Trencsén county is the name of a historic administrative county (comitatus

Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary)

A county is the name of a type of administrative units in the Kingdom of Hungary and in Hungary from the 10th century until the present day....

) of the Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

. Its territory is presently in western Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

.

Geography

Trencsén county shared borders with the Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n lands Moravia

Moravia

Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...

 and Galicia and the Hungarian counties Árva (Orava), Turóc (Turiec) and Nyitra (Nitra). The county's territory was a strip in the extreme northwestern edge of present-day Slovakia, i. e. the territory between the Czech

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 border, the town of Nové Mesto nad Váhom

Nové Mesto nad Váhom

Nové Mesto nad Váhom is a town in the Trenčín Region of Slovakia.- Geography :District town located at the northern edge of the Danubian Hills at the foothills of the northern end of the White Carpathians, on the Váh river. Other mountains nearby are the White Carpathians and the Považský Inovec...

, the Turóc county, the Árva county and the Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 border. The river Váh

Váh

The Váh is the longest river in entire Slovakia. A left tributary of the Danube river, the Váh is 406 km long, including its Čierny Váh branch...

 flowed through the county. Its area was 4456 km² around 1910.

Capitals

The capital of Trencsén county was the Trenčín Castle

Trencín Castle

The Trenčín Castle is a castle above the town of Trenčín in western Slovakia.-History:History of the castle goes back to the age of the Roman Empire, testified by the inscription telling about the victory of the II. Roman legion at Laugaricio in 179 AD. The oldest building is a stone rotunda,...

, and from around 1650 the town of Trenčín

Trencín

Trenčín is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 56,000, which makes it the ninth largest municipality of the country and is the seat of the Trenčín Region and the Trenčín District...

.

History

A predecessor of the Trencsén county existed already in the 9th century, at the time of Great Moravia

Great Moravia

Great Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...

. Its center was in Ducové

Ducové

Ducové is a municipality situated in western Slovakia, near the spa town of Piešťany. It was part of the municipality Moravany nad Váhom from 1976 to 1992...

. In the 10th and 11th century, the county was probably temporarily part of Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

 and then temporarily of Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 (castellania Trecen).

The Trencsén county as a Hungarian comitatus

Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary)

A county is the name of a type of administrative units in the Kingdom of Hungary and in Hungary from the 10th century until the present day....

 arose at the end of the 11th century, when most parts of the territory were conquered by the Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

. Traditionally, the office of hereditary lord lieutenant of Trencsén county was held by the Csák

Csák (family)

Csák was the name of a gens in the Kingdom of Hungary. The Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum records that the ancestor of the family was Szabolcs, son of chieftain Előd, the leader of one of the seven Magyar tribes. The family was probably connected to the Árpád dynasty...

, Cseszneky

House of Cseszneky

The House of Cseszneky was one of the most prominent noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary. The Counts Cseszneky de Milvány et Csesznek have produced many individuals notable in Hungarian and general European history and culture.-Name and origin:...

 and Illésházy families.

In the aftermath of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Trencsén county became part of newly formed Czechoslovakia, as recognized by the concerned states in the 1920 Treaty of Trianon

Treaty of Trianon

The Treaty of Trianon was the peace agreement signed in 1920, at the end of World War I, between the Allies of World War I and Hungary . The treaty greatly redefined and reduced Hungary's borders. From its borders before World War I, it lost 72% of its territory, which was reduced from to...

. The Trenčín county (Trenčianska župa) continued to exist till 1922, but it had completely different powers, etc.

When Slovakia became independent temporarily between 1939 and 1945, the Trenčín county was created again in 1940, but its territory was slightly extended. After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Trenčín county was in Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 again. In 1993, Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 was split and Trenčín became part of Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

.

Demographics

Population by language (1910 manipulated census by the ruling Hungarian bureaucracy):

• Slovak = 284,770
• Hungarian = 13,204
• German = 9,029

Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Trencsén/Trenčín county were:

Districts (járás)
District	Capital
Bán	Bán, SK Slovak language Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...  Bánovce nad Bebravou Bánovce nad Bebravou Bánovce nad Bebravou is a town in Slovakia, in the Trenčín Region.-Geography:It is located at the northernmost edge of the Danubian Hills, at the foothills of the Strážovské vrchy mountains at the confluence of the Radiša and Bebrava rivers...
Csaca	Csaca, SK Čadca Cadca Čadca is a district town in northern Slovakia, near the border with Poland and the Czech Republic.-Geography:It is located south of the Jablunkov Pass, surrounded by the Javorníky, Kysucké Beskydy and Turzovská vrchovina mountain ranges. It lies in the valley of the Kysuca river, around 30 km...
Illava	Illava, SK Ilava Ilava Ilava is a town in the Trenčín Region, northwestern Slovakia.-Geography:It is located in the Ilava Basin near the Váh river at the foothills of Strážovské vrchy mountains, near the cities of Považská Bystrica and Trenčín...
Kiszucaújhely	Kiszucaújhely, SK Kysucké Nové Mesto Kysucké Nové Mesto Kysucké Nové Mesto is a town in Žilina Region, Slovakia, near the city of Žilina.-History:The first written record to the Kysuce region, which was relatively uninhabited at that time, was in 1244, and to the town in 1325 under name Congsberg...
Nagybiccse	Nagybiccse, SK Bytča Bytca Bytča is a town in northwestern Slovakia. It is located at the Váh river near the cities of Žilina and Považská Bystrica. It belongs to Upper Váh region of tourism.-History:...
Puhó	Puhó, SK Púchov Púchov Púchov is an industrial town in the centre of Púchov District in Slovakia, with a population close to 20,000.-Geography:It is located on the main train line between Bratislava and Košice...
Trencsén	Trencsén, SK Trenčín Trencín Trenčín is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 56,000, which makes it the ninth largest municipality of the country and is the seat of the Trenčín Region and the Trenčín District...
Vágbeszterce	Vágbeszterce, SK Považská Bystrica Považská Bystrica Považská Bystrica is a town in northwestern Slovakia. It is located on the Váh river, around 30 km from the city of Žilina. It belongs to Upper Váh region of tourism.- Profile :...
Zsolna	Zsolna, SK Žilina Žilina Žilina is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Slovakia with a population of approximately 85,000, an important industrial center, the largest city on the Váh river, and the seat of a...
Urban districts (rendezett tanácsú város)
Trencsén, SK Trenčín Trencín Trenčín is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 56,000, which makes it the ninth largest municipality of the country and is the seat of the Trenčín Region and the Trenčín District...