The Administrative Organisation of Present Cluj County between 1541 and 1848

Raularian Rusu,Ciprian Moldovan,Bogdan-Eugen Dolean

doi:10.24193/subbgeogr.2019.2.02

Raularian Rusu, Ciprian Moldovan + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.24193/subbgeogr.2019.2.02

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Abstract

"The Administrative Organisation of Present Cluj County between 1541 and 1848. The administrative organisation is one of the most important spatial planning actions, because it directly determines spatial configurations and polarizing relations, while concentrating local government institutions into cities and towns which are becoming more prominent as a result of them being designated as administrative centres. This paper attempts to reconstruct the administrative divisions and the ranking of settlements of present Cluj County between 1541 and 1848. Included almost entirely in the Principality of Transylvania, the area of present Cluj County was mainly covered, from North to South, by the counties of Solnocu Interior (Inner Solnoc), Dăbâca, Cluj and Turda. The Szekler seat of Arieș covered a small part in the South and Bihor County (in the Kingdom of Hungary) covered a very small part in the West of present Cluj County. Their limits remained largely the same over a very long period of time. The counties of Solnocu Interior, Dăbâca, Cluj and Turda extended a lot to the West and East of present Cluj County, but their seats were all located here: Dej (Solnocu Interior County), Bonțida (Dăbâca County), Cluj and Turda, to which one may add Gherla, that had the highest status, just like Cluj, that of free royal city, and had an administration of its own. All counties were divided into two districts, an Upper District and a Lower District, and the districts, in their turn, were further divided into circles (smaller districts). Cluj, Gherla, Turda and Dej have retained their importance throughout several centuries up until today, and their historical heritage and prominence still plays an important part in the present regional framework. Keywords: Cluj County, administrative organisation, historical counties, districts, Principality of Transylvania."

Highlights

The territorial administrative organisation in older times has been the subject of history and historical geography and has been often neglected by current regional geographers, spatial planners, and administrative authorities, which are dealing with the realities of the present day, sometimes unaware of the links existing between certain historical administrative divisions and the current challenges in reforming the administrative system and applying a coherent and sustainable development strategy
Historical Context: The Period of the Autonomous Principality of Transylvania (1541‐1690) After the death of Matthias Corvinus, the Kingdom of Hungary went into a deep domestic crisis
The analysis shows a remarkable stability of the administrative divisions in the current Cluj County for a long period of time, more than 300 years

Summary

Introduction

The territorial administrative organisation in older times has been the subject of history and historical geography and has been often neglected by current regional geographers, spatial planners, and administrative authorities, which are dealing with the realities of the present day, sometimes unaware of the links existing between certain historical administrative divisions and the current challenges in reforming the administrative system and applying a coherent and sustainable development strategy. Historians use to refer to the former realities without taking into account the present, while spatial planners conduct their research and analysis based mostly on current and recent trends. This study refers to the present Cluj County, covering the period between 1541 (the setting up of the Principality of Transylvania) and 1848, when the Revolution triggered a number of changes, including administrative ones, in the entire Austrian Empire. This period of more than 300 years proved to be rather stable in terms of administrative divisions, which were changed only once, by Emperor Joseph II in 1783-1784, only to be changed back in 1790. Other towns prospered and developed, especially those related to salt mines – Dej and Turda, which were county seats, and to a lesser extent, Cojocna and Sic

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