Căi de comunicație nord-transilvănene și direcțiile de trafic ale Clujului medieval / North Transilvanian Communication Routes and the Traffic Orientation of Medieval Cluj
1 Ianuarie 2015
Cuvinte cheie:
rețea rutieră
vamă
direcție comercială
administrație
terminologie medievală
road network
toll-collection point
trade orientation
administration
medieval dennominations
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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).