Journal Analele Banatului N.S. Archaeology-History

Oana Toda

Căi de comunicație nord-transilvănene și direcțiile de trafic ale Clujului medieval / North Transilvanian Communication Routes and the Traffic Orientation of Medieval Cluj

Jan. 1, 2015

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to synthesise the data gathered so far in relation to the main medieval roads of the north-Transylvanian region, with special focus on the gradual evolution of the town of Cluj and various influences the urban centre and the road system have effected upon one another. Mainly grounded in the data collected from the archival sources, the reconstruction of the trans-regional and provincial routes which developed in the Someșul Mic water catchment area could not have been achieved irrespective of its tight connection to the economic and, most of all, commercial traits of the region in the medieval period. Likewise, a preliminary classification of the roads, based on the medieval denominations by which they were recorded in charters (mainly perambulations and toll exemption or donation letters), was conducted in order to catch a glimpse into their hierarchy and economic functions. On the basis of these two criteria, nine major routes were selected and described, all of them firmly connected to the developing trade phenomenon (multiplication of market places) and to the evolution of the traffic toll-collection system (in accordance to the general tendencies recorded on a macro level for the entire kingdom of Hungary). Several long-distance and regional routes were determined as converging towards Cluj and certain control points, established by the royal, provincial and county authorities for a better traffic surveillance, emerged in key locations (such as Baciu, Huedin, Bonțida and Sânnicoară).