The town of Huedin was founded in the Middle Ages. It is home to a 13th-century
Gothic Reformed Church. From 1330 up until 1848, the landlords of the town were the Bánffy family, whence the town's Hungarian name of Bánffyhunyad. The town was part of the
Kingdom of Hungary. In 1526, Huedin became part of the Principality of
Transylvania and, until 1867, of the
Grand Duchy of Transylvania. The town boasts a strong historical Hungarian heritage. On September 26, 1895,
Emperor Franz Joseph visited Bánffyhunyad following the end of Hungarian Army manoeuvres in Transylvania and was given an enthusiastic welcome by the townspeople, who built an arch decorated with the region's flowers and plants for the occasion. In 1910, the town's population was 5,194, of whom 90.5% spoke Hungarian. At that time, 57.5% were
Calvinist, 20.7%
Jewish, and 10%
Roman Catholic. After the collapse of
Austria-Hungary at the end of
World War I, and the declaration of the
Union of Transylvania with Romania, the
Romanian Army took control of Huedin in December 1918, during the
Hungarian–Romanian War. The town officially became part of the territory ceded to the
Kingdom of Romania in June 1920 under the terms of the
Treaty of Trianon. During the
interwar period, the town was the headquarters of
plasa Huedin, within Cluj County. In August 1940, under the auspices of
Nazi Germany, which imposed the
Second Vienna Award,
Hungary retook the territory of
Northern Transylvania (which included Huedin) from Romania. Towards the end of
World War II, however, the town was taken back from Hungarian and
German troops by Romanian and
Soviet forces in October 1944. After 1950, the town became the headquarters of Huedin
raion within the
Cluj Region. Following the administrative reform of 1968, Huedin became once more part of Cluj County. ==Natives==