Information

WIKI REFRESH Sălişte (German: Großendorf, Hungarian: Szelistye) is a town in the Sibiu County in the centre of Romania, 21 km west of the county capital, Sibiu, the main locality in the Mărginimea Sibiului area.

Geography

The town is situated at the edge of the Cândrel Mountains, on a series of river valleys which flow into the Cibin River in the South part of the Transylvanian Plateau. Besides the main town of Sălişte (2862 inh), under the same administration are also the following villages:

• Aciliu (368 inh), 8 km away
• Amnaş (390 inh), 9 km away
• Crinţ (2 permanent inhabitants - military base), 18 km away
• Galeş (347 inh), 2 km away
• Fântânele (321 inh), 8 km away
• Mag (389 inh), 9 km away
• Săcel (523 inh), 4 km away
• Sibiel (449 inh), 6 km away
• Vale (432 inh), 2 km away

Population

Originally all the localities, except the villages of Aciliu and Amnaş, were inhabited by Romanians. Today the ethnic composition is as follows:

• 5725 - Romanians
• 233 - Romas
• 137 - Germans
• 7 - Hungarians

Most Romanians are Orthodox and the Germans still living in Aciliu and Amnaş are Lutheran Evangelical. There are also some small Protestant Churches.

Economy

Traditionally the main occupation was shepherding and related activities. Today this occupies a smaller percentage of the workforce, but remains important alongside other agricultural activities. Light industry was developed in the recent period and there are some textile workshops. Commerce and services are also an important activity. The area around Aciliu and Amnaş is well suited for wines and around Mag and Săcel there are a series of artificial lakes for fish farming.

History

The area was inhabited for a very long time, and on a hill between Sălişte and the nearby commune of Tilişca there are the ruins of an old Dacian citadel. The first document mentioning the town is from 1354 and refers, in Latin, to Magna Villa. Early names would be Nogfalu in Hungarian and Grossdorf in German. Later, in 1383 the village is known as Magna Villa Valachiealis (Big Village of the Vlachs), denoting its ethnically Romanian population. Still later, it was one of the villages in the Ţara Almaşului, an area sometimes ruled by Wallachian rulers.

From 1485 it was included in one of the seven seats of Saxondom. From the late 18th century it was an important village of the Romanian community, and it became the most important cultural centre in the Mărginimea Sibiului area. In 1774 there was an important local revolt of the Romanian population; members of this community also took part in the the revolution of 1848, the Transylvanian Memorandum movement and almost every important event in the National awakening of the Romanians in Transylvania.

Personalities

The most notable personalities born in Sălişte are:

• Ioan Lupaş (1850–1967), Romanian historian
• Onisifor Ghibu (1883–1972), teacher, organiser of the Romanian educational system in Transylvania
• D.D. Roşca (1895–1980), Romanian philosopher

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