Szatmár County ( ) was an administrative county (

comitatus Comitatus may refer to: *Comitatus (warband), a Germanic warband who follow a leader * ''Comitatus'', the office of a Roman or Frankish comes, translated as count. * ''Comitatus'', translated as county, a territory such as governed by medieval cou ...

) of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, situated south of the river Tisza. Most of its territory is now divided between

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much 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 south, Croatia and ...

, while a very small area is part of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. The capital of the county was Nagykároly (now

Carei Carei (; , ; /, , ) is a municipiu, city in Satu Mare County, northwestern Romania, near the border with Hungary. The city administers one village, Ianculești (). Geography The municipality of Carei is situated in the north-west of Romania, aw ...

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 states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

. It was situated south of the river

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...

. 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 (; ; ; 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 region of Maramureș, broadly part of Transylvania ...

). 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. In 1920, 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 ...

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 ...

, which was previously in Szatmár county). The village of Nagypalád (now Velika Palad') was passed to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

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, whic ...

, 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 was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all of Maramureș and part of Cri ...

in 1940. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, this part became again part of Romania and Nagypalád was passed to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, 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 (, , ) 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'', in German language, Ge ...

, except for the easternmost part (including

Baia Mare Baia Mare ( , ; ; ; ) is a Municipiu, city along the Săsar, Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramureș, a subregion of Transylvania. It is situated about from Buchare ...

), 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

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