Zemplén ( hu, Zemplén, sk, Zemplín, german: Semplin, Semmlin, la, Zemplinum) 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 ...

. The northern part of its territory is now situated in eastern

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

( Zemplín region), while a smaller southern portion of the former county belongs to

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 ...

, as part of

Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén ( hu, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén megye, ; sk, Boršodsko-abovsko-zemplínska) is an administrative county (Counties of Hungary, comitatus or ''megye)'' in north-eastern Hungary (commonly called "Northern Hungary"), on the bord ...

Geography

Zemplén county shared borders with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

(during some periods the with the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

crownland Galicia) and the Hungarian counties Sáros, Abaúj-Torna, Borsod,

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 ...

and

Ung Ung or UNG may refer to: People * Woong, a Korean given name also spelled Ung * Ung (surname), a Cambodian and Norwegian surname * Ung Thị (full name Nguyễn Phúc Ung Thị; 1913–2001), Vietnamese-born American businessman * Franz Unger ( ...

. It was situated in the easternmost strip of what is now Slovakia (except for the region between

Vihorlatské vrchy Vihorlat Mountains ( sk, Vihorlatské vrchy; ua, Вигорлат, ''Vyhorliat'') or colloquially Vihorlat is a volcanic mountain range in eastern Slovakia and western Ukraine. A part of the range is listed as a World Heritage Site. Etymolog ...

and the

Latorica Latorica ( hu, Latorca; sk, Latorica, pronounced: ''Latoritsa''; uk, Латориця, translit.: ''Latorytsia'') is a river in the watershed of the Danube. Its source is in the Ukrainian Carpathians (Eastern Carpathian Mountains), near the vil ...

river), plus a strip along the

Bodrog The Bodrog is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary. It is a tributary to the river Tisza. The Bodrog is formed by the confluence of the rivers Ondava and Latorica near Zemplín in eastern Slovakia. It crosses the Slovak–Hun ...

and

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 ...

rivers in present-day Hungary. The rivers Laborc and Bodrog flowed through the county. Its area was 6,269 km² around 1910.

Capitals

Initially, the capital of the county was the

Zemplín Castle Zemplín Castle ( sk, Zemplínsky hrad; hu, Zempléni vár) was a former stronghold, administrative center, and later private residence near the River Bodrog in the village of Zemplín, Trebišov District, Košice Region in eastern Slovakia. Etym ...

(Hungarian: ''Zempléni vár'', Slovak: ''Zemplínsky hrad''), in the 13th century also

Sárospatak Sárospatak (german: Potok am Bodroch; la, Potamopolis; sk, Šarišský Potok or ; ) is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, northern Hungary. It lies northeast from Miskolc, in the Bodrog river valley. The town, often called simply ''Pat ...

(in Slovak: Potok, hence the alternative name of the county ''comitatus de Potok''). Since the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...

the capital was the town of Zemplén, and since 1748 was

Sátoraljaújhely Sátoraljaújhely (; archaic german: Neustadt am Zeltberg ; sk, Nové Mesto pod Šiatrom; yi, איהעל, Ihel, or ) is a town located in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county in northern Hungary along the Slovak border. It is east from the county ...

(which is now divided between Slovakia and Hungary by the Ronyva/Roňava stream; the Hungarian part is known in Slovak as Nové Mesto pod Šiatrom and the Slovak part is now a separate village called Slovenské Nové Mesto). Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén 1950

History

Zemplén was one of the oldest counties of the Kingdom of Hungary. In the aftermath of World War I, in 1920 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 ...

the northern part of Zemplén county became part of newly formed

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. The southern half (including the bigger part of the divided

) stayed in

as the county of Zemplén. Following the provisions of 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 ...

, an additional part became part of Hungary again in November 1938. The Trianon borders were restored after World War II, and the Hungarian county Zemplén merged with Abaúj, the most of Borsod-Gömör and a little part of

counties to form the present

Demographics

Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Zemplén county were: The towns of

Tokaj Tokaj () is a historical town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 54 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the centre of the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district where Tokaji wine is produced. History The wine-growing area wa ...

and

Szerencs Szerencs is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary. It lies away from Miskolc, and away from Budapest. It has about 9,100 inhabitants. History Szerencs grew into a town where the Great Plain and the Zemplén mountains meet. I ...

are now in Hungary, except for a small northern part (about a quarter) of

to the northeast of the Ronyva (

Rožňava Rožňava ( hu, Rozsnyó, german: Rosenau, Latin: ''Rosnavia'') is a town in Slovakia, approximately by road from Košice in the Košice Region, and has a population of 19,182. The town is an economic and tourist centre of the Gemer. Rožňava ...

) stream in Slovakia, now a small village with its own artificial Slovak name Slovenské Nové Mesto.

Notable people

Demetrius Futaki Demetrius Futaki (Hungarian: Futaki Demeter) (d. 1372) was the Bishop of Várad (Oradea) between 1345 and 1372. Life He was born in the village Mézes in Zemplén county in the early 14th century. In 1324 he was canon of Buda. In 1331 he was su ...

(d. 1372), born at Mézes in Zemplén county

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zemplen County States and territories disestablished in 1920 States and territories disestablished in 1950 Counties in the Kingdom of Hungary Divided regions