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{{Infobox Romanian subdivision
|type               = municipality
|county             = Cluj
|official_name      = Gherla
|image_shield       = ROU CJ Gherla CoA1.png
|image_flag         =ROU CJ Gherla.png
|image_skyline      = Vedere generala a municipiului Gherla.jpg
|image_caption      = Overview of Gherla in May 2004
|image_map          = Gherla jud Cluj.png
|map_caption        = Location in Cluj County
|leader_name        = Ovidiu Drăgan<ref>{{cite web |url=https://prezenta.roaep.ro/locale27092020/romania-pv-final |title=Results of the 2020 local elections |publisher=Central Electoral Bureau |access-date=11 June 2021 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
|leader_party       = PNL
|term               = 2020&ndash;2024
|coordinates        = {{coord|47|1|12|N|23|54|0|E|type:city_region:RO|display=inline,title}}
|elevation          = 250
|elevation_min      = 
|elevation_max      = 
|area_total         = 36.3
|area_footnotes     = 
|population_as_of   = 
|population_total   = auto
|population_footnotes = 
|postal_code        = 405300
|area_code          = (+40) 02 64
|website            = {{URL|https://gherla.ro/}}
}}

'''Gherla''' ({{IPA|ro|ˈɡerla}}; {{langx|hu|Szamosújvár}}; {{langx|de|Neuschloss}}) is a [[municipiu|municipality]] in [[Cluj County]], [[Romania]] (in the historical region of [[Transylvania]]). It is located {{convert|45|km|mi}} from [[Cluj-Napoca]] on the river [[Someșul Mic]], and has a population of 19,873 as of 2021. Three villages are administered by the city: Băița (formerly ''Chirău'', and ''Kérő'' in Hungarian), Hășdate (''Szamoshesdát'') and Silivaș (''Vizszilvás'').

The city was formerly known as ''Armenopolis''<ref>{{cite book|last=Mallows|first=Lucy|title=Transylvania|year=2008|publisher=[[Bradt Travel Guides]]|location=Chalfont St. Peter|isbn=9781841622309|page=256}}</ref> ({{langx|hy|Հայաքաղաք}} ''Hayakaghak''; {{langx|de|Armenierstadt}}; {{langx|hu|Örményváros}}) because it was populated by [[Armenians]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Romania & Moldova|year=2004|publisher=Lonely Planet|location=Footscray, Victoria|isbn=9781741041491|page=[https://archive.org/details/romaniamoldova00kemp/page/159 159]|author=Steve Kokker, Cathryn Kemp|quote=Gherla Once a predominantly Armenian settlement called Armenopolis in the 17th century...|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/romaniamoldova00kemp/page/159}}</ref>

== History ==

[[File:Armenian Catholic Cathedral.jpg|thumb|left|[[Holy Trinity Cathedral, Gherla|Armenian Catholic Cathedral]]]]

A clay tablet containing a fragmentary [[Old Persian cuneiform]] of the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] king [[Darius I]] was found at Gherla in 1937. It may be connected to Darius I's epigraphic activities  in relation to [[European Scythian campaign of Darius I|his Scythian campaign]] of 513 BC as reported by [[Herodotus]].{{sfn|Kuhrt|2013|page=197}}{{sfn|Frye|1984|page=103}}{{sfn|Schmitt|2000|page=53}}

The locality was first recorded in 1291 as a village named ''Gherlahida,'' (probably derived from the [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] word ''grle'', meaning "[[Ford (river)|ford]]"). The second name was Armenian ({{Langx|hy|Հայաքաղաք|translit=Hayakaghak|label=none}}) meaning "Armenian city"; it took the [[Medieval Latin]] and [[Greek language|Greek]] official name ''Armenopolis'', as well as the German alternative name ''Armenierstadt''. Later, the name ''Szamosújvár'' was used in official [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungarian]] records, meaning "the new town on the [[Someș]]". 

The modern city was built in the early 18th century by [[Armenians]], successors of the [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia#Dispersion of the Armenian population of Cilicia|Cilician Armenian]] [[Armenian diaspora|diaspora]], who had originally settled in [[Crimea]] and [[Moldavia]], and moved to Transylvania sometime after 1650. After a two years' campaign by the [[Armenian Catholic Church|Armenian-Catholic]] Bishop [[Oxendius Vărzărescu]], they converted from the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]] to the [[Armenian Catholic Church]]; an Armenian Catholic cathedral in Gherla was consecrated in 1748.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lang |first=David Marshall |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oTlJEAAAQBAJ |title=The Armenians: A People in Exile |date=2021-12-19 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-000-51469-8 |pages=104 |language=en}}</ref>

Gherla is the seat of the [[Ordinariate for Catholics of Armenian Rite in Romania]], as well as that of a [[Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic|Greek-Catholic]] [[diocese]] &ndash; the [[Cluj-Gherla Diocese]] ([[suffragan]] to the [[Romanian Greek Catholic Major Archdiocese of Făgăraș and Alba Iulia|Greek-Catholic Archbishop of Alba Iulia and Făgăraș-Blaj]], who resided in [[Blaj]]). In the center of the city lie the Saint [[Gregory the Illuminator]] and the Holy Trinity Armenian Cathedral. The main Armenian-Catholic church was built in 1792. The Greek Catholic diocese was created by the [[Papal Bull]] ''[[Ad Apostolicam Sedem]]'' of November 26, 1853, and the first bishop was [[Ioan Alexi]]. 

A [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg]] fortress was built here and converted to a [[Gherla Prison|prison]] in 1785. During the [[Socialist Republic of Romania|Communist regime]], the prison was used for political detainees. Today it is a Romanian high-security prison. 

During the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848|Years of Revolution of 1848 and 1849]], Gherla was the stage for numerous battles between the warring parties, changing hands several times. The Austrian commander [[Karl von Urban]] and his Romanian Regiment liberated the city three times from Hungarian revolutionary forces, winning the Battle of Szamosújvár on 13 November 1848, a landmark of the stormy period. Starting in 1867, Gherla  was no more part of the Principality of Transilvania and was annexed until 1918, to the [[Kingdom of Hungary]] ''[[Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary)|comitatus]]'' of [[Szolnok-Doboka]]. 

After the collapse of [[Austria-Hungary]] at the end of [[World War I]], and the declaration of the [[Union of Transylvania with Romania]], the [[Romanian Army]] took control of Gherla in December 1918, during the [[Hungarian–Romanian War]]. The town officially became part of the territory ceded to the [[Kingdom of Romania]] in June 1920 under the terms of the [[Treaty of Trianon]]. During the [[interwar period]], the city was the headquarters of [[Plasă|plasa]] Gherla, within [[Someș County]], after which it became part of [[Ținutul Crișuri]].

In the wake of the [[Second Vienna Award]] of August 30, 1940, the territory of [[Northern Transylvania]] (of which the city of Gherla was part) reverted to the Kingdom of Hungary. In early September, the [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Hungarian administration]] was installed, and proceeded to take discriminatory measures against Romanians and [[History of the Jews in Romania|Jews]], forcing many Romanians to take refuge in Romania. Gherla had a significant Jewish population which was decimated during [[the Holocaust]], due to Horthyst regime and the policies of [[Ferenc Szálasi]] after September 1, 1944. Towards the end of [[World War II]], however, the town was taken back from Hungarian and [[Nazi Germany|German]] troops by Romanian and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] forces in October 1944. After 1950, the city became the headquarters of Gherla [[raion]] within the [[Cluj Region]]. Following the administrative reform of 1968, Gherla became part of Cluj County.

After the war, most of the remaining Jewish population left the city. The [[Gherla Synagogue]] and the Holocaust Memorial Monument are visited by tourists from many countries.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}} The town is also often visited by [[Romanian Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] pilgrims on their way to the nearby village of [[Fizeșu Gherlii|Nicula]] and [[Nicula Monastery]].

== Demographics ==

{{Historical populations
|source = Census data
|1910 |6857
|1930 |6608
|1948 |6663
|1956 |7617
|1966 |12766
|1977 |17599
|1992 |26277
|2002 |24232
|2011 |20982
|2021 |19873
}}
According to the [[2021 Romanian census]], Gherla has a population of 19,873, a decrease of 5.3% from the previous census.<ref name="RPL2021">{{cite web|url=https://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Tabel-1.03_1.3.1-si-1.03.2.xls|title=Populația rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Romania)|INSSE]]|language=ro|date=31 May 2023}}</ref> At the [[2011 Romanian census|2011 census]], there were 20,982 people living within the city; of those, 15,952 (76.0%) were [[Romanians]], 3,435 (16.4%) [[Hungarians in Romania|Hungarians]], 735 (3.5%) [[Romani people in Romania|Roma]], and 61 (0.3%) others, including 16 [[Germans of Romania|Germans]] (more specifically [[Transylvanian Saxons]]).<ref>[http://www.recensamantromania.ro/rezultate-2/ Tab8. Populaţia stabilă după etnie – județe, municipii, orașe, comune], 2011 census results, [[National Institute of Statistics (Romania)|Institutul Național de Statistică]], accessed 17 February 2020.</ref>

== Natives ==
* [[Tamás Aján]] (born 1939), President of the International Weightlifting Federation and member of the International Olympic Committee 
* [[Laur Aștilean]] (born 1973), footballer 
* [[Mihai Chezan]] (born 1935), volleyball player
* [[Cristian Coroian]] (born 1973), footballer 
* [[Cyrill Demian]] (1772–1849), inventor, organ and piano maker 
* [[Nechita-Adrian Oros]] (born 1965), veterinarian and politician
* [[Gergely Pongrátz]] (1932–2005), veteran of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
* [[Silviu Prigoană]] (1963–2024), businessman and politician

== See also ==
* [[Gherla Synagogue]]
* [[Gherla Prison]]
* [[Ordinariate for Armenian Catholics of Romania]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book | last = Kuhrt | first = A. | title = The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period | publisher = Routledge | year = 2013 | isbn = 978-1136016943 }}
* {{cite book | last = Frye | first = Richard Nelson | title = Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaft: Alter Orient-Griechische Geschichte-Römische Geschichte. Band III,7: The History of Ancient Iran | publisher = [[C.H. Beck]] | year = 1984 | isbn = 978-3406093975 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/historyofancient0000frye }}
* {{cite book | last = Schmitt | first = Rüdiger | title = The Old Persian Inscriptions of Naqsh-i Rustam and Persepolis | publisher = Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum by School of Oriental and African Studies | year = 2000 | isbn = 978-0728603141 }}

== External links ==
* {{Catholic|wstitle=Armenierstadt}} 
* [http://www.personal.ceu.hu/students/02/Leon_Stacescu/rh.htm ''Armenians in Romania'' at the Central European University site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820212649/http://www.personal.ceu.hu/students/02/Leon_Stacescu/rh.htm |date=2020-08-20 }}

{{Gallery
|File:Gherla Strada Principala.jpg|Main street
|File:P1030122.jpg.jpg|[[Gymnasium (school)|Gymnasium]]
|File:Szamosújvár, ferences templom 2022 02.jpg|Franciscan monastery
|File:RO CJ Statuia Lupoaicei din Gherla (5).jpg|[[List of Capitoline Wolf statues#Romania|Capitoline Wolf]] replica
}}

{{Commons category|Gherla}}
{{Cluj County}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Gherla| ]]
[[Category:Populated places in Cluj County]]
[[Category:Localities in Transylvania]]
[[Category:Cities in Romania]]
[[Category:Armenian communities in Romania]]