Jibou (; ; ; ) is a town in

Sălaj County Sălaj County (; ) (also known as ''Land of Silvania'', ''silva, -ae'' means "forest") is a Counties of Romania, county (''județ'') of Romania, located in the north-west of the country, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. In 2021 it had a population of 9,677. Jibou includes the town proper and other four villages: Rona ( Hungarian: ''Szilágyróna''), Cuceu (''Kucsó''), Husia (''Hosszúújfalu''), and Var (''Szamosőrmező''). Jibou is northeast of the county seat

Zalău Zalău (, unofficial and former official name: (; or , , ) is the seat of Sălaj County, Romania. In 2021, its estimated population was 52,359. History Ancient times Zalău is situated in the area inhabited by "Free Dacians", away from the h ...

; the two are linked by

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

and county road DJ108A, as well as by railroad. Its major attractions are the old Wesselényi Castle, Vasile Fati Botanical Garden, and the thermal baths.

Geography

Jibou is situated in the northeastern region of Sălaj County, Romania. It is positioned on the left bank of the

Someș River The Someș () or Szamos ( or ''Samosch'') is a left tributary of the Tisza in Hungary and Romania. It has a length of (including its source river Someșul Mare), of which 50 km are in Hungary.Agrij River. The town is located at the coordinates of approximately 47°16′N latitude and 23°15′E longitude.

History

The city is located in a Daco-Roman area and developed early as a rural settlement. The first documentary attestation of Jibou dates to 1205, under the name ''Chybur''. Among the many names Jibou bore are the titles ''villa'' (town) in 1219 and ''oppidum'' (fortified town) in 1564, which attest the importance of the locality at the time. Jibou is likely older than its first documentary attestation, given that the Roman road connecting the castra of Tihău with that of Porolissum passed through its boundary. The other component localities were noted a little later: Rona in 1338, Cuceu in 1388, Husia in 1405 and Var in 1469. The development of Jibou continued in medieval times, but suffered from Turkish invasions such as those in 1610 and 1665. Documents of the time attested that residents here have participated in the Bobâlna uprising (1437) and the revolt led by Gheorghe Doja in 1514. Locals fought oppression by outlawry and local uprisings, which have been reported both in the 17th century, and in the 18th century. During the rebellion led by Horea, Cloșca and Crișan in 1784 and during the revolution of 1848, serfs in Jibou have been with the thought and deeds by the side of other exploited inhabitants of the Transylvanian settlements, regardless of nationality. Jibou is well known for his participation in the Kurucz rebellion (1703–1711) (see ''

Battle of Zsibó Battle of Zsibó ( ) was fought on 15 November 1705 between the Kuruc ( Hungarian) army (supported by French contingents) and forces of the Habsburg Empire, Denmark-Norway and Vojvodian Serbs in Zsibó, Principality of Transylvania (to ...

'') taken against Habsburg rule. The Wesselényi family played an important role in the evolution of Jibou, which built a castle there in 1584; today, only traces of the foundation are preserved. The construction of the current castle, the largest baroque complex in Transylvania, began in 1778 and lasted more than 30 years. The most prominent representative of this family was Baron Miklós Wesselényi Jr., who lived between 1796 and 1850. He fought for the liberation of the serfs, being considered the leader of the reformist Hungarian nobility opposition, which struggled against the conservatism of Habsburg monarchy. In 1781, his father, Miklós Wesselényi Sr., conflicts with aulic chancellor Johan Haller, his neighbor from Gârbou. On 16 October 1781, with an army of 540 people, armed "some with rifles, most with scythes, iron pitchforks, cudgels" and 12 outlaws (), Miklós Wesselényi appears at Gârbou, taking Haller by surprise, who did not expect such a gesture. As a result of this conflict, Haller sends Wesselényi to trial for six counts: "blasphemy, crooked oath, fire implementing threat, challenge to a duel, infestation and arrest of royal officials, disturbing public security". The process is settled only after three years, when the very Emperor Joseph II, son of

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

, condemns Wesselényi to several years of prison at Kufstein. The last forty-eighter revolutionary army in Europe, made up of about 8,000 soldiers commanded by General Kazinczy, capitulated at the castle on 25 August 1849. From 1876 to 1920, Jibou was part of the

Szilágy County Szilágy (Romanian language, Romanian: Sălaj) was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in north-western Romania. The capital of the county was Zilah (present-day Za ...

of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. The inauguration of the Dej–Jibou–

railway in 1890, and over several years to

Baia Mare Baia Mare ( , ; ; ; ) is a Municipiu, city along the Săsar, Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramureș, a subregion of Transylvania. It is situated about from Buchare ...

, led Jibou to become an important railway center. Through the development of industries and construction of railway the number of employees and workers increased. Nevertheless, agriculture remained main branch of the economy, especially after the introduction of alternative crops and the use of agricultural machines. To the end of 19th century in Jibou established many Jewish families, which made to increase the role of exchange of the locality. The main occupation of the

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

was trade; they opened a number of stores. After the collapse of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

at the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Great National Assembly of

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...

(1 December 1918) was also attended by delegates from Jibou, headed by Gheorghe Petruca. Following the declaration of the

Union of Transylvania with Romania The union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia. The Great Union Day (also called ''Unification Day''), celebrated on 1 December, is a Public holidays in Romani ...

, the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

took control of Jibou in April 1919, during the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War (; ) was fought between Hungary and Kingdom of Romania, Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. After the ...

. The town officially became part of the territory ceded to the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

in June 1920 under the terms of the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, it became the seat of plasa Jibou, in

. In August 1940, under the auspices of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, which imposed the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all of Maramureș and part of Cri ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

retook the territory of

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania (, ) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Kingdom ...

(which included Jibou) from Romania. Towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, however, the city was taken back from Hungarian and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

troops by Romanian and

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

forces on 16 October 1944. In 1950, Jibou became a

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

seat within the Cluj Region; it lost the statute in 1960, when the raion seat became

. Jibou was declared a town in 1968, when a new administrative law was adopted, and Jibou became once again part of Zalău County.

Demography

Before it came under Romanian authority, the majority of the inhabitants were Hungarians. According to data of the 1910 census, 532 out of 3,047 were

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

and 2,481

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

. According to the census of 2011, the town numbered at that time 10,407 inhabitants, of which 5,141 were male and 5,266 female. The decrease in population was mainly due to negative natural growth, but also emigration to other western European countries. The city's population was made up of 8,210

(9,181 in 2002), alongside also live 1,192

(1,503 in 2002), 584 Roma (603 in 2002), 5

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

(3 in 2002), 3

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

(2 in 2002), 7 of other nationalities, and 401 of undeclared ethnicity. Regarding religious confessions, 7,153 were Orthodox (9,044 in 2002), 151

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

(162 in 2002), 127

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

(175 in 2002), 1,088

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

(1,520 in 2002), 4 Unitarians (1 in 2002), 402

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

(500 in 2002), 746

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

(560 in 2002), 7

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

(12 in 2002), 12

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

(8 in 2002), 3

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

(2 in 2002), 220

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...

, 14 other religions, 11 without religion (6 in 2002), 5 atheists (2 in 2002), and 460 with undeclared religion. At the 2021 census, Jibou had a population of 9,677; of those, 78.89% were Romanians, 11.45% Hungarians, and 5.61% Roma. Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:280 height:260 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:12000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:2000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:500 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1977 text:1977 bar:1992 text:1992 bar:2002 text:2002 bar:2011 text:2011 bar:2021 text:2021 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1977 from:0 till: 8841 bar:1992 from:0 till: 11989 bar:2002 from:0 till: 11306 bar:2011 from:0 till: 10407 bar:2021 from:0 till: 9677 PlotData= bar:1977 at: 8841 fontsize:S text: 8,841 shift:(-7,5) bar:1992 at: 11989 fontsize:S text: 11,989 shift:(-15,5) bar:2002 at: 11306 fontsize:S text: 11,306 shift:(-15,5) bar:2011 at: 10407 fontsize:S text: 10,407 shift:(-15,5) bar:2021 at: 9677 fontsize:S text: 9,677 shift:(-15,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Population evolution over time

Economy

Over time, Jibou has kept its predominant agricultural and handicraft character. If before 1968 it had only one industrial unit, ''Red Star'' (, ), that produced joinery articles, in the years that followed were built and expanded: the Flax Plant, the Clothing Firm, the Flax Melter, the Dairy, the Mining Company, the CFR Depot, sections of the Zalău Enterprise of Industrial Armature of Iron and Steel, Zalău Ceramics, the Forest Unit of Exploitation and Transport, the handicraft cooperatives the ''Craftsmen Collective'' and the ''Progress'', and others. After 1989, some of these economic units have ceased work, others had reprofiled, adapting in one way or another to

market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand. The major characteristic of a mark ...

. The most worrisome effect is the large number of unemployed, which is why it falls upon the general standard of living of the inhabitants.

Industry

In terms of industry, Jibou has profiled, in time, on certain sectors of

light industry Light industry are Industry (economics), industries that usually are less Capital intensity, capital-intensive than heavy industry, heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consum ...

, wood processing, food, crafts and construction. Productive units have small production capacities, but optimally harness material and human resources of the area. In this regard can be mentioned: Confecții SA, Samtex, Multiprod, Mining Company, Bălănean Mill, the ''Progress'' cooperative, the ''Craftsman'' cooperative, the Cheese Factory, Absolut Typography, Clem SRL, Calion Prod, etc.

Agriculture and silviculture

Fertile lands in the

Someș The Someș () or Szamos ( or ''Samosch'') is a left tributary of the Tisza in Hungary and Romania. It has a length of (including its source river Someșul Mare), of which 50 km are in Hungary.deciduous forest In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flo ...

s, which complete the natural landscape.

Commerce

The geographical position of the city favored the layout of a market for sale of industrial and agricultural products, but also of an animal market. There are many commercial units making a wide range of products, such as: Bujor SNC, Alfa, But Impex, Bălănean, Tora, Baciu, Paloma, Criss, and Consumcoop units.

Services

In order to meet certain needs of the population, there are many units providing services, such as: Prod Fizeș, Arcada, Consomes, Tinca SRL, the ''Craftsman'' cooperative, the ''Progress'' cooperative, that perform construction, plumbing, heating and water works, carpentry, repair of household appliances, auto repair shops, etc.

Banking system

Monetary circulation in the city and surroundings is provided by the CEC Bank, the Romanian Commercial Bank, the Romanian Bank for Development, the Treasury and the Credit Cooperative. In the insurance field operates the following units: Asirom, Unita, Ardaf.

Tourism

Monuments

* Old Orthodox Church (1931) * St. George Orthodox Church – built between 1998 and 2001, it is nicknamed the "high-tech church" for its modern amenities (electronic censer, underfloor heating, altar with remote control). * Reformed Church – burned by

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

in 1658 and by Lobonts in 1705, it is rebuilt in 1749. *

Assumption of the Virgin Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of whether Mary died or whether she was ra ...

Roman Catholic Church (1886) * Wesselényi Castle, in the courtyard of which is arranged the Botanical Garden. * Béldy Castle – built in 1903 by Béldy family for its boy, the castle houses a neuropsychiatric hospital. * Former

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

(late 19th century) * Old

train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

(1890), subsequently converted into

bus terminal A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

* Town Hall (late 19th century) * Town Hospital, formerly Court (late 19th century)

Education

Registers of the Calvin (Reformed) confessional school are run starting in 1746, but the institution is much older. State education dates from 1895. According to monographist Petri Mór, here functioned, by the late 19th century, the first

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

, with Júlia Teleki as educator. Jibou has three kindergartens, two high schools and a secondary school: * Ion Agârbiceanu Theoretical High School (established on 1 September 1957); * Octavian Goga Technological High School (until 23 October 2001, general school; until 12 January 2012, school group); * Lucian Blaga Secondary School (since 1971).

Notable people

Ștefan Birtalan Ştefan Birtalan (25 September 1948 – 27 May 2024) was a Romanian handball player, coach and sports official. Birtalan was one of the best players of his time and was named the World Player of the Year in 1974, 1976 and 1977. He spent most of ...

(1948–2024), a Romanian former handball player, coach and sports official * Cornel Damian (born 1960), a Romanian cleric, auxiliary bishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest The Archdiocese of Bucharest () is the Latin Church, Latin Metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Romania. Its cathedral episcopal see is Bucharest. Ioan Robu was the archbishop from 1990 until his retirement on 21 November 2019. He ...

* (1926–2093), literary historian, literary critic, and translator * Miklós Wesselényi (1796–1850), statesman and a celebrity in his age for his sportsman's accomplishments

Climate

Jibou has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Cfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

References

External links

Map of Jibou

Jibou Botanical Garden

{{Authority control Towns in Romania Populated places in Sălaj County Localities in Crișana