Șimleu Silvaniei

Șimleu Silvaniei Szilágysomlyó
Town
Greek-Catholic church
Coat of arms
Șimleu Silvaniei
Coordinates: 47°13′50″N 22°48′00″E / 47.23056°N 22.80000°E / 47.23056; 22.80000Coordinates: 47°13′50″N 22°48′00″E / 47.23056°N 22.80000°E / 47.23056; 22.80000
Country	Romania
County	Sălaj County
Status	Town
Government
• Mayor	Cătălin Septimiu Țurcaș (Democratic Party)
Area
• Total	62.26 km2 (24.04 sq mi)
Population (2002)
• Total	16,066
• Density	260/km2 (670/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Climate	Cfb
Website	simleusilvaniei.ro

Șimleu Silvaniei (Romanian pronunciation: [ʃimˌle.u silˈvani.ej]; Hungarian: Szilágysomlyó, German: Schomlenmarkt) is a town in Sălaj County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 16,066 people (2002 census). Is located near the ancient Dacian fortress Dacidava.

Three villages are administered by the town: Bic (Bükk), Cehei (Somlyócsehi) and Pusta (Csehipuszta).

Before the Roman conquest of Dacia, Șimleu was a political, social and administrative Dacian centre, of high importance. Seven Dacian fortresses, some with associated settlements, were arranged in an arc shape around the hills of Șimleu. They had a strategic role in the supervising the trade along the salt road coming from areas around Napoca, Potaissa and modern Dej, and heading to Pannonia.

The centre of an early Gepidia, on the plains northwest of the Meseș Mountains, appears to have been located around Șimleu Silvaniei, where early 5th-century precious objects of Roman provenance have been unearthed.

In 1258 it was mentioned as Wathasomlyowa. The name means "Wata's mountain"; the name Wata is of Old Turkish origin, while somlyowa is an archaic Hungarian word for mountain(side).

The town belonged to the Báthory family, whose ancestral castle stood here. The castle was built by Miklós, Voivod of Transylvania in the early 13th century and was first mentioned in 1319. After the Báthory family built a mansion in the town in 1592, the castle became deserted and today lies in ruins.