Szatmár County ( hu, Szatmár vármegye ) was an administrative county (
comitatus
''Comitatus'' was in ancient times the Latin term for an armed escort or retinue. The term is used especially in the context of Germanic warrior culture for a warband tied to a leader by an oath of fealty and describes the relations between a lor ...
) of the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
, situated south of the river Tisza. Most of its territory is now divided between
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 ...
and
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 ...
, while a very small area is part of
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
.
The capital of the county was Nagykároly (now
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 ...
).
Geography
After 1876, Szatmár county shared borders with the former Hungarian counties of
Szabolcs Szabolcs may refer to:
* Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, current administrative unit (county) of Hungary
*Szabolcs (village) in Hungary's Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county
*Szabolcs (county), the historical administrative unit of the Kingdom of Hungary
*Szabo ...
,
Bereg,
Ugocsa
Ugocsa was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in north-western Romania () and western Ukraine (). The capital of the county was Nagyszőllős (now Vynohradiv, Ukraine).
Geography
Ugocsa county ...
,
Máramaros,
Szolnok-Doboka
Szolnok-Doboka was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in northern Romania (northern Transylvania). The capital of the county was Dés (now Dej, Romania).
Geography
Szolnok-Doboka county shared ...
,
Szilágy and
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
. It was situated south of the river
Tisza
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
. The rivers
Crasna,
Someş,
Lăpuș
Lăpuș (formerly ''Lăpușul Românesc''; hu, Oláhlápos) is a commune in Maramureș County, Transylvania, Romania, on the Lăpuș River, at 12 km from the town of Târgu Lăpuș. It is composed of a single village, Lăpuș. Etymologicall ...
and
Tur flowed through the county. Its area was 6,257 km
2 around 1910.
History
Szatmár county was formed in the 11th century, with the center in Szatmárnémeti (now
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 ...
). In
Ottoman times, the county mostly belonged to
Partium
Partium (from Latin ''partium'', the genitive of '' pars'' "part, portion") or ''Részek'' (in Hungarian) was a historical and geographical region in the Kingdom of Hungary during the early modern and modern periods. It consisted of the eastern a ...
. In 1876, when the administrative structure of the Kingdom of Hungary was changed, part of the territory of the former Kővárvidék/
Chioar district was annexed to Szatmár.
![Satmar County Josephinische Landesaufnahme, 1782-85](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Satmar_County_Josephinische_Landesaufnahme%2C_1782-85.jpg)
In 1920, 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 ...
assigned most of the territory of the county to Romania. The northwest of the county remained in Hungary, and formed the new county of Szatmár-Ugocsa-Bereg in 1923, with parts of the former
Bereg and
Ugocsa
Ugocsa was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in north-western Romania () and western Ukraine (). The capital of the county was Nagyszőllős (now Vynohradiv, Ukraine).
Geography
Ugocsa county ...
counties (the capital of this county was
Mátészalka
Mátészalka is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. It is on the Kraszna River, 52 kilometers from the city of Nyiregyhaza.
Geography
It covers an area of and has a population of 17,01 ...
, which was previously in Szatmár county). The village of Nagypalád (now Velika Palad') was passed to
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
in 1921, after a border adjustment agreement with Romania (according to the agreement, the villages of Akli/Okli and Fertősalmás/Fertesolmas were also passed to Czechoslovakia, whereas Bocskó/
Bocicău, Ugocsakomlós/
Comlăușa, Avaspatak/
Valea Seacă and Nagytarna/
Tarna Mare were passed to Romania).
By the
First Vienna Award
The First Vienna Award was a treaty signed on 2 November 1938 pursuant to the Vienna Arbitration, which took place at Vienna's Belvedere Palace. The arbitration and award were direct consequences of the previous month's Munich Agreement, which ...
, Nagypalád was returned to Hungary and the county was recreated and later expanded with the Romanian part by 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. After the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, this part became again part of Romania and Nagypalád was passed to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, while the remaining territory in Hungary was renamed to Szatmár-Bereg county.
In 1950, Szatmár-Bereg County was merged with large parts of
Szabolcs Szabolcs may refer to:
* Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, current administrative unit (county) of Hungary
*Szabolcs (village) in Hungary's Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county
*Szabolcs (county), the historical administrative unit of the Kingdom of Hungary
*Szabo ...
county to form
Szabolcs-Szatmár county. This county was renamed
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg in the 1990s.
The Romanian part of the county is now part of
Satu Mare County
Satu Mare County ( ro, Județul Satu Mare, ) is a county (Counties of Romania, județ) of Romania, on the border with Hungary and Ukraine. The capital city is Satu Mare.
Name
In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as ''Szatmár megye'', i ...
, except for the easternmost part (including
Baia Mare
Baia Mare ( , ; hu, Nagybánya; german: Frauenbach or Groß-Neustadt; la, Rivulus Dominarum) is a municipality along the Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramureș ...
), which is in
Maramureș County
Maramureș County () is a county (județ)
in Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare.
Name
In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Máramaros megye'', in Ukrainian language, Ukrainian as Мараморо́щ ...
.
Demographics
Subdivisions
![Szatmár county administrative map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Szatm%C3%A1r_county_administrative_map.jpg)
In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Szatmár county were:
Csenger
Csenger is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.
Geography
The town covers an area of and has a population of 4,870 people (2015). It lies on left bank of the river Szamos, on the bor ...
,
Fehérgyarmat
Fehérgyarmat is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.
Geography
It covers an area of and has a population of 8089 people (2015).
Twin towns – sister cities
Fehérgyarmat is twinn ...
and
Mátészalka
Mátészalka is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. It is on the Kraszna River, 52 kilometers from the city of Nyiregyhaza.
Geography
It covers an area of and has a population of 17,01 ...
are now in Hungary; the other towns mentioned are now in Romania.
See also
*
Satu Mare County
Satu Mare County ( ro, Județul Satu Mare, ) is a county (Counties of Romania, județ) of Romania, on the border with Hungary and Ukraine. The capital city is Satu Mare.
Name
In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as ''Szatmár megye'', i ...
, Romania
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szatmar County
States and territories established in 1938
States and territories disestablished in 1920
States and territories disestablished in 1923
States and territories disestablished in 1945
Counties in the Kingdom of Hungary