Map - Carei (Municipiul Carei)

Carei (Nagykároly, ; Grosskarol/Großkarl,, ) is a city in Satu Mare County, northwestern Romania, near the border with Hungary. The city administers one village, Ianculești (Szentjánosmajor).

The first mention of the city under the name of "Karul" dates from 1320, and as "Károly" in 1325, however, the city is known to have existed since 1264, as it was the domain of the Kaplony clan and the center of the Károlyi family's personal domain that settled in the region shortly after the arrival of the Hungarians. The name of the city comes from the word "karul" (in modern Hungarian "karvaly"). The etymology of the word can be traced back to the ancient Turkish language, the word meaning sparrow. Another theory is that the city was named after the Károlyi family.

King Louis I of Hungary permitted the organization of weekly market gatherings on Saturdays in Carei in 1346, as a result of the military achievements of the Károlyi family. The development of regional trade in the region stimulated the development of the town, and in 1387, King Sigismund elevates the town to county center, while also granting it independent jurisdiction.

In 1482, Ladislau Károlyi, with the permission of King Matthias, begins the construction of a stone residence. Over the course of the following decades, due to fears of an Ottoman attack, the residence will gradually get transformed into a fortification outfitted with a moat, four corner bastions and shooting niches for cannons.

After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the town falls under the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, and in the ensuing struggle between the Habsburg Ferdinand I and John Zápolya for the crown of Hungary, the Karolyi family initially sides with Zápolya, and Ferdinand confiscates their holdings in 1558, however, he reinstates them to power later. By 1554, the city was converted to Protestantism, and by 1567 it adhered to the Calvinist faith. In 1590, a synod takes place in the city, protesting the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in Hungary. Additional synods take place in 1591 and 1594, and the city is the birthplace of Gáspár Károli, who is the first person to translate the Bible into Hungarian in 1586.

In 1592, the baron, Mihály Károlyi, further expands the fortifications of the city, these being made out of predominantly dirt. However, after an Ottoman response, the city is forced to keep paying tribute. Thanks to its strategic position, the city becomes part of a series of fortifications built against the Ottomans, and to be able of repelling the eventual attacks, the fortifications are enlarged again between 1661 and 1666, as well as a German garrison with artillery being assigned. However, after a series of attacks, the city is burned and suffers grave damage, but is eventually rebuilt by the year 1678.

The city will once again come under fire during Francis II Rákóczi's uprising, and the city will be depopulated and left impoverished. The city will have a resurgence after Treaty of Szatmár is signed and the Károlyi family is elevated to the status of counts. Count Alexander Karolyi, shortly after the war, begins colonizing the region with Swabians, inviting 124 families from Württemberg. Eventually Slovaks, Jews, and Rusyns also get settled in the regions. The colonization efforts become more significant during Francis Károlyi tenure, an additional 132 families are settled in 1762, with the total number reaching an estimated 466 Swabian families, forming two districts in the town. Effects on cultural and social life began to show: in 1727 the Piarist Gymnasium was established, in 1754 the first typography was built, and in 1756 a pharmacy was opened.

In 1780, the city became the seat of Szatmár County, and in 1828 the population reached 11,000. The town was hit by an earthquake in 1834, and the majority of the city was destroyed the next year during a great fire, which destroyed 350 houses. The city was hit by a similar great fire on 6 May 1887, causing similar damage to the fire from 1835. The rebuilding of the houses and the organizing of the streets were done according to the planning regulations adopted by the town's council, and they still define the physiognomy of the city's center today. In 1871, the railway connecting Carei to Satu Mare and Debrecen was opened, and it was further expanded in 1887 with the line Tășnad-Sărmășag-Zalău, and in 1905 the railway towards Mátészalka was built. Over the course of the 19th century, the colonized families started adopting the Hungarian language but kept their religion, differentiating them from the reformed majority of the county.

In 1845, with help from count György Károlyi, a hospital was built and opened. With the new railway built in 1887, the light industry and the food industry in the city started blooming, and a new paper mill was also built. Between the years 1893 and 1896, at the behest of count Stephen Károlyi, the castle underwent change once more, according to the plans of the architect Arthur Meinig, and it reached its current form. In 1904, electricity was introduced in the city, and until 1914, multiple elementary and general schools were opened, the most renowned being the Piarist school, today known as Școală Gimnazială Vasile Lucaciu (the Vasile Lucaciu school). In 1910, the train station was built, and it still exists today.

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 Carei on April 19, 1919, during the Hungarian–Romanian War. The city officially became part of the territory ceded to the Kingdom of Romania in June 1920 under the terms of the Treaty of Trianon. In August 1940, under the auspices of Nazi Germany, which imposed the Second Vienna Award, Hungary retook the territory of Northern Transylvania (which included Carei) from Romania. Towards the end of World War II, however, the city was taken back from Hungarian and German troops by Romanian and Soviet forces on 25 October 1944, during the Battle of Carei. In memory of this battle, the "Monument of the Romanian Soldier" was erected in the center of Carei; inaugurated in 1964, it is the work of the sculptor Gheza Vida. The 25th of October has been celebrated since 1959 as the Day of the Romanian Armed Forces.