Szilágy County

Szilágy County Comitatus Silagiensis Szilágy vármegye Komitat Szilagy Comitatul Sălaj
County of the Kingdom of Hungary
1876–1920
Coat of arms
Capital		Zilah 47°11′N 23°3′E / 47.183°N 23.050°ECoordinates: 47°11′N 23°3′E / 47.183°N 23.050°E
History
•	Established	1876
•	Treaty of Trianon	4 June 1920
Area
•	1910	3,815 km^2 (1,473 sq mi)
Population
•	1910	230,100
	Density	60.3 /km^2  (156.2 /sq mi)
Today part of		Romania
Zalău is the current name of the capital.

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

Geography

Szilágy county shared borders with the Hungarian counties Bihar, Szatmár, Szolnok-Doboka and Kolozs. The rivers Szamos and Kraszna flow through the county. Its territory is for a large part the same as that of the present Romanian county Sălaj. Its area was 3815 km² around 1910.

History

Szilágy county was formed in 1876, when the counties Kraszna (Its center was Valkóváralja at first, later Szilágysomlyó) and Közép-Szolnok (Its center was Zilah) were united.

In 1920 by the Treaty of Trianon the county became part of Romania. It was returned to Hungary by the Second Vienna Award in 1940 and after World War II it became the part again of Romania. Most of it is now part of the Romanian county Sălaj, except some areas in the north-west (now in Satu Mare county) and north-east (now in Maramureş county).

Demographics

In 1900, the county had a population of 207,293 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities:^[1]

Total:

• Romanian: 125,451 (60.5%)
• Hungarian: 76,482 (36.9%)
• Slovak: 2,873 (1.4%)
• German: 1,494 (0.7%)
• Ruthenian: 46 (0.0%)
• Croatian: 6 (0.0%)
• Serbian: 4 (0.0%)
• Other or unknown: 937 (0.5%)

According to the census of 1900, the county was composed of the following religious communities:^[2]

Total:

• Greek Catholic: 120,544 (58.2%)
• Calvinist: 55,952 (27.0%)
• Roman Catholic: 13,243 (6.4%)
• Jewish: 8,887(4.3%)
• Eastern Orthodox: 7,902 (3.8%)
• Lutheran: 686 (0.3%)
• Unitarian: 74 (0.0%)
• Other or unknown: 5 (0.0%)

Ethnic map of the county with data of the 1910 census (see the key in the description)

In 1910, county had a population of 230,140 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities:^[3]

Total:

• Romanian: 136,087 (59.1%)
• Hungarian: 87,312 (37.9%)
• Slovak: 3,727 (1.6%)
• German: 816 (0.4%)
• Ruthenian: 52 (0.0%)
• Serbian: 6 (0.0%)
• Croatian: 5 (0.0%)
• Other or unknown: 2,135 (0.9%)

According to the census of 1910, the county was composed of the following religious communities:^[4]

Total:

• Greek Catholic: 132,741 (57.7%)
• Calvinist: 60,938 (26.5%)
• Roman Catholic: 15,569 (6.8%)
• Jewish: 9,849 (4.3%)
• Eastern Orthodox: 9,801 (4.3%)
• Lutheran: 786 (0.3%)
• Unitarianist: 77 (0.0%)
• Other or unknown: 379 (0.1%)

Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Szilágy county were:

Districts (járás)
District	Capital
Kraszna	Kraszna, RO Crasna
Szilágycseh	Szilágycseh, RO Cehu Silvaniei
Szilágysomlyó	Szilágysomlyó, RO Șimleu Silvaniei
Tasnád	Tasnád, RO Tăşnad
Zilah	Zilah, RO Zalău
Zsibó	Zsibó, RO Jibou
Urban districts (rendezett tanácsú város)
Szilágysomlyó, RO Șimleu Silvaniei
Zilah, RO Zalău

See also

• Szilágyi surname

References

1. "KlimoTheca :: Könyvtár". Kt.lib.pte.hu. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
2. "KlimoTheca :: Könyvtár". Kt.lib.pte.hu. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
3. "KlimoTheca :: Könyvtár". Kt.lib.pte.hu. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
4. "KlimoTheca :: Könyvtár". Kt.lib.pte.hu. Retrieved 2012-06-19.