Gherla (Hungarian: Szamosújvár; German: Armenierstadt) is a town in Cluj county, Romania, located 45 km from Cluj-Napoca, with a population of 24,232.

A reference to village was first recorded in 1291 under the name Gherlahida, probably derived from the Slavic word grle, meaning “ford�. Later, the name of Szamosújvár was used in official Hungarian records, meaning “the new town on the Someş�.

A fortress was built here and in 1785, it was transformed into a prison, which, during the Communist regime, was used for political detainees.