The Bjelovar-Križevci County (; ) was a historic administrative subdivision of the

Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (; or ; ) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was created in 1868 by merging the kingdoms of Kingdom of Croatia (Habs ...

. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the

Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River), were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire existence (30 March 1867 – 16 ...

(Transleithania), the Hungarian part of the dual

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. Its territory is now in northern

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. Belovár and Kőrös are the Hungarian names for the cities

Bjelovar Bjelovar (, , Czech language, Czech: ''Bělovar'' or ''Bělovár,'' Kajkavian dialect, Kajkavian: ''Belovar,'' Latin: ''Bellovarium'') is a city in central Croatia. In the Demographics of Croatia, 2021 census, its population was 36,316 . It is ...

and Križevci, respectively. The capital of the county was Bjelovar.

Geography

The Bjelovar-Križevci County shared borders with the Hungarian county of Somogy, and the Croatian-Slavonian counties of

Virovitica Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungary, Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,688, with 21,291 people in the municipality (census 2011). I ...

, Požega,

Varaždin Varaždin ( or ; , also known by #Name, alternative names) is a city in Northern Croatia, north-east of Zagreb. The total population is 46,946, with 38,839 in the city settlement itself (2011). The city is best known for its baroque buildings, ...

, and

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. The river

Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.

formed its northeastern border. Its area was around 1910.

History

The territory of the Bjelovar-Križevci County was part of the Kingdom of Croatia when it entered a personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1102, and with it became part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

in 1526. However, by then most of the territory of the later county had become part of

Ottoman Hungary Ottoman Hungary () encompassed the parts of the Kingdom of Hungary which were under the rule of the Ottoman Empire from the occupation of Buda in 1541 until the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. The territory was incorporated into the empire, under ...

and remained so until the

Treaty of Karlowitz The Treaty of Karlowitz, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1699, in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the Holy League at the Battle of Zenta, was signed in Karlowitz, in the Military Frontier of the Habsburg Monarchy (present-day ...

in 1699. After that this area became part of the

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (; sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна крајина, Vojna krajina, sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна граница, Vojna granica, label=none; ; ) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austrian and Austro-Hungari ...

as the Varaždin Generalate, centred on Bjelovar, which was subdivided into the Križevci and Đurđevac districts. Following the compromise of 1867 which established

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

from the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

several waves of administrative restructuring took place. In 1871 the Varaždin Generalate was dissolved and it territory integrated into Croatia-Slavonia. This territory, plus parts of the Križevci County and the Kutina exclave of

Požega County Požega County (; ) was a historic administrative subdivision (''Counties of Croatia, županija'') of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (Transleithania ...

were reconstituted as the

and Križevci Counties. The remainder of the Croatian and Slavonian Military Frontiers were incorporated in 1881, which led to a final restructuring of the counties in 1886; Bjelovar-Križevci County was formed from almost all of the Bjelovar and Križevci Counties. In 1920 by the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

the county became part of the newly formed

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

(later renamed to Yugoslavia) and was formally abolished in 1922 when the

Vidovdan Constitution The Vidovdan Constitution was the first constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was approved by the Constitutional Assembly on 28 June 1921 despite the opposition boycotting the vote. The Constitution is named after the feast ...

came into force. Since 1991, when

became independent from

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, the county has been part of

Demographics

In 1900, the county had a population of 303,620 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: * Croatian: 225,451 (74.3%) * Serbian: 44,654 (14.7%) * Hungarian: 14,057 (4.6%) * German: 4,218 (1.4%) * Slovak: 156 (0.1%) * Romanian: 2 (0.0%) * Ruthenian: 27 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 15,055 (4.9%) According to the census of 1900, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: *

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

: 254,062 (83.7%) *

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

: 44,872 (14.8%) *

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

: 2,275 (0.7%) *

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

: 1,115 (0.4%) *

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

: 1,018 (0.3%) *

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

: 255 (0.1%) * Unitarian: 0 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 23 (0.0%) In 1910, the county had a population of 332,592 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: * Croatian: 253,687 (76.28%) * Serbian: 44,533 (13.39%) * Hungarian: 14,224 (4.28%) * German: 4,235 (1.27%) * Slovak: 386 (0.12%) * Ruthenian: 281 (0.08%) * Romanian: 1 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 15,245 (4.58%) According to the census of 1910, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: *

: 282,450 (84.92%) *

: 44,658 (13.43%) *

: 2,406 (0.72%) *

: 1,224 (0.37%) *

: 1,210 (0.36%) *

: 635 (0.19%) * Unitarian: 0 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 9 (0.0%)

Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Belovár-Kőrös county were:

Notes

References