Before the Roman conquest of Dacia, Șimleu was a political, social and administrative Dacian centre, of high importance.[3] Seven Dacian fortresses, some with associated settlements, were arranged in an arc shape around the hills of Șimleu.[4] They had a strategic role in supervising the trade along the salt road coming from areas around Napoca, Potaissa, and modern Dej, and heading to Pannonia.[5][6]
The centre of an early Gepidia, on the plains northwest of the Meseș Mountains, appears to have been located around Șimleu Silvaniei, where early 5th-century precious objects of Roman provenance have been unearthed.[7][8]
The town was mentioned in 1258 as Wathasomlyowa. The name means "Wata's mountain"; the name Wata is of Old Turkish origin, while somlyowa is an archaic Hungarian word for mountain(side).
The town belonged to the Báthory family, whose ancestral castle stood here. The castle was built by Miklós, voivode of Transylvania in the early 13th century and was first mentioned in 1319. After the Báthory family built a mansion in the town in 1592, the castle became deserted and today lies in ruins.
The Greek Catholic Vicariate of Șimleu Silvaniei was formed in 1910 and in 1817 the vicariate opened its own school. George Tatu (1810-1824), Georgiu Abraham (1824-1828), Isidor Alpini (1828-1835), Alexandru Sterca-Șuluțiu (1836-1850), Demetriu Coroianu (1850-1873), Alimpiu Barboloviciu (1873-1914), Alexandru Ghetie (1914-1922), Emil Bran (1926-1932), Petru Cupcea (1932-1940), Cornel Darabant (1940-1945), Gheorghe Țurcaș (2004-2009) served as vicars of Șimleu Silvaniei. The old Greek Catholic church was destroyed by a storm in 1866. Notre Dame Church was built between 1871 and 1873.[9]
The Cehei ghetto operated within the town's administrative area. The ghetto was one of the Nazi-era ghettos for European Jews during World War II. It was active in the spring of 1944, following Operation Margarethe. The deportations from Cehei took place in three transports: May 31 (3,106), June 3 (3,161) and June 6 (1,584), with a total of 7,851 Jews sent to Auschwitz. Some 1,200 Sălaj Jews survived the Holocaust but later emigrated from Romania, so that by the 2000s, under fifty Jews remained in the county.
Population
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1910
6,885
—
1930
7,448
+8.2%
1948
7,931
+6.5%
1956
8,560
+7.9%
1966
12,324
+44.0%
1977
14,575
+18.3%
1992
17,642
+21.0%
2002
17,053
−3.3%
2011
13,200
−22.6%
2021
13,948
+5.7%
Source: Census data
At the 2021 census, Șimleu Silvaniei had a population of 13,948. According to the census from 2011, there were 14,436 people living within the town; of those, 66.77% were ethnic Romanians, while 22.87% were ethnic Hungarians, 9.82% ethnic Romani, and 0.51% others.[11] At the 1910 census, out of 6,885 inhabitants, 6,030 were Hungarians (87,58%) and 759 were Romanians (11,02%).[12]
Politics
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2021)
Bărbulescu, Mihai (2005). "From the Romans until the End of the First Millennium AD". In Pop, Ioan-Aurel; Nägler, Thomas (eds.). The History of Transylvania, Vol. I. (until 1541). Romanian Cultural Institute. pp. 137–198. ISBN973-7784-04-9.
Bóna, István (1994). "From Dacia to Transylvania: The Period of the Great Migrations (271–895); The Hungarian–Slav Period (895–1172)". In Köpeczi, Béla; Barta, Gábor; Bóna, István; Makkai, László; Szász, Zoltán; Borus, Judit (eds.). History of Transylvania. Akadémiai Kiadó. pp. 62–177. ISBN963-05-6703-2.