Zemplín is the name of an informal

traditional region A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

located in eastern

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. It includes the Slovak part of the former

Zemplén county Zemplén (, , , ) was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. The northern part of its territory is now situated in eastern Slovakia (Zemplín (region), Zemplín region), while a smaller so ...

, often including the Slovak part of the Ung county (Slovak: ''Užská župa''/''Užský komitát'').

Geography

Zemplín region stretches from the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

in the north to the lowest point in Slovakia at AMSL. The region is situated in the easternmost part of Slovakia (except for the region between Vihorlatské vrchy and the

Latorica Latorica (; , pronounced: ''Latoritsa''; , translit.: ''Latorytsia'') is a river in the watershed of the Danube. Its source is in the Ukrainian Carpathians (Eastern Carpathian Mountains), near the village . It flows from Ukraine (156.6 km) ...

river, if the former territory of Ung county is not included). Rivers in the region include:

Bodrog The Bodrog is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary. It is a tributary of 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–Hu ...

Laborec The Laborec (; ) is a river in eastern Slovakia that flows through the districts of Medzilaborce, Humenné, and Michalovce in the Košice Region, and the Prešov Region. The river drains the Laborec Highlands. It is long and its basin size is . ...

, Latorica, Uzh,

Ondava The Ondava is a river in eastern Slovakia, the northern source river of the Bodrog. Its source is in the Low Beskids (Eastern Carpathian Mountains), near the village Nižná Polianka, close to the border with Poland. The Ondava flows south throug ...

and a small part of the

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 ...

river. Zemplín is no longer an administrative region, but is divided between two of the 21 official tourism regions, Lower Zemplín and Upper Zemplín. Administratively, the region is divided between

Košice Region The Košice Region (, ; ; ) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. The region was first established in 1923 and its present borders were established in 1996. It consists of 11 districts ( okresy) and 440 municipalities, 17 of which ...

, which includes

Trebišov Trebišov (; ; ) is a small industrial town in the easternmost part of Slovakia, with a population of around 25,000. The town is an administrative, economic and cultural center with machine (Vagónka) and building materials industries. History Th ...

and the western part of

Michalovce District Michalovce District (''okres Michalovce'') is a district in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the e ...

(if Ung county is included, eastern part of Michalovce and whole

Sobrance District Sobrance District () is a district in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia. It is the easternmost district of the Košice Region. Sobrance district borders Michalovce District, Prešov Region and Ukraine. It lies mainly on a lowlands of Easter ...

also belong to Zemplín), and

Prešov Region The Prešov Region (, ; ), also Priashiv Region (, ), is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions and consists of 13 districts (okresy) and 666 municipalities, 23 of which have town status. The region was established in 1996 and is the mos ...

, fully including

Humenné Humenné (; ; ) is a town in the Prešov Region ("kraj") in eastern Slovakia and the second largest town of the historic Zemplín region. It lies at the volcanic Vihorlat mountains and at the confluence of the Laborec and Cirocha Rivers. Na ...

, Snina and

Medzilaborce Medzilaborce (, ''Midzhilabirtsyi''; , ''Mizhlabirtsi''; ) is a List of towns in Slovakia, town in northeastern Slovakia close to the border with Poland, located near the towns of Sanok and Bukowsko (in southeastern Małopolska). Its population is ...

districts and from bigger part including

Vranov nad Topľou Vranov nad Topľou (Slovak language, Slovak before 1927 and from 1944–1969: ''Vranov''; / ''Vronau an der Töpl'' (rare); ; ) is a town of approximately 20,500 inhabitants in eastern Slovakia, situated near Košice and Prešov, and between ...

and

Stropkov Stropkov (; , , , ) is a town in Stropkov District, Prešov Region, Slovakia. History The first written data about the town is from 1404, when Stropkov was already labeled as an ''oppidum'' (a townlet). The first owner of the town after the king ...

districts. Major towns include

Michalovce Michalovce (; , , Romani language, Romani: ''Mihalya'', Yiddish language, Yiddish: מיכאלאָווצע ''Mikhaylovets'' or ''Mykhaylovyts''; ) is a town on the Laborec river in eastern Slovakia. Originally named after the Archangel St Michael ...

and

History

The region of Zemplín, administered from

Zemplín Castle Zemplín Castle (; ) 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. Etymology The name of the castle is derived ...

was already an administrative unit of

Great Moravia Great Moravia (; , ''Meghálī Moravía''; ; ; , ), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, possibly including territories which are today part of the Czech Repub ...

in the 9th century CE. After its integration into 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 ...

, it became known as the Zemplén county. Between 1879 and 1901 over 32,000 persons emigrated from the Slovak districts of Zemplín to the USA.Stolarik, Marian Mark. ''Immigration and Urbanization: The Slovak Experience, 1870-1918'' (New York: AMS Press, 1989) p. 23 In 1918 the Slovak part of Zemplín became part of newly formed

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 ...

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

Sátoraljaújhely Sátoraljaújhely (German language, German: ''Neustadt am Zeltberg''; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Nové Mesto pod Šiatrom;'' Yiddish: ''איהעל'') is a border town located in Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén County, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Hu ...

) stayed in

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 ...

as the county Zemplén. During

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 ...

, when

was split temporarily, some of the Czechoslovak part of Zemplen county was occupied by Hungary under 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 ...

, and added to the counties Zemplén and Ung. After World War II, the pre-war border was restored, and the Hungarian county Zemplén merged with the county Borsod and the Hungarian part of Abov-Turňa to form the present Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county. Since the separation of Czechoslovakia into

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

in 1993, the northern part of Zemplín is part of

, divided between eastern parts of Košice Region and Prešov Region.

External links

Region of Lower Zemplín
an
Region of Upper Zemplín
a
Slovakia.travel

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zemplin (Region) Traditional regions of Slovakia