Turda | |
|---|---|
 Republicii Square  Turda History Museum  Roman Catholic Church of Turda  Old Reformed Church of Turda withTurda Gorge in the background | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Location in Cluj County | |
  Turda Location in Romania | |
| Coordinates:46°34′N23°47′E / 46.567°N 23.783°E /46.567; 23.783 | |
| Country | Romania |
| County | Cluj |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2024) | Cristian-Octavian Matei[2] (PNL) |
Area | 91.43 km2 (35.30 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 315 m (1,033 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 436 m (1,430 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 310 m (1,020 ft) |
| Population (2021-12-01)[1] | 43,319 |
| • Density | 473.8/km2 (1,227/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 401001–401189 |
| Area code | +(40) x64 |
| Vehicle reg. | CJ |
| Website | primariaturda |
Turda (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈturda];Hungarian:Torda,Hungarian pronunciation:[ˈtorda]; German:Thorenburg;Latin:Potaissa) is acity inCluj County,Transylvania,Romania. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, 34.2 km (21.3 mi) from the county seat,Cluj-Napoca, to which it is connected by theEuropean route E81, and 6.7 km (4.2 mi) from nearbyCâmpia Turzii.
The city consists of four neighborhoods: Turda Veche, Turda Nouă, Oprișani, and Poiana. It is traversed from west to east by theArieș River and north to south by its tributary,Valea Racilor.
There is evidence of human settlement in the area dating to theMiddle Paleolithic, some 60,000 years ago.[3] ThePotaissa salt mines were worked in the area since prehistoric times.
TheDacians established a town thatPtolemy in hisGeography callsPatreuissa, which is probably a corruption ofPatavissa orPotaissa, the latter being more common. It was conquered by theRomans, who kept the namePotaissa, between AD 101 and 106, during the rule ofTrajan, together with parts ofDecebal'sDacia.[4] "Potaissa" is first recorded on a Romanmilliarium discovered in 1758 in the nearbyAiton commune.[5] The city became amunicipium Septimium, and benefited fromIus Italicum, however if it reached the rank ofcolonia is uncertain. At its height it housed as many as 20,000 people. About 200 inscriptions were recovered from the now entirely overlapped Roman ruins, many showing vulgarisms such asv/b alternation or simplification of the geminates.[6]
Thelegionary fortress was established as the basecamp of theLegio VMacedonica from 166 to 274, and was also namedPotaissa.
From the reign ofGordian III (238–244) numerous treasures were excavated from Turda,Țaga,Viișoara, andMărtinești, showing that in this time the defense was breaking under theCarps,Goths,Gepids, andVandals.[7]
Objects dated to post-Aurelian retreat found at the site (for example an inscribed onyx gem depicting the Good Shepherd, and silver coins of Diocletian) together with a large burial containing sarcophagi and a cremation stone box point at continuous habitation until the early fifth century.[8] The situation changes in the next two centuries when dwellings and cemeteries superpose the Roman site, in a similar manner toApulum andSirmium.[9] After conquering the place, the Huns settled down near.[10] From this time threesolidus were found from graves. Burying with coins was aGepid tradition not typical of the Huns, meaning that they settled their vassals inTransylvania too.[7]
The territory changed hands between theGepids andLangobards multiple times before both were expelled by theAvars.[10]
After theHungarian conquest, the kindred Kalocsa settled here. Their center was calledTordavár ("castle of Torda"), and another important estate wasTordalaka ("home of Torda") as of 1075.[7][10] The name probably derives fromOld Bulgarian *tvьrdъ meaning citadel, fortress.[11]
Saxons settled in the area in the 12th century. Much of the town was destroyed during theTatar invasion in 1241–1242, however most of its inhabitants survived by hiding in the cave system.King Stephen V ensured its quick revival by giving privileges.[10]
On 8 January, 1288,Ladislaus IV attended the first national assembly in Torda and recruited an army of Transylvanians to repel theCuman invasion. He pursued the Cumans back to the border. During this time the Hungarians were the absolute majority in the city. Numerous meetings were held here afterwards.[10]
The Hungarian Diet was held here in 1467, byMatthias Corvinus. Later, in the 16th century, Turda was often the residence of theTransylvanian Diet, too. After theBattle of Mohács, the city became part of theEastern Hungarian Kingdom and since 1570 thePrincipality of Transylvania. The 1558 Diet of Turda declared free practice of both the Catholic andLutheran religions. In 1563 the Diet also accepted theCalvinist religion, and in 1568 it extended freedom to all religions, declaring that "It is not allowed to anybody to intimidate anybody with captivity or expelling for his religion" – a freedom unusual in medieval Europe. ThisEdict of Turda is the first attempt at legislating general religious freedom in Christian Europe (though its legal effectiveness was limited).
In 1609Gabriel Báthori granted new privileges to Turda. These were confirmed later byGabriel Bethlen. In the battle of Turda, Ahmed Pasha defeatedGeorge II Rákóczi in 1659.
In 1711 theGrand Principality of Translyvania was formed which became in 1804 part of theAustrian Empire. In 1867, by theAustro-Hungarian Compromise, the city became again part ofHungary. AfterWorld War I, following the proclamation of theUnion of Transylvania with Romania of December 1918 and theHungarian–Romanian War of 1918–1919, Turda passed under Romanian administration, and then became part of theKingdom of Romania by theTreaty of Trianon of 1920.[12] During theinterwar period, the city became the seat ofTurda County. In 1944, theBattle of Turda took place here, betweenGerman andHungarian forces on one side andSoviet andRomanian forces on the other. It was the largest battle fought in Transylvania duringWorld War II.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 8,743 | — |
| 1880 | 10,563 | +20.8% |
| 1890 | 12,370 | +17.1% |
| 1900 | 13,587 | +9.8% |
| 1910 | 15,167 | +11.6% |
| 1920 | 16,692 | +10.1% |
| 1930 | 21,428 | +28.4% |
| 1941 | 32,170 | +50.1% |
| 1948 | 25,905 | −19.5% |
| 1956 | 35,606 | +37.4% |
| 1966 | 44,980 | +26.3% |
| 1977 | 55,294 | +22.9% |
| 1992 | 61,200 | +10.7% |
| 2002 | 55,770 | −8.9% |
| 2011 | 47,744 | −14.4% |
| 2021 | 43,319 | −9.3% |
| Source: Census data | ||
According to the Hungarian census from 1910, the town had 13,455 inhabitants, of which 9,674 were Hungarians, 3,389 Romanians, and 100 Germans.[13]
According to the2011 Romanian census, there were 47,744 people living within the city. Of this population, 84.7% were ethnicRomanians, while 8.98% were ethnicHungarians, 6.03% ethnicRoma, and 0.4% others.[14]
At the2021 census, Turda had a population of 43,319, a decrease of 9.3% from the previous census; of those, 72.46% were Romanians, 5.92% Hungarians, and 4.03% Roma.[15]
Turda istwinned with:
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