Surduc

The name of the commune has its origin in the morphological configuration of the area (surduc means gorge, pass or narrow valley with sudden and steep slopes).{{cite web |url=http://www.primariasurduc.ro/portal/salaj/surduc/portal.nsf/AllByUNID/000020C6?OpenDocument |title=Istoricul localității |work=Primăria comunei Surduc}} Other sources claim that the name of the commune is of Slavic origin, surdec meaning meander; near Surduc, Someș River makes the biggest turn in its course.{{cite book |title=Dicționar etimologic al localităților din județul Sălaj |last=Chendre-Roman |first=Gheorghe |publisher=Caiete Silvane |date=2006 |isbn=973-7817-41-9}} According to a local legend, between Bălan and Solona (the oldest villages in the area) there were no settlements but only an inn, in the place called Sub grădiște (Under the hillock), owned by a short and deaf man (in Romanian surd means deaf). The travelers nicknamed him "surduc", hence the name.{{cite web |url=http://www.gofree.ro/2016/04/13/o-viata-traita-la-sat-istorie-si-holocaust/ |title=O viață trăită la sat: istorie și Holocaust |work=Go Free |last=Cataramă |first=Diana |date=13 April 2016}}

{{See also|Jósika Castle}}

File:Surduc (1769-1773).jpg (1769–1773), with the castle and chapel marked]]

File:Jósika-kastély - Szurduk.png in the 19th century. Writer Miklós Jósika, the founder of the Hungarian romantic novel, lived and worked here until 1853.]]

Surduc is probably the successor of an older settlement, recorded as Sumbur in 1320.{{cite book |title=Az Árpád-kori Magyarország történeti földrajza |last=Györffy |first=György |volume=2 |location=Budapest |publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó |date=1987 |page=94}} According to {{ill|József Kádár|hu|Kádár József (tanár)}}'s Monograph of Szolnok-Doboka County, Surduc was first mentioned in 1554 as Naghzwrdok ("Great Surduc"), when Anna Somi, Imre Balassa's widow, bequeathed a quarter of the estate to her husband, Boldizsár Patócsi.{{cite book |url=https://mek.oszk.hu/04700/04755/html/451.html |title=Szolnok-Doboka vármegye monographiája |volume=6 |last=Kádár |first=József |location=Dej |publisher=Szolnok-Doboka vármegye közönsége |date=1903 |page=515}} The village originally belonged to the nobles of Csákigorbó (present-day Gârbou), being part of the domain of the {{ill|Almaș Fortress|ro|Cetatea Almașului}}. In the Middle Ages and pre-modern times it was part of the Szolnok-Doboka County and {{ill|Inner Szolnok County|hu|Belső-Szolnok vármegye}}. By 1696, Surduc appears as a village under Turkish occupation.

Between 1641 and 1810 the estate was owned by the Csáky family. By 1644 they had a noble curia here;{{cite book |title=Iobăgia în Transilvania în secolul al XVII-lea |volume=1 |last=Prodan |first=D. |location=Bucharest |publisher=Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică |date=1986 |page=39}} only its servants' house is preserved to this day.{{cite web |url=https://www.welcometoromania.ro/DN1h/DN1h_Surduc_Castelul_Josika_r.htm |title=Castelul Jósika, Surduc |work=Welcome to Romania}} In 1705 it hosted Prince Francis II Rákóczi, before the confrontation of his troops with the Habsburg Imperial Army led by Ludwig von Herbeville in Zsibó (present-day Jibou).{{cite book |url=https://adatbank.ro/html/cim_pdf2583.pdf |title=Tekintő – erdélyi helynévkönyv |last=Vistai András |first=János |volume=3 |page=1044}} The curia was probably transformed into a castle in the 18th century, because at the beginning of the 19th century it was already recorded as a castle.

In 1810 the village became the property of the Jósika family of Branyicska. The best known owner is the novelist Miklós Jósika (1794–1865), nicknamed "Hungarian Walter Scott",{{cite book |url=http://www.mtafki.hu/konyvtar/kiadv/Magyarok.pdf |title=Magyarok a határainkon túl – a Kárpát-medencében |last1=Kocsis |first1=Károly |last2=Kocsis-Hodosi |first2=Eszter |publisher=Tankönyvkiadó |location=Budapest |date=1991 |page=112 |isbn=963-18-2891-3}} who settles here after his first wife's divorce. He revitalizes the area, building a series of agricultural buildings, a chapel and probably establishing the current form of the castle. A family property inventory from 1854 records a 17-room building, including the novelist's office and a chapel. The castle and the village were almost completely destroyed in December 1848, during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, when the Austrians under Captain Binder occupied the village with thousands of insurgents. As the leader of the Hungarian liberal nobility, Jósika was the first landowner in Doboka County to free the serfs from the Surduc estate and their villages on 23 April 1848, two months before the Hungarian Diet.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kUwZAAAAIAAJ |title=Revoluția Română de la 1848 |last=Stan |first=Apostol |publisher=Albatros |date=1992 |page=96|isbn=9789732402504 }}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qyAKAQAAIAAJ |title=Revoluția de la 1848–1849 din Transilvania |volume=1 |publisher=Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România |date=1977 |page=31}} The communist regime turned the castle into a tractor repair station, and after 1991 it was bought by Agromec. Currently, the castle is overgrown with vegetation, in an advanced state of degradation.

With an area of 71.42 km² (6th among the county communes), Surduc occupies a central-eastern position within Sălaj County, at the contact of four important relief units: Someș Corridor, Șimișna–Gârbou Hills, Almaș–Agrij Depression and Prisnel Peak.{{cite web |url=https://www.ghidulprimariilor.ro/ro/businesses/view/city_hall/PRIM%C4%82RIA-SURDUC/109381 |title=Primăria Surduc |work=Ghidul Primăriilor}} The commune is located to the east of the "intracarpathian yoke" (Meseș Mountains–Dumbrava Hill–Prisnel Peak). The Șimișna–Gârbou Hills that make up most of the commune are represented only by their northern termination, which gradually inclines in this direction towards the wide terraced corridor of the Someș, to which the Almaș–Agrij Depression also opens. The corridor is limited to the west by the last extensions of the Prisnel Peak, represented by the Rona Peak (438 m).

The relief is very varied, formed by an association of hilly peaks and valleys between slopes, all resulting from the fragmentation of the northwestern part of the Someș Plateau.{{cite web |url=http://www.primariasurduc.ro/portal/salaj/surduc/portal.nsf/AllByUNID/000018D2?OpenDocument |title=Date fizico-geografice |work=Primăria comunei Surduc}} In terms of altitude, the relief is between about 200 m in the meadows of Someș and its tributaries and 607 m in Pietrosu Peak, in the southeastern part of the commune.

The hydrographic network is relatively young in age. The territory of the commune is crossed by the middle course of the Someș, as well as three smaller tributaries of it: Valea Cristolțelului (Solonii), Valea Brâglezului (Gârboului) and Valea Almașului. The main hydrological characteristics of the tributaries of the Someș are given by their inclusion in the type of Transylvanian pericarpathian hydrological regime, with large spring waters, almost annual frequency (85–90%) and summer floods. The average density of the river network (taking into account the length of temporary valleys) is 0.39 km/km².

The fragmented plateau relief and the climate allowed the development of a predominantly forest vegetation, in which the Turkey oak and the Hungarian oak predominate. In the distribution of the floristic elements there is a weak vertical zonation, in the sense that the forested surfaces (beech, oak and mixed forests) are interspersed with secondary and derived grasslands or with agricultural lands.

In the forest floor there is a great diversity of animal species, from the evolved ones (mammals) to the smallest invertebrates. Among the larger mammals, some of which are of hunting interest, are: wolves, foxes, deers, badgers, rabbits, etc. Rodent mammals are represented by wood mouses, squirrels and edible dormice. The avifauna is very varied and represented by: tits, jays, blackbirds, nightingales, woodpeckers, orioles, sparrowhawks, kites, crows, ravens, magpies, etc. Among the reptiles are common species such as slowworm, green lizard and common frog. The aquatic fauna is represented, especially in Valea Gârboului, by invertebrates (crustaceans, worms, mollusks, etc.), as well as by small fish.

The commune includes two protected natural sites: the middle course of the Someș (ROSPA0114) and Lozna (ROSCI0314).{{cite web |url=https://www.cjsj.ro/date/pdfuri/Urbanism/PUG/Surduc/Partea%20scrisa/Comuna%20Surduc_Memeriu%20general.pdf |title=Memoriu general de urbanism |work=Consiliul Județean Sălaj |date=2019}}

Like all of Romania, Surduc exhibits a temperate continental climate. It is characterized by hot summers, with fairly abundant precipitation and relatively cold and wet winters, with frequent snowfalls, rare blizzards, but also heating periods that interrupt the continuity of the snow layer and repeated freeze-thaw cycles. The climate here is classified as Cfb by the Köppen-Geiger system.{{cite web |url=https://en.climate-data.org/europe/romania/salaj/surduc-203618/ |title=Surduc |work=Climate-Data.org}} The temperature here averages 10 °C. With an average of 20.9 °C, August is the warmest month. January is the coldest month, with temperatures averaging –2.0 °C. In a year, the rainfall is 756 mm. The driest month is February. There is 45 mm of precipitation in February. Most of the precipitation here falls in June, averaging 89 mm.

{{Weather box

| metric first = Y

| single line = Y

| location = Surduc, Sălaj

| Jan high C = 1.4

| Feb high C = 4.0

| Mar high C = 9.6

| Apr high C = 15.9

| May high C = 20.5

| Jun high C = 23.8

| Jul high C = 25.6

| Aug high C = 25.9

| Sep high C = 20.8

| Oct high C = 14.9

| Nov high C = 9.1

| Dec high C = 2.8

| year high C =

| Jan mean C = -2.0

| Feb mean C = -0.1

| Mar mean C = 4.6

| Apr mean C = 10.6

| May mean C = 15.5

| Jun mean C = 19.1

| Jul mean C = 20.8

| Aug mean C = 20.9

| Sep mean C = 15.8

| Oct mean C = 10.1

| Nov mean C = 5.1

| Dec mean C = -0.3

| year mean C =

| Jan low C = -5.2

| Feb low C = -3.9

| Mar low C = -0.4

| Apr low C = 4.8

| May low C = 9.6

| Jun low C = 13.4

| Jul low C = 15.4

| Aug low C = 15.4

| Sep low C = 10.9

| Oct low C = 5.8

| Nov low C = 1.7

| Dec low C = -3.0

| year low C =

| precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation mm = 48

| Feb precipitation mm = 45

| Mar precipitation mm = 56

| Apr precipitation mm = 64

| May precipitation mm = 76

| Jun precipitation mm = 89

| Jul precipitation mm = 82

| Aug precipitation mm = 60

| Sep precipitation mm = 68

| Oct precipitation mm = 59

| Nov precipitation mm = 53

| Dec precipitation mm = 56

| year precipitation mm =

| precip days colour = green

| Jan precipitation days = 7

| Feb precipitation days = 8

| Mar precipitation days = 8

| Apr precipitation days = 8

| May precipitation days = 9

| Jun precipitation days = 9

| Jul precipitation days = 8

| Aug precipitation days = 7

| Sep precipitation days = 7

| Oct precipitation days = 7

| Nov precipitation days = 7

| Dec precipitation days = 8

| year precipitation days =

| humidity colour = green

| daily = Y

| Jan humidity = 81

| Feb humidity = 78

| Mar humidity = 71

| Apr humidity = 66

| May humidity = 68

| Jun humidity = 68

| Jul humidity = 68

| Aug humidity = 65

| Sep humidity = 69

| Oct humidity = 75

| Nov humidity = 79

| Dec humidity = 82

| year humidity =

| source =

}}

According to the 2011 census, the population of Surduc is 3,461,{{cite web |url=http://www.recensamantromania.ro/rezultate-2/ |title=Tab3. Populația stabilă pe sexe și grupe de vârstă – județe, municipii, orașe, comune |work=Institutul Național de Statistică}} down 1.6% from the previous census in 2002, when 4,026 people were registered.{{cite web |url=http://www.edrc.ro/recensamant.jsp?regiune_id=2140&judet_id=2508&localitate_id=2562 |title=Structura etno-demografică pe arii geografice |work=Centrul de Resurse pentru Diversitate Etnoculturală}}

Historically, the chain of villages between Surduc and Ileanda was inhabited mostly by Romanians. As part of the Hungarian Empire, Surduc also saw waves of Hungarian immigrants. By 1910, the Hungarians represented 10% of the Surduc population; at present, their number has dropped to less than 1%. As of 2011, the largest ethnic group is that of the Roma – 211 or 6.1% of the commune's population.{{cite web |url=http://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/sR_Tab_8.xls |title=Tab8. Populația stabilă după etnie – județe, municipii, orașe, comune |work=Institutul Național de Statistică}} In the past, Surduc had a significant Jewish community – almost 3% in the 1930 census. Previously, by 1850, Surduc already had a minyan.{{cite web |url=http://jewish-salaj.blogspot.com/2014/06/sinagogi-salajene.html |title=Sinagogile din Sălaj |work=Comunitatea Evreilor din Sălaj |date=4 June 2014}} A Jewish cemetery was also established here in the 19th century. In May 1944, the Jews were gathered in the Cehei ghetto, then in Șimleu Silvaniei and were deported to Auschwitz on 31 May, 6 and 8 June.

In terms of religion, most of the inhabitants are Orthodox (87%), but there are also minorities of Pentecostals (3.8%), Jehovah's Witnesses (2.8%) and Greek Catholics (2.7%). For 2.1% of the population, religious affiliation is not known.{{cite web |url=http://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/sR_TAB_13.xls |title=Tab13. Populația stabilă după religie – județe, municipii, orașe, comune |work=Institutul Național de Statistică}} In the commune there are six Orthodox churches (Surduc, Tihău, Brâglez, Cristolțel, Solona and Turbuța), a Greek Catholic church (Tihău), three Pentecostal places of worship (Surduc, Tihău and Solona) and two Baptist places of worship (Surduc and Turbuța).{{cite web |url=http://www.primariasurduc.ro/portal/salaj/surduc/portal.nsf/AllByUNID/00002156?OpenDocument |title=Cultură și învățământ |work=Primăria comunei Surduc}}

Surduc is administered by a mayor and a local council composed of 13 councilors. The mayor, Alin Suciu, from the Social Democratic Party, has been in office since 2024.{{cite web |url=https://monitoruldesalaj.ro/alin-suciu-a-depus-juramantul-si-a-preluat-oficial-functia-de-primar-al-comunei-surduc/ |title=Alin Suciu a depus jurământul și a preluat oficial funcția de primar al Comunei Surduc |work=Monitorul de Sălaj |date=26 October 2024}} After the 2024 local elections, the local council has the following composition by political parties:{{cite web |url=https://istoric.rezultatevot.ro/elections/116/results?division=locality&countyId=15592&localityId=15966 |title=Alegeri locale 2024 |work=Rezultate Vot}}

Surduc has a technological high school, resulting from the merger in 2009–2010 of the middle schools of Tihău, Cristolțel, Turbuța and Brâglez.{{cite web |url=https://scoli.didactic.ro/grup-scolar-surduc |title=Liceul Tehnologic Nr. 1 Surduc |work=Didactic.ro}} The first mentions about the high school date from 1867 when Gavril Balmoș was a "traveling teacher" in Surduc and Solona. In 1894, with the contribution of the villagers, a private premises for the confessional school was built here. The building for the state school and kindergarten, both intended for education in Hungarian, was built in 1900. The state education in Romanian began in 1919, the first teacher being Teodor Panorariu. Following the Second Vienna Award, in 1940–1944, education was conducted in Hungarian. Romanian-language education resumed in 1944–1945. In 2015–2016 370 students were enrolled here.{{cite web |url=https://www.isjsalaj.ro/pdi-pas/Grupul%20Scolar%20SURDUC.pdf |title=Plan de acțiune al școlii |work=Inspectoratul Școlar Județean Sălaj |date=2016 |pages=31–33}} Besides this, in the commune there are four kindergartens (Surduc, Tihău, Brâglez and Cristolțel) and two elementary schools (Tihău and Turbuța).

Surduc has a family medicine office, a dental office and a pharmacy.{{cite web |url=http://www.cnas.ro/cassalaj/map/idCounty/39/idLocation/2499 |title=Distribuția teritorială a furnizorilor de servicii medicale |work=Casa Județeană de Asigurări de Sănătate Sălaj}}

The commune used to be prosperous. There were a brick and tile factory, a wood processing factory and two slaughterhouses. Until after 1989, the commune's economy was supported by mining activities related to the exploitation of brown coal and gravel aggregates located in the meadows of Someș, Almaș and Brâglez rivers. In 1999, the Hida–Surduc–Jibou–Bălan mining area was declared, for a period of ten years, a disadvantaged area.{{cite web |url=https://lege5.ro/Gratuit/giztimzq/hotararea-nr-201-1999-privind-declararea-zonei-miniere-hida-surduc-jibou-balan-judetul-salaj-ca-zona-defavorizata |title=Hotărârea nr. 201/1999 privind declararea zonei miniere Hida-Surduc-Jibou-Bălan, județul Sălaj, ca zonă defavorizată |work=Lege5}}

At present, the economic structure of the commune is dominated by the agricultural activities specific to the area, especially the cultivation of cereals, technical and fodder plants, and to a lesser extent of vines and fruit trees. However, industry, and not agriculture, ensures the added value of the area. In the commune, both the extractive and the processing industries have important traditions.

There are industrial branches represented by some small and medium enterprises:{{cite web |url=http://www.primariasurduc.ro/portal/salaj/surduc/portal.nsf/AllByUNID/000020E2?OpenDocument |title=Economie |work=Primăria comunei Surduc}}

• civil construction units: 2
• ore extraction and processing unit for the chemical industry: 1
• furniture production unit: 1

Agriculture is based on family-level production and takes place both in open field and vegetable gardens. Vegetable farming takes advantage of an area with a temperate climate and is thus varied and exclusively natural. Predominantly cultivated vegetable species are carrots, parsley, eggplants, onions, tomatoes, etc. Fruit growing and viticulture do not enjoy a controlled exploitation. Animal husbandry is a branch with potential, but unexploited. There are four milk collection/processing points.

; Brâglez

• Presentation of Christ Church, built between 1929 and 1930{{cite web |url=https://www.biserici.org/index.php?menu=BI&code=5254 |title=Biserica Întâmpinarea Domnului |work=Biserici.org}}
• Michael's Cave, a small suspended abri which the locals call a cave, with an opening of 40–45 m, a height of 4–4.5 m and just as deep{{cite web |url=https://www.emaramures.ro/trasee-turistice-salaj-de-la-pestera-lui-mihai-si-abriurile-din-valea-testioarei-la-taurile-iezer-din-testioara-si-casa-talharilor-de-langa-briglez-galerie-foto/ |title=TRASEE TURISTICE SĂLAJ – De la Peștera lui Mihai și abriurile din Valea Teștioarei la Tăurile Iezer din Teștioara și Casa Tâlharilor de lângă Brâglez (GALERIE FOTO) |work=eMM.ro |date=27 April 2009}}
• House of robbers (Pintea Viteazu Cave), a sandstone bank whose vertical erosion created a 50–60 cm-wide and 3 m-high cave{{cite book |url=http://www.bjs.ro/Document_Files/Ghidsalaj/00000582/lduqu_GHID%2011%20febr.%202014%20final.pdf |title=Sălaj - ghidul localităților |last1=Bălaș |first1=Lucia |last2=Bódis |first2=Ottilia |publisher=Biblioteca Județeană „I. S. Bădescu” |location=Zalău |date=2013 |page=239 |isbn=978-973-0-24720-6}}

; Surduc

• Jósika Castle
• Crypt of the Jósika family. It was built in 1825 by Miklós Jósika in memory of his father.{{cite web |url=https://www.welcometoromania.ro/DN1h/DN1h_Surduc_Cripta_Josika_r.htm |title=Cripta familiei Jósika, Surduc |work=Welcome to Romania}}
• St. John the Baptist Church. It was built between 1911 and 1913 on the site of a towerless wooden church built in 1850.{{cite web |url=https://www.welcometoromania.ro/DN1h/DN1h_Surduc_Biserica_Ortodoxa_r.htm |title=Biserica ortodoxă, Surduc |work=Welcome to Romania}}
• Jewish cemetery. The oldest known tomb dates from the 19th century.{{cite web |url=https://iajgscemetery.org/eastern-europe/romania/surduc-salaj-county |title=Surduc: Sălaj County |work=International Jewish Cemetery Project}}

; Teștioara

• Abris of Poiana Teștiorii
• Tăul Iezer lake complex, with a rich lake vegetation

; Tihău

• Roman castra. It is located on the left side of the Someș, on a plateau called Grădiște or Cetate.

; Turbuța

• Wooden church. It was built around the 17th–18th centuries.{{cite web |url=https://www.welcometoromania.ro/DN1h/DN1h_Turbuta_Bislemn_r.htm |title=Biserica de lemn, Turbuța |work=Welcome to Romania}}

File:Castelul Jozsika Surduc 1.JPG|Jósika Castle in Surduc

File:Biserica ortodoxa, Surduc.jpg|Orthodox church in Surduc

File:RO SJ Biserica de lemn din Turbuța.JPG|Wooden church in Turbuța

Surduc is crossed by the national roads DN1H and DN1G, as well as by 37.6 km of communal roads and 32.139 km of village roads.{{cite web |url=http://www.primariasurduc.ro/portal/salaj/surduc/portal.nsf/AllByUNID/00002122?OpenDocument |title=Infrastructură |work=Primăria comunei Surduc}} Surduc railway station is transited daily by five trains to Jibou, Cluj-Napoca and Baia Mare.{{cite web |url=https://mytrain.ro/ro/plecari/surduc-salaj/01-14/ |title=Surduc Sălaj Hm. |work=Mersul trenurilor}} Căile Ferate Române Line 400 passes through Surduc. The length of the railway in the commune is about 10 km. There was also an industrial railway of about 500 m that connected the Surduc station with the Surduc Mining Sector and the kaolin and quartz sand processing station.

The commune has 32 km of drinking water supply network (put into operation in 1994) and 16.2 km of natural gas supply network (put into operation in 1999). The commune does not have a sewerage network.

• Călin Ioan Bot (born 1970), Greek Catholic hierarch
• Miklós Jósika (1794–1865), soldier, politician and writer
• Vasile Pușcaș (b. 1952), politician, diplomat and professor

{{Commons category|Surduc, Sălaj}}

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{{Sălaj County}}

Category:Communes in Sălaj County

Category:Localities in Transylvania