Crasna has a significant past concerning its location. Crasna fort and the settlement around it received their names from Crasna river and its meaning is “nice water”. The word has Slavian origins.

 

The first traces of Crasna fort we find in a document called “Varadi Regestrum” in which is mentioned the villein community of Crasna fort. The structure of the fort is the same as Saint Stephan’s forts, therefore we think that these came into being at the beginning of the 11^th century. In charge of the fort was the lord lieutenant and he ruled over a judge, second lieutenant, villeins and simple people. Crasna fort was an economical, administrative, military and arbitrary institution with ten tenures, out of which the most important were the following: Badacsony, Bogis, Ban, Cizer, Horoat.

 

In the years 1450-1470 Crasna received the rank of “Market Town”. The inhabitants were landowners, noblemen, cotters and villeins. The handicraft was blooming and its weekly animal fairs became famous. On the 15^th of July, 1609, Lord Rakoczi Gabor allowed Crasna city to organize fairs and to collect taxes from the sellers for their selling places.

 

The next important role of the city was in the “kuruc-times” (the time of armed anti-Habsburg Hungarian rebels) when Thököly Imre’s hiding people found a shelter here. In the “kuruc” uprising led by Rákóczi Ferenc II. participated noblemen from Crasna too.

 

In 1876, through administrative reorganisation, Crasna fort ceased to exist, after 700 years of existance it was divided into counties and a judge became the chief administrator. Crasna had highly important economical, administrative and cultural role in that time.