The towns of Satu Mare and Mintiu become important centers of the craftsmen due to the economic and commercial privileges received beginning with the 13th century (1230). In Satu Mare and Mintiu were the guild of strap makers, tailors, tanners, goldsmiths and silversmiths, armourers, furriers, blacksmiths, shoemakers, coopers, barbers and carpenters during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The 18th century marks the beginning of a process of populating and systematizing the town of Satu Mare. The steadying of the River Someş/Szamos and its draining was started, and, in 1805, the paving of the roads and sideways with oaken boards was begun. The oak boards were changed to stone, brought from Seini, in 1808, and soon, the stone paving became a common aspect. The buildings erected during this period are remarkable monuments even today: the former Town Hall, the Roman-Catholic Cathedral with the Episcopal Palace and the houses of the canons, the Jeney House, the Vécsey House, the Ormos House, the Greek-Catholic Church, the Theatre of North and the White House.
The railways were built in the last decades of the 19th century, linking Satu Mare to the neighboring towns: Satu Mare and Carei (1871), Satu Mare and Sighet (1872), Satu Mare and Baia Mare (1884). The next decade develops a wide network of narrow-railways within the county: Satu Mare–Ardud–Ardusat (1900) and Satu Mare–Bixad. PV