Gherla

[[Image:|100px|Coat of Arms of Gherla]]
County	Cluj County
Status	Municipality
Mayor	Ovidiu Ioan Drăgan, Democratic Party, since 2004
Area	36.3 km²
Population (2002)	24,083
Density	750 inh/km²
Geographical coordinates	47°1′12″N, 23°53′60″E
Web site	http://www.gherla.ro/

Gherla (Hungarian: Szamosújvár or Ormenyvaros, Armenian: Հայաքաղաք Hayakaghak, German: Neuschloss or Armenierstadt) is a city in Cluj County, Romania, located 45 km from Cluj-Napoca, with a population of 24,083. Image File history File links Gherla_in_Romania. ... Administrative map of Romania As of 2003, Romania is divided into 41 counties and one municipality, as follows: A new administrative division was proposed, dividing the country into regions, but its implementation is uncertain since the county division is favoured by most Romanians. ... Cluj (Hungarian: Kolozs) is a county (judeÅ£) in the center of Romania, in Transylvania, with the capital city at Cluj-Napoca (population: 333,607). ... The Democratic Party (Romanian: Partidul Democrat, PD) is a centre-right (formerly social democrat) party of Romania. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Area is a physical quantity expressing the size of a part of a surface. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. ... Cluj (Hungarian: Kolozs) is a county (judeÅ£) in the center of Romania, in Transylvania, with the capital city at Cluj-Napoca (population: 333,607). ... Map of Romania showing Cluj_Napoca Cluj_Napoca (Hungarian: Kolozsvár, German: Klausenburg, Latin: Claudiopolis), the seat of Cluj county, is one of the most important academic, cultural and industrial centers in Romania. ...

History

A reference to village was first recorded in 1291 under the name Gherlahida, probably derived from the Slavic word grle, meaning "ford". The second name was Armenian, Hayakaghak, meaning "Armenian city"; that gave the Latin official name Armenopolis. Later, the name of Szamosújvár was used in official Hungarian records, meaning "the new town on the Someş". For broader historical context, see 1290s and 13th century. ... The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia. ... A ford is a section of water (most commonly a section of a river) that is sufficiently shallow as to be traversable by wading. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... The SomeÅŸ (Hungarian: Szamos) river flows through Romania and Hungary. ...

The modern city was built by Armenians in the early 1700s. In the center of the city lies the St Gregory the Illuminator and the Holy Trinity Armenian Cathedral. Events and trends The Bonneville Slide blocks the Columbia River near the site of present-day Cascade Locks, Oregon with a land bridge 200 feet (60 m) high. ...

A fortress was built here and in 1785, it was transformed into a prison, which, during the Communist regime, was used for political detainees. Today it is the main objective in city being one of the high security prisons in Romania. 1785 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Soviets pressed for inclusion of Romanias heretofore negligible Communist Party in the post-war government, while non-communist political leaders were steadily eliminated from political life. ...

Population

As of 2002 there are the following population indices:

• 19243 or 79.9% Romanians
• 4086 or 17.0% Hungarians
• 657 or 2.7% Romas
• 97 others