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 lo ...

) 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 Hungarian monarch, c ...

, 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, Cr ...

, 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 inva ...

. 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, Bereg, Ugocsa, Máramaros, Szolnok-Doboka, 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 ...

. 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 and Tur flowed through the county. Its area was 6,257 km² 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. 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

Satmar County Josephinische Landesaufnahme, 1782-85

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 and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It forma ...

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 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 o ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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 nationa ...

, while the remaining territory in Hungary was renamed to Szatmár-Bereg county. In 1950, Szatmár-Bereg County was merged with large parts of Szabolcs 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 (județ) of Romania, on the border with Hungary and Ukraine. The capital city is Satu Mare. Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szatmár megye'', in German as ''Kreis Sathmar'', in Ukrain ...

, 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 Maramur ...

), 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 it is known as ''Máramaros megye'', in Ukrainian as Мараморо́щина, in German as ''Kreis Marmarosch' ...

Demographics

Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Szatmár county were: Csenger, Fehérgyarmat and

are now in Hungary; the other towns mentioned are now in Romania.

Notes

References