Zala 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 first king Stephen ...

, bordered by the river

Drave The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

to the south. The territory of the former county is now divided between

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. The capital of the county was

Zalaegerszeg Zalaegerszeg (; hr, Jegersek; sl, Jageršek; german: Egersee) is the administrative center of Zala county in western Hungary. Location Zalaegerszeg lies on the banks of the Zala River, close to the Slovenian and Austrian borders and west-south ...

Geography

Zala county shared borders with the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n land Styria and the Hungarian counties Vas,

Veszprém Veszprém (; german: Weißbrunn, sl, Belomost) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county (comitatus or 'megye') of ...

, Somogy, Belovár-Körös and Varasd (the latter two in Croatia-Slavonia). The river Drava (Hungarian: Dráva) river formed its southern border,

Lake Balaton Lake Balaton () is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the region's foremost tourist destinations. The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and ...

its eastern border. The rivers Mura and Zala flowed through the county. Its area was 5974 km² around 1910.

History

Zala county arose as one of the first ''comitatuses'' of the Kingdom of Hungary. 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 and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It forma ...

, the south-west of the county (today known as Međimurje) became part of the newly formed

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

(from 1929 as Yugoslavia). The award recognised the 1918 occupation of the area. The remainder stayed in Hungary. Yugoslavian part of it was occupied and annexed again by Hungary between 1941 and 1945 during

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 opposing ...

. In 1950, as part of the Communist reforms of local government, the county's borders were re-drawn again. A small part of former Vas county, north of Zalaegerszeg, went to

Zala County Zala ( hu, Zala megye, ; ; ) is an administrative county ( comitatus or ''megye'') in south-western Hungary. It is named after the Zala River. It shares borders with Croatia ( Koprivnica–Križevci and Međimurje Counties) and Slovenia ( Lend ...

. The part of Zala county north of

went to

Veszprém County Veszprém ( hu, Veszprém megye, ; german: Komitat Wesprim (Weißbrunn)) is an administrative county (''megye'') in Hungary. Veszprém is also the name of the capital city of Veszprém county. Veszprém county Veszprém county lies in western ...

Since 1991, when Slovenia and Croatia became independent from

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, the part of former Zala county between the rivers Mura and Drava is part of Croatia (region of Međimurje). The area around Lendava is in Slovenia.

Demographics

In 1900, the county had a population of 437,116 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: * Hungarian: 324,087 (74.1%) * Croatian: 84,904 (19.4%) *

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: 4,917 (1.1%) * Slovak: 218 (0.1%) *

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

: 159 (0.0%) * Serbian: 13 (0.0%) * Ruthenian: 2 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 22,816 (5.2%) According to the census of 1900, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: *

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

: 402,773 (92.2%) *

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

: 13,967 (3.2%) *

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

: 11,793 (2.7%) *

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

: 8,251 (1.9%) *

Greek Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

: 68 (0.0%) *

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

: 108 (0.0%) * Unitarian: 32 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 124 (0.0%) In 1910, the county had a population of 466,333 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Zala ethnic map

Total: * Hungarian: 347,167 (74.45%) * Croatian: 91,909 (19.71%) *

: 3,889 (0.83%) * Slovak: 233 (0.05%) * Serbian: 56 (0.01%) *

: 44 (0.01%) * Ruthenian: 3 (0.0%) *Other: 23,032 (4.94%) According to the census of 1910, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: *

: 433,145 (92.88%) *

: 12,892 (2.76%) *

: 11,738 (2.52%) *

: 8,220 (1.76%) *

: 117 (0.03%) *

: 110 (0.02%) * Unitarian: 37 (0.01%) *Other: 74 (0.02%)

Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Zala county were: Zala county administrative map

The towns of Prelog and

Čakovec Čakovec (; hu, Csáktornya; la, Aquama; german: Tschakathurn) is a city in northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmost, s ...

are in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

;

Lendava Lendava (; formerly ''Dolnja Lendava'', in older sources also ''Dolenja Lendava''; hu, Lendva, formerly ''Alsólendva''; german: Lindau, formerly ''Unter-Limbach'') is a town in Slovenia in the region of Prekmurje. It is the seat of the Municip ...

is in

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zala County (Former) States and territories established in 1715 1596 disestablishments States and territories disestablished in 1920 Counties in the Kingdom of Hungary