay tablet containing a fragmentary Old Persian cuneiform of king Darius I of Persia was found at Gherla, which may be related to Darius I's epigraphic activities as reported by Herodotus in relation to the Scythian campaign of 513 BC.[4][5][6]

The town is often visited by Orthodox pilgrims on their way to the nearby village of Nicula and Nicula Monastery.

Population

According to the 2011 Romanian census, there were 20,203 people living within the city, as follows:[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Comunicat de presă privind rezultatele provizorii ale Recensământului Populaţiei şi Locuinţelor – 2011" (PDF). Cluj County Regional Statistics Directorate. 2012-02-02. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  2. ↑ Mallows, Lucy (2008). Transylvania. Chalfont St. Peter: Bradt Travel Guides. p. 256. ISBN 9781841622309.
  3. ↑ Steve Kokker, Cathryn Kemp (2004). Romania & Moldova. Footscray, Victoria: Lonely Planet. p. 159. ISBN 9781741041491. Gherla Once a predominantly Armenian settlement called Armenopolis in the 17th century...
  4. ↑ Kuhrt 2013, p. 197.
  5. ↑ Frye 1984, p. 103.
  6. ↑ Schmitt 2000, p. 53.

Sources

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