Baia Crișului

Baia de Criș lies in the valley of the White Criș, among the gold-bearing hills of the Apuseni Mountains. Its name recalls mining, and fifteenth-century records show the importance of gold in the district. In 1445 local leaders were asked to settle a dispute between a treasury official from Sibiu and the peasants of Baia; the following year they were told not to obstruct his search for gold in the river. In 1599 a Tatar expedition penetrated the valley as far as Baia, plundering and burning villages along its course.