Creaca

Creaca is a commune located in Sălaj County, Crișana, Romania.

Villages

The commune is composed of nine villages: Borza, Brebi, Brusturi, Ciglean, Creaca, Jac, Lupoaia, Prodănești and Viile Jacului. The largest village in terms of population and area is Jac, and the smallest is Viile Jacului.

History

In the 1st century AD, Porolissum, an ancient Roman city in Dacia was built on the western part of the commune. The city was the most north-eastern outpost of the Roman Empire, and garrisoned 5,000 auxiliary soldiers transferred from Spain, Gaul, and Britain.

Demographics

At the 2002 census, 97.8% of inhabitants were Romanians and 2.1% Roma. 71.1% were Romanian Orthodox, 13.8% Baptist, 12.5% Pentecostal and 2.1% stated they belonged to another religion.

Politics and administration

The commune of Creaca is administered by a mayor and a local council composed of 11 councillors. The mayor, Ioan-Eugen Terec, from the National Liberal Party, has been in office since 2008. As of the 2024 local elections, the local council has the following political party composition:

Education

There is a primary school in Creaca and Jac and only 1-4 grades in the rest of the villages, except Viile Jacului.

Occupations

Although the commune has rich underground resources—coal at Lupoaia, quartz sands at Borza, and limestone currently exploited at Prodănești—agriculture remains the main branch of activity. The main occupations are tied to farming around the villages, but most of the men have left to work in other European Union countries. Those who remain are employed mainly in Zalău, commuting between Zalău and the commune’s villages. During the communist era, people worked mostly in Zalău and on state farms.