Cehu Silvaniei is a town in Sălaj County

Salaj County

Sălaj is a county of Romania, in the historical regions of Crișana and Transylvania, with the capital city at Zalău.-Geography:Sălaj county has a total area of ....

, Transylvania

Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

, Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

. Four villages are administered by the town: Horoatu Cehului (Oláhhorvát), Motiş (Mutos), Nadiş (Szilágynádasd) and Ulciug (Völcsök).

History of the town

The first written mention of the town dates from 1319 under the name Cheevar. In 1405, the city was mentioned under the name Chehy. The Hungarian name of the city referred to a stand of Czech

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 origin.

The town was until 1918 part of the Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

 and specifically of the Principality of Transylvania. In 1529, the voivod István Báthory granted the city the right to govern itself.

After the dissolution of the principality of Transylvania in 1867 and its direct integration into the Austro-Hungarian Empire as part of Hungary (see the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867), the city is attached to the county of Szilágy in 1876. In 1918, during the disintegration of the empire at the end of the First World War, the city became part of the Kingdom of Romania

Kingdom of Romania

The Kingdom of Romania was the Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...

.

From 1940 to 1944 it was annexed by Hungary as a result of the Second Vienna Award

Second Vienna Award

The Second Vienna Award was the second of two Vienna Awards arbitrated by the Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Rendered on August 30, 1940, it re-assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania from Romania to Hungary.-Prelude and historical background :After the World War I, the multi-ethnic...

. In May 1944, its Jewish community was exterminated by the Nazis during several deportations to Auschwitz

Auschwitz concentration camp

Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...

.

At the end of the Second World War, the city was incorporated by Romania again.

The city has long been an agricultural center. In 1968, during the country's administrative reorganization, it acquired city status and then industrialization take place (textiles, furniture).

Ethnic groups

At the 2002 census, 49.5% of inhabitants were Hungarians, 47.4% Romanians

Romanians

The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....

 and 3% Roma.

Religion

48.1% were Romanian Orthodox, 43.6% Reformed

Reformed Church in Romania

The Reformed Church in Romania is the organization of the Calvinist church in Romania. The majority of its followers are of Hungarian ethnicity and Hungarian is the main church language...

, 3.5% Roman Catholic, 2.1% belonged to "another religion", and 0.8% each Greek-Catholic

Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic

The Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic is an Eastern Catholic Church which is in full union with the Roman Catholic Church. It is ranked as a Major Archiepiscopal Church and uses the Byzantine liturgical rite in the Romanian language....

 and Baptist

Baptist Union of Romania

The Baptist Union of Romania is an alliance of Baptist churches for cooperative ministry in Romania. Since independent churches have no legal standing in Romania, the Baptist Union also provides a mediatorial relationship between churches and government.The first modern-era Baptists in Romania...

.

Hungarian Reformed Church of Cehu-Silvaniei - national monument

Probably members of two families, Miklós Drágffy and his wife, and Eufémia Jakcs or their son, Bertalan, later voivod of Transylvania (1493-98)bulit the church somwhere in the middle of the second half of the 15th century. Governor Drágffy János (1525-26) was an important patron of the church: he made some changes on the church in 1519, and had a lombard-patterned renaissance sedile made for it in 1522.

In 1614, due to the generosity of Prépostváry Zsigmond and his wife Széchy Katalin, the rules os the market-town then, the tower at the western facade is bulit, as shown by the escutcheoned memorial tablet on its southern wall.
The medieval nave is enlarged in 1801, and then 1905, eith square side-aisles and the interiour gets a classicist proportions.
This church is a national monument classified with number SJ-II-m-A-05034.

Jewish cemetery

The Jewish cemetery

Jewish cemetery

A Jewish cemetery is a cemetery where members of the Jewish faith are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition....

 is located at Cehu Silvaniei, Cloşca

Closca

Cloşca may refer to several places in Romania:* Cloşca, a village in Horia Commune, Constanţa County* Cloşca, a village in Horia Commune, Tulcea County* Cloşca, a residential district in Satu Mare County...

 Str. no. 8, Sălaj County, 249.1 miles NNW of Bucharest and 34 km from Zalău

Zalau

Zalău is the seat of Sălaj County, Transylvania, Romania. In 2004, its estimated population was 62,900.- Ancient times :Zalău is situated in the area inhabited by "Free Dacians", 8 kilometers away from the historical landmark of Porolissum, a well-preserved Roman Castrum with an imposing fortress,...

.

The 1850 Jewish population by census was 63, in 1857 was 66, in 1880 was 206, in 1900 was 369, in 1910 was 517, and in 1930 was 551. In May 1944, the Jews were gathered in the "ghetto

Ghetto

A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...

 (of Nazis)" made into Cehu Silvaniei, then in that from Şimleu Silvaniei

Simleu Silvaniei

Şimleu Silvaniei is a town in Sălaj County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 16,066 people .Three villages are administered by the town: Bic , Cehei and Pusta .-History:...

 and on May 31, June 6, 8 they were deported to Auschwitz. The unlandmarked Orthodox

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

cemetery was established in 19th century. The last known burial was in the 20th century.

The isolated suburban flat land has no sign or marker. Reached via private road, access is open with permission. A fence with a gate that locks surrounds the site. Approximate 1-20 stones are visible, some not in original location with 25%-50% of the stones being toppled or broken. The location of the stones that have been removed from the cemetery is unknown. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is a seasonal problem preventing access. Water drainage is good all year. There are no special sections.

The oldest known gravestone dates from 19th century. The 19th and 20th century marble, granite, sandstone, and limestone boulders, flat and shaped, smoothed and inscribed, carved relief decorated gravestones have Hebrew inscriptions. Some have traces of painting on their surfaces. No known mass graves. The national Jewish community owns the property used for Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent properties are residential. The cemetery maintenance worked on the re-erection of stones, patching broken stones, cleaning stones, and clearing vegetation. Current care involves occasional clearing or cleaning of the cemetery by unpaid individuals. There are no structures.

External links

• Map of the Sălaj county