Crasna, Sălaj

Crasna
—  Commune  —
Crasna
Coordinates: 47°9′36″N 22°52′29″E / 47.16°N 22.87472°E / 47.16; 22.87472
Country	Romania
County	Sălaj County
Population (2002)[1]	6,373
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

Crasna or Kraszna (Romanian: Crasna; Hungarian: Kraszna) is a commune in Sălaj County, northwestern Romania. It lies 14 km northwest of Zalău and 11 km southeast of Şimleu Silvaniei, on the Crasna River. It has 6,373 inhabitants (2002). It is composed of four villages: Crasna, Huseni (Krasznahosszúaszó), Marin (Máron) and Ratin (Ráton).

History

Its name originates from the Slavic word krasna, meaning "beautiful". The village was first mentioned in 1213, as Karasna. It had a castle which was still inhabited in the 17th century. It was the county seat of the historical Kraszna county of the Kingdom of Hungary until 1876. Later it belonged to the Kraszna district of Szilágy county until the Treaty of Trianon, which gave it to Romania.

In 1910 it had 3884 residents, with a significant Hungarian majority (3790 people). In 2002, the commune had 6373 inhabitants: 63.8% Hungarians, 28% Romanians and 8.1% Roma. 53.1% were Reformed, 30% Romanian Orthodox, 9.4% Baptist, 2.1% each Seventh-day Adventist and Greek-Catholic and 1.7% Roman Catholic.

Sights to see

• Reformed church, built in the late 14th century; with 4 spires and a painted sunken panel ceiling which was made in the 17th century.

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  Reformed church (Crasna)

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  Orthodox church (Crasna)

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  Marin

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  Greek-Catholic church, dedicated 1780, demolished 1967 (Marin)

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  World War I and World War II soldiers' cemetery, dedicated 1976 (Marin)

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  Reformed church (Ratin)

References

1. ^ Romanian census data, 2002; retrieved on March 1, 2010

This article is based on a translation of the equivalent article from the Hungarian Wikipedia on 22 February 2007.

Coordinates: 47°9′36″N 22°52′29″E / 47.16°N 22.87472°E / 47.16; 22.87472