Zărand

Zărand stands on the plain near the Cigher and the Crișul Alb. Its castle, recorded in the thirteenth century, gave its name to a county extending from the lowlands toward the gold-bearing mountains to the east. The settlement itself appears in documents in 1318 and served as an administrative centre. In 1744 the western part of Zaránd county, including the town, was transferred to Arad county; Baia de Criș became the centre of the remaining eastern district. The old county name survived in both the village and the wider region.