The Hungary–Romania border is the state border between

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 ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It was established in 1920 by an international commission (the "Lord Commission") presided over by geographers including

Emmanuel de Martonne Emmanuel de Martonne (, 1 April 1873 – 24 July 1955) was a French geographer. He participated in the Paris Peace Conference. Early life and education Martonne was born on 1 April 1873 in Chabris, Indre, France, and was the son-in-law of Paul ...

and Robert Ficheux, and historians

Robert William Seton-Watson Robert William Seton-Watson (20 August 1879, in London – 25 July 1951, in Skye), commonly referred to as R. W. Seton-Watson and also known by the pseudonym Scotus Viator, was a British political activist and historian who played an activ ...

and

Ernest Denis Ernest Denis (January 3, 1849 – January 4, 1921) was a French historian. Denis became known as a specialist of Germany and Bohemia, and played a major role in the establishment of the Czechoslovak state in 1918. Along with Louis Léger, he i ...

. The border was set by the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in ...

which was signed on 4 June 1920. The border is long, demarcated by pillars and approximately of the Mureș/Maros River. The border has been stable since the end of World War II, and is no longer in dispute between the countries. The Hungary–Romania border is an internal border of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. However, as of , Romania is not a part of the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...

History

Prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the eastern and southern

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

formed a natural border between the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and Romania. Hungary and Romania became belligerents in World War I as Romania entered the war in 1916 on the side of the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. During that war the part of Transylvania south of the Maros (Mureș) and east of the Szamos (Someș) had been occupied by Romania forces at the time of the cease-fire agreement of Belgrade signed on 13 November 1918. On 1 December 1918, the

Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia The Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia ( ro, Marea Adunare Națională de la Alba Iulia) was an assembly held on 1 December 1918 in the city of Alba Iulia in which a total of 1,228 delegates from several areas inhabited by ethnic Romanians de ...

declared union with the Kingdom of Romania. Subsequently, the Romanian forces moved further into Hungary and occupied Budapest from August to mid-November 1919. The Treaty of Trianon finalized the armistice between the Allies and Hungary. In the treaty Romania recovered all of Transylvania (including parts of

Maramureș Maramureș or Marmaroshchyna ( ro, Maramureș ; uk, Мармарощина, Marmaroshchyna; hu, Máramaros) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpath ...

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

and

Crișana Crișana ( hu, Körösvidék, german: Kreischgebiet) is a geographical and historical region in north-western Romania, named after the Criș (Körös) River and its three tributaries: the Crișul Alb, Crișul Negru, and Crișul Repede. In Roma ...

Briefly during World War II,

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...

(including part of

and

) was returned to Hungary under the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award, also known as the Vienna Diktat, was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all ...

in 1940. In 1944 as World War II drew to a close and Romania joined the war against Germany, the

agreed ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' to the Trianon boundaries, and this was confirmed at the Paris Peace Conference in 1946, and by the subsequent peace treaties formalized in 1947.

Geography

The Hungarian–Romanian border begins at a

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

located in the historical region of the

, south-east of the Hungarian town of

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 ...

, where the border between Hungary and Serbia intersects the land border between Romania and Serbia. It generally runs south-south-westwards/north-north-eastwards across the

Pannonian Basin The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large Sedimentary basin, basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The Geomorphology, geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewh ...

to another tripoint located on the Tur river, north of the Romanian town of

Satu Mare Satu Mare (; hu, Szatmárnémeti ; german: Sathmar; yi, סאטמאר or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the ...

, where the Hungarian-Ukrainian border intersects the land border between Romania and Ukraine.

Border crossings

Road

Cenad Cenad ( hu, Nagycsanád, during the Dark Ages ''Marosvár''; german: Tschanad; sr, Чанад, Čanad; la, Chanadinum) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Cenad. The village serves as a customs point on t ...

–

Kiszombor Kiszombor is a more than 800 years old village in Csongrád County, in the Southern Great Plain region of southern Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and has a population of 3795 people (2015). It is an agricultural village, near the Maros ...

(<7,5t) *

Nădlac Nădlac (; sk, Nadlak; hu, Nagylak) is a town in western Romania, Arad County. A former part of the town lies across the border with Hungary; this village is called Nagylak. An international border town, Nădlac is the main border crossing into ...

Nagylak Nagylak ( ro, Nădlac or ) is a village in Csongrád-Csanád County, in the Southern Great Plain region of southern Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and in 2017 had a population of 433, 6% of whom is of Romanian Romanian may refer to: * ...

II -

Csanádpalota Csanádpalota (in ro, Palatul Cenad) is a town in the Makó-region of Csongrád county, in Hungary's Southern Great Plain. Geography Csanádpalota covers an area of and has a population of 3286 people (2002). It is located close to the Romanian ...

(motorway) * Turnu -

Battonya Battonya ( ro, Bătania; sr, Батања, Batanja) is a town in Békés County, in the Southern Great Plain region of south-east Hungary. Residents are Magyars, with minority of Serbs and Romanians. Geography It covers an area of 145.77 km ...

* Vărșand - Gyula *

Salonta Salonta (; hu, Nagyszalonta, italic=no, colloquially , ; ger, Grosssalontha, italic=no; tr, Salanta, italic=no) is a municipiu, city in Bihor County, in the geographical region of Crișana, north-western Romania, near the Hungarian border. Po ...

- Méhkerék * Borș -

Ártánd Ártánd is a village in Hajdú-Bihar county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Maps/Map-Artand-4115-Hajdu_Bihar-Hungary Geography It covers an area of and has a population Population ...

* Borș II -

Nagykereki Nagykereki is a village in Hajdú-Bihar county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. Geography It covers an area of 37.27 km² and has a population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single a ...

(motorway) * Săcuieni –

Létavértes Létavértes ( ro, Leta Mare) is a town in Hajdú-Bihar county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and has a population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single a ...

Valea lui Mihai Valea lui Mihai (; hu, Érmihályfalva) is a town in Bihor County, Crișana, Romania. Geography It is located around 66 km north-east of Oradea, 9 km from the Hungarian border in Bihor County, Crișana, Romania. History In 1312, und ...

–

Nyírábrány Nyírábrány is a large village in Hajdú-Bihar county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and has a population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, wh ...

Urziceni Urziceni () is a city in Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania, located around 60 km north-east of Bucharest. It has a population of 14,053: 93.1% Romanians, 4.6% Roma and 1.6% Hungarians. Demographics As the census of 2011 results show ...

–

Vállaj Vállaj is a village in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, ...

* Petea – Csengersima

Rail

All railway crossings are standard gauge. As of June 2019, all railway crossings have passenger traffic. *

Curtici Curtici ( Hungarian: ''Kürtös'', German: ''Kurtitsch'') is a town located in Arad County, in western Romania. The town is situated at a distance from the county capital, Arad, in the western part of Arad County. It is the most important railwa ...

–

Lőkösháza Lőkösháza () is a village in Békés County, in the Southern Great Plain region of southeast Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and has a population of 1804 (2015). An important railway line crosses the Hungarian-Romanian border here (t ...

, electrified 25 kV 50 Hz *

– Kötegyán * Episcopia Bihor – Biharkeresztes *

–

Carei Carei (; , ; /, yi, , ) is a city in Satu Mare County, northwestern Romania, near the border with Hungary. The city administers one village, Ianculești ( hu, Szentjánosmajor). History The first mention of the city under the name of "Karul ...

– Tiborszállás

References