Historical data

Archaeological discoveries:

This environment, rich in vegetation, fish and game, provided an excellent habitat for humans centuries ago. The first traces of human settlements date back to the Stone Age. The representatives of the Tisa culture were fishermen and hunters, whose traces have been found from 2200-1800 BC, and on the promontory called Varbot (Varbocz) traces of a Bronze Age settlement have been found, which were almost completely destroyed by the burial customs of the 11th-14th centuries.

The richest archaeological materials discovered at Sălacea date from the Bronze Age, from 1850-1450 BC. Methodical excavations were made only between 1964-1969 on Vida hill. The archaeologists of the Oradea Museum found traces of a flourishing Bronze Age settlement belonging to the tribes of the Ottoman culture.

The village discovered at Sălacea was surrounded by defense ditches 7.55 meters deep and 20 meters wide. This type of settlement is typical of the first and second phases of the Ottoman culture. The fact that Bronze Age people chose this area as a place to live can be explained by the fact that the technology of the time did not allow the construction of a more substantial defense network.

In the area of the Ier valley and in other settlements of the same period there is evidence that the tribes left the defended heights in favor of islands surrounded by marshes. The archaeological material discovered on Vida hill is poor in objects used as weapons, which indicates the civilian side of the settlement; so it was not a military fortress, but the ditches were certainly made for the defense of the tribe in confrontations with other tribes or cultures.

The inhabitants of this settlement built their houses in a rectangular clay rectangular shape, covered with reed, at ground level, with a single room. Inside, they had one or two fire hearths in the middle and a pit dug for food storage.

Salacea during the Hungarian kingdom in the Middle Ages

1. Early written sources and the German hospes

The first written authentication of Sălacea is from 1067, as belonging to the county of Săbolciu. Various names have been preserved in the documents of the time such as Zolochy, in 1163-1173; in 1570 Szalaczy; in 1692 Szalácz, Szalacz, Szaláz; in 1772 Szalacs, Szaláts; in 1813 Ér Szalacs; in 1828 Szaláts; in 1851 Szalacs and today Sălacea - Erszalacs.

The town as such is mentioned in the Regestrum of Oradea in 1215 under the name of Zolos. The name is of Slavic origin, meaning a place for storing salt. From this we deduce that the Hungarians who came here found a Slavic settlement, with a population large enough to justify the role it played in the salt trade, as its name indicates.

Knowing the history of the area we can assume that the Slavic population mixed with the Hungarian one, and in the middle of the 12th century a group of German immigrants were brought here by the royal Hispan. It was not a question of establishing a new settlement but of expanding the existing one. This is demonstrated by the structure of the settlement, as Sălacea was then made up of two parts, each with its own parish. One part belonged to the county of Solnocul-de-mijloc and one part to Bihor. This duality lasted until the beginning of the 15th century, when it came under the jurisdiction of local landowners.

Regarding the Germans from this locality we have concrete data recorded in the Regestrum of Oradea. According to a report, the citizens and serfs of Solnoc sued a man from Sălacea, Posat, son of Pal, wanting to prove that he was from their town, but he defends himself by saying that he is a free German from Sălacea and therefore does not belong to the serfdom of Solnoc.

It seems that they came with the first wave of immigrants in the middle of the 12th century and settled on the monarch's estates. Most of them were peasants; 11th-12th-century Hungary especially needed peasants to work the land. Immigrants had certain prerogatives.

The term "hospes" means a guest, a free sojourner who wishes to settle here and is therefore entitled to protection and certain freedoms. This name therefore refers to the legal and social status of immigrants, not their national status. If they wished to refer to their nationality, the name was added to it (in the case of Salla - Tentonicum). Salacea also had certain rights, but the document attesting them has not been preserved. We do, however, have data on the exercise of administrative autonomy, as they were free to choose their own judge, but only the king or the king's general could do justice. In the same way, they chose their pastor, who was entitled to a quarter of the tithe.

As in the county of Satu-Mare, the inhabitants of the county also had some property and local customs rights.

As far as the number of German immigrants in Sălacea is concerned, we assume that it must have been smaller than that of the Baština population because their settlement did not receive a name of its own, being gradually incorporated into the Hungarian environment. Their Hungarianization was also accelerated by the fact that after the Tatar invasion the few remaining Germans did not have enough descendants. Documents from the 15th century show that all the names of the inhabitants at that time were Hungarian

Traces of the German names have remained, however, as proof of their Germanic origin, the names of people being important evidence of the ethnicity of a locality. At the beginning of the 15th century, Sălacea became part of the ecclesiastical property (Capitulum) of Oradea, losing its former rights and thus disappearing any obstacle to the purely Hungarian environment around it.

2. Sălacea and the salt trade

In the life of Sălacea in the Middle Ages, salt played an important role in the life of the village, as its name (place of salt storage) proves. Since ancient times, the salt road from northern Transylvania passed through here.

In the Middle Ages salt was almost exclusively the spice and preservative used. Because of its importance it was one of the most important commodities. Crude salt was also a means of payment in the medieval state.

We don't know exactly when the salt deposit of Sălacea was established, but it certainly existed in 1217, because Andrew II, during the crusade of 1217, decided to pay 500 marks from the income of the salt center of Sălacea to a monk order.

Over time the importance of the salt store diminished and it was no longer the thriving commercial center it was in the first half of the 13th century.

3. Salacea on the path of development as a city

Sălacea was a well-developed town, standing out among the settlements of the time, in the Arpad period, due to two factors: the Germanic immigrants (hospes) and their prerogatives, and on the other hand the salt road and the royal salt deposit.

Analyzing the circumstances under which medieval Hungarian settlements developed into towns, we can conclude that Sălacea had all the possibilities to become a town. The natural circumstances were the marshland (as in the case of Szekesfehervar and Seghedin), which offered defense as well as living conditions. 

An old military road was superimposed over a commercial road. Industry and trade probably developed here on the basis of the salt trade. There must also have been the administration of the salt trade, as well as the right to a free market, and even the right to stop passing goods, a right which was lost in 1332.

Taking the above into account, we can say that Salacea started on the path of transformation into a city, just like Seghedin. But it could not become a truly free town. In the 1400s, Sa Sălacea came under the jurisdiction of the landowners, and its administrative autonomy disappeared. In 1520 it is mentioned among the customs of the time.

Sa Sa Salacea in modern times

1. From reformation to liberation from Turkish rule

The Reformation, the rapid spread of Protestant worship in the Partium area, also had a significant impact on the life of Sălacea. Church documents from 1836 show that in 1549 the new faith already had followers and in 1577 the whole village converted to the Reformed religion.

As a result of the Turkish invasion in 1552, the part beyond the Tisza and thus also part of Bihor county fell under Ottoman domination. In 1583 the Turks also occupied Sălacea, enslaving 440 people, and in 1660 the whole county was under Turkish yoke.

Csaky Istvan is mentioned as one of the most important landowners of the county. After the liberation, at the order of Emperor Lipot, once the diocese of Oradea was reorganized and the Capitulum (represented by the Canons' Corps) was given back the estates it had held before the Turkish invasion, according to the census of 1552. As a result, Sălacea returned to the property of the Capitulum.

2. Back in possession of the Capitulum

The years of reconstruction followed. An evidence of the material development is the fact that in 1694 a student from Sălacea, a certain Samuel Salacsi, was mentioned at the Bethlen College in Nagyenyed. At the turn of the century, the Canonical Corps brings Slovaks from Zemplen County who settle in Sălacea. Slovaks of Catholic religion certainly played an important role in rebuilding the Catholic parish (1763).

Significant information about Sălacea during this period can be found in the questionnaire preceding the urbarium of 1772-74, which assesses the situation before 1770. From this we deduce that there had already been an urbarium of the locality for ten years. From the same document it appears that from the second half of the 12th century onwards there were so-called serfs in Salacea, who could redeem part of the services owed by paying an annual sum and could move freely, and from the middle of the century these labor obligations increased. The first census in Hungary (1784-87) shows that the population of Sălacea was 2529 people, 1298 men and 1226 women, and the town was mentioned as a commune, the owner of which was still the Canons' Corps of Oradea until the liberation of the serfs in 1848.

End of the sec. XVIII and early sec. XIX is marked by great constructions in Sălacea, due to the material growth and the spirit of initiative. The first rows of brick cellars, dug into the hillside, date from this period and can still be seen today.

3. Local life between 1848-1914

The year 1848 is a landmark in the life of the locality. The social, economic and political changes after the revolution are also felt in its life. At the end of the century, the Oradea - Satu-Mare and Oradea - Marghita railroads were built, but they did not reach Sălacea, so its economic importance declined.

Population

It is interesting to note that compared to the data from 1692, which mentions 66 inhabitants, barely a century later the population rises to 2529 people. After another half a century it doubles, but after the 50s it halves, after which it shows an upward trend but no longer reaches the level of 1851 when there were 5300 inhabitants in Sălacea. In terms of religion, the Reformed religion was dominant, but today the proportion is equal.

Church and culture

1. Roman Catholic parish

German immigrants in the 12th century probably founded the Roman-Catholic parish in Sălacea. The first written records of the parish date from the beginning of the 13th century.

From King Zsigmond's donation letter it is clear that Sălacea was then made up of two parts, each with its own parish, one part belonging to the county of Solnocul-de-mijloc and one part to Bihor. The two churches were reunited after 1407, when they belonged to Capitulum.

After the abolition of the Capitulum of Oradea in 1557, Sălacea came under the secular jurisdiction of Varkoch Tamas, who played an important role in the reformation of Bihor, being a follower of the Geneva Reformed movement. Thus the inhabitants of the commune of Sălacea switch to the Reformed cult, following their master. The church was redecorated in the spirit of the new faith and from this date, the Catholic church ceased to exist for two centuries in the commune.

The Catholic parish was re-established in 1736 in Sălacea. The new church, in baroque style, is built until 1792. The church tower was originally covered with shingle, only in 1936 it was replaced with tin.

The main altar depicts the Blessed Virgin, painted by the Oradea painter Mezei Lajos, at the request of the Bishop of Oradea, Nogall Janos, in 1879.

The church documents from 1752 have survived to this day. Knapp Andras Andras, who served from 1823-1851 in Sălacea, was one of the church's ministers.

2. Reformed parish

Around 1550, the spokesmen of the second wave of the Swiss Reformation appeared on Hungarian territory. In 1549, the Swiss branch of the Reformation also found followers in Salacea.

Most of the population of the commune converted to Protestantism, following their landowner, Varkoch Tamas, captain of Oradea.

The last pastor of this period, Nagy Imre, came to the commune in the year of the millennial celebration, from Marghita, finding a church both materially and spiritually weakened. This was a period of great construction both at the local and kingdom level. In Sălacea, too, repair and construction works (girls' and boys' school) were started, mostly through loans.

3. History of the Reformed Church

The present form of the Reformed church dates from 1798-1802. After the changes since then, it is difficult to deduce the previous style; we have only one suggestion; in 1721 Bihor county officials report the situation of churches in the county, mentioning that the church in Sălacea had two towers and the appearance of a monastery. We also found a wax seal from 1705 of the commune, depicting a church with a short tower, on which there was a star and a mast. The seal shows the south side of the church with two windows. We are not sure whether we are to look for the old church with two towers on the site of the present Reformed church. The great traveler, K. Nagy Sandor, confirms in his book published at the end of the last century, "On the Burga Hill", that on the so-called "church site", there was once a church with two towers. Today the memory of the church is preserved only in names like: "church place", pope's well, St. George's street, in which we can recognize the church consecrated in the name of St. George. The site of this church is today a heap called "church place", and the bricks can be seen in the chimneys of the houses. The church consecrated in the name of St. George was probably destroyed earlier, during the Turkish invasion.

From all this we can deduce that on the site where today's Reformed church is built, there was once the church mentioned by Beliczay Laszlo, which was identical to the one mentioned in King Zsigmond's document and which was taken over by the Reformed.

The 1781 edict of King József II on religious tolerance made it possible to extend the Reformed church in Sălacea. The assembly of presbyters on January 29, 1797 decided to start construction work that year, even at the risk of a larger loan. In 1802 the construction was finished.

The interior of the church was renovated in 1815. But the faithful could not enjoy the interior and exterior beauty of the church for long, because on May 20, 1827 its tower was struck by lightning, the roof burned and the bells melted. The church was in a dramatic situation after the construction of the school was completed between 1822-24 so they appealed to the county churches for help. In the following year the church cast a bell of 10 măji (qintales).

4. Education

The earliest records of education date back to 1412 concerning two students who enrolled in this year at the University of Vienna - Briccius de Salach and Paulus de Salach, and in 1455 we find Georgius de Sallacea here. In 1548 a student from Sălacea named Wolbertus enrolled at the University of Wittenberg. Between the 17th and 18th centuries we also find students from Salacea at the Bethlen College in Nagyenyed. These data suggest the good economic situation of the locality, as the number of students was always considered a measure of economic development.

We do not know exactly when local education was established, but probably after the spread of Protestantism, under the wing of the church. In the period analyzed by us, there were only elementary schools in Sălacea.

The first information about education dates back to 1633, referring to the salary of the rector of the reformed school, which was half the salary of the priest in products, a ratio that is still preserved later. The schoolmaster was also the bell-ringer. Even in the 18th century it was characteristic that the teacher was also a cantor, sacristan, bell ringer and notary. These small schools were closely linked to the local church and were under its supervision. The most important objectives of local education were the teaching of catechism, Bible stories, songs and related reading, with less emphasis on writing and listening. The language of instruction was that of the locals. Teachers were usually students who had interrupted their studies. Quite often, in the registers listing teachers in the 18th century, there is mention that he later became a priest. The first known rector in Sălacea named Szilagyi Samuel taught here in 1717. From that year on - according to the list of names of the rectors - the education was held here without interruption. It is characteristic that the rectors spent only two or three years here. The first teacher of the girls' school, Ari Andras, is known from 1777 - one year after the Ratio Educationis. It was precisely at this time that the unification of education in Hungary took place, as a result of the two educational reforms (Ratio Educationis - 1776 and Norma Regia - 1781), with the main aim of educating the school to become a reliable citizen of the country. It was in this spirit that the requirements of the curriculum took shape.

The Roman-Catholic parish also organized its own school, but we don't know when teaching started here. The Capitulum Capitulum of Oradea in 1806 forbids the parish to use the funds of the reformed school. At the beginning of the 19th century, the buildings of the girls' and boys' school were rebuilt (1822 - 1824). The salaries of the rector and the priest were also regulated. In 1819, the Oskola Rectori Conventio established that the rector of the boys' school, who was also a cantor, was to receive half of the priest's salary in goods. To this is added the amount paid by the parents. The Conventio and the death certificates show that the rector often preached the funeral sermon. The Rector was required to have a Praeceptor at his side to assist him in chanting and teaching.The educational process was conducted in two seasons - summer and winter - the former being made more difficult by the agricultural work, as parents put the children to work early. The 1852 ruling tried to take action against this by fining negligent parents who did not send their children to school. An 1850 ruling made education compulsory for 6-12 year-olds.

5. Monument

In addition to the two churches mentioned before, we should also mention the stone bridge with four arches in the northern part of the commune, under which the Ier river once flowed. The bridge was made of brick and was 29.70 m long. Little is known about the history of the bridge. There was probably a wooden bridge here before it. We also don't know when it was built. What we do know for sure is that the bridge already existed in 1840 and we can rightly consider it a monument of transportation history, all the more so as it is unique and one of the oldest in Bihor County. Today it has lost its functionality and water has long since stopped flowing under it. In the summer of 1998 consolidation works started at the local initiative, so the stone bridge is just waiting to be completely restored.

It is also worth mentioning the little cellars of Sălacea, although they are not called monuments. In wine-growing areas, cellars dug into the side of the hill, forming a kind of alley, have been characteristic since ancient times. Nowadays in Sălacea there are about 970 known cellars dug into the hillside, forming the so-called cellar street. Most of them were built in the last century. The oldest dates back to 1803.