A city with county rights (or urban county,
Hungarian: ''megyei jogú város'', MJV) is a level of administrative subdivision in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
. Since 1994 all county seats are automatically awarded this status, and since 2012 this is the only way a new city may become a city with county rights. However, all cities that achieved this rank before 2012 have retained their status and there is no law that provides for the revocation of this title. As such, cities like
Hódmezővásárhely or
Dunaújváros
Dunaújváros (; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is an industrial city in Fejér County, Central Hungary. It is a city with county rights. Situated 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of Budapest on the Danube, the city i ...
that are not county seats are still cities with county rights. From 2006 until 2022, there were 23 cities with county rights. Since May 2022, there are 25 cities with county rights. Before 1950, the former so-called cities with municipal rights ''(törvényhatósági jogú város)'' had a similar status as the present urban counties.
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
is not considered an urban county and has a special status among the other Hungarian cities.
Every city with county rights is allowed to be subdivided into districts. The representative body is the General Assembly ''(közgyűlés)'' which elects with the County Assembly a council that takes care of different tasks related to the county.
History
Between 1954 and 1971, the four largest regional cities received the ''megyei jogú város'' title. These were
Debrecen
Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...
,
Miskolc
Miskolc ( , , ; Czech language, Czech and sk, Miškovec; german: Mischkolz; yi, script=Latn, Mishkoltz; ro, Mișcolț) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 (1 Jan 2014) Miskolc is the ...
,
Pécs
Pécs ( , ; hr, Pečuh; german: Fünfkirchen, ; also known by other #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the countr ...
and
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
. Then, from 1971 to 1990, the four previous cities and
Győr
Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia ...
were granted a new status known as "county city" ''(megyei város)''. This status was also extended to three other cities in 1989:
Salgótarján
Salgótarján (; sk, Šalgotarján) is city with county rights in Hungary, the capital of Nógrád county, north-eastern Hungary, making it the third smallest county capital based on population. The nearby Salgó castle is a well-known tourist ...
,
Nyíregyháza
Nyíregyháza (, sk, Níreďháza) is a city with county rights in northeastern Hungary and the county capital of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. With a population of 118,001, it is the seventh-largest city in Hungary and the second largest in t ...
and
Kecskemét
Kecskemét ( , sk, Kečkemét) is a city with county rights central part Hungary. It is the eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun.
Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's third ...
. After the
end of Communism, this status was abolished and replaced by the urban counties as before 1971. The eight ''megyei város'' and twelve additional cities became ''megyei jogú város''.
List
References
External links
Alliance of Cities with County Rights
{{Hungary articles
Cities in Hungary
Populated places in Hungary