The Cluj County

The archaeological discoveries in this county show the existence of a civilization integrated long time ago into the European life and culture In the Gura Baciului zone the oldest Neolithic vestiges known in Romania (5.000 B.C.) were discovered. In the II-nd century B.C. there was a Geto-Dacian civilization. After the conquest of Dacia by Roman Empire, Potaissa (Turda) and Napoca (Cluj) were named municipalities, the last one becoming the capital city of Dacia Porolissensis - this being its first documentary attestation. From the far antiquity till our days, generations by generations, Dacians firstly, Dacian-Romans later, then Romanians (and beside them the Magyars and Germans later) lived and worked together and had connected by thousand elements to this land which was fertilized and embellished by their work and gifts.

Here there are two main forms of relief: hills and mountains with altitude between 227 m up to 1,842 m above sea level. The highest ones are the Vladeasa (1,842 m) and Muntele Mare (1,825 m). The mountains situated to the South-West are part of the Apuseni Mountains which are a synthesis of the Romanian Carpathians.

The main rivers are Somesul Mic, Ariesul and Crisul Repede. The lakes are not so important economical, but interesting as a scientific value and two of them are natural reservations: Lacul Stancii and Lacul Legii. The anthroposaline lakes (created by the flooding of the old salt mines) are deep and with highly salt-ness curing waters. The main salt lakes are: Turda, Cojocna, Sic and Ocna Dejului.

The county has a temperate continental climate characteristically to the Romanian Western and North-Western regions.

The landscape is a picturesque one and at attractive for tourists.

The fame of the Apuseni Mountains is given by its landscape: large pastures, volcanic peaks, deep and narrow quays which are unique ones both in Romania and in Europe (Cheile Turzii, Cheile Turenilor). There are also caves with a special spealeologic value: Pestera Mare and Pestera Piatra Ponorului. In the mountain forests the bears, wild boars, lynxes, deers can be hunt, and in the rivulets there are a lot of trouts.

Points of tourist interest are also the more than 600 architectural monuments in all European styles from the Gothic, baroque and Renaissance to the Secession and modern ones.

This county has three municipalities: Cluj-Napoca, the capital city with 330,000 inhabitants, Turda and Dej; three towns: Campia Turzii, Huedin and Gherla; 74 villages.

Cluj-Napoca is the capital city. The main town of Transylvania has two names Napoca is the name of the old Dacian fortress, and Cluj is the Latin one from Clusium, a closed town. Its Magyar and German names (Koloszvar, and respectively, Klausenburg) are based on the Latin, Romanian one.

An important cultural, university and industrial town, Cluj-Napoca was and is a symbol along the history. The University, Opera House, the music and art Academy as well as the Medical and Pharmaceutics Institute are well-known in Europe. The Magyars who live here developed remarkably their culture (they have an opera house, a theatre and a lot of periodicals) by their known writers, newspapermen, artists and musicians.

A downtown dominated by the gothic "Sf. Mihai" Church tells the history of this town.