Commune Valcău de Jos Area 63.23 km (24.41 sq mi) Local time Tuesday 3:39 AM | Historic region Transylvania Population (2002) 3,302 | |
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Weather 11°C, Wind SE at 6 km/h, 58% Humidity | ||
Valcău de Jos (Hungarian: Alsóvalkó) is a commune in Sălaj County, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Lazuri (Újvágás), Preoteasa (Füzespaptelek), Ratovei (Rátonbükk), Sub Cetate (Valkóváralja), Valcău de Jos and Valcău de Sus (Felsővalkó). It is 14 km southwest of Șimleu Silvaniei.
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Map of Valc%C4%83u de Jos 457345, Romania
History
Its name comes from the Slavic word vlk ("wolf"). Its Hungarian name Alsóvalkó means "Lower Valkó"; before 1899 it was called Magyarvalkó. Felsővalkó ("Upper Valkó") is now Valcău de Sus. Its castle was built in the late 13th century, and was unlawfully occupied by Dezső Elefánti in 1312. King Sigismund of Luxemburg laid siege to it in 1404. In 1665 the Ottoman army destroyed it and it was not rebuilt again.
Population
In 1910 the village had 900 residents, with a Romanian majority and a significant Hungarian minority.
In 2002 the commune of which Valcău de Jos is the administrative center had 3302 inhabitants: 2909 Romanians, 287 Roma, 105 Hungarians, and one Slovak.