.gif)
Vas (former county)
Encyclopedia
Vas was the name of a historic administrative county (comitatus
) of the Kingdom of Hungary
. Its territory is presently in western Hungary
, eastern Austria
and eastern Slovenia
(Prekmurje
). The capital of the county was Szombathely
.
n lands Lower Austria
and Styria and the Hungarian counties Sopron
, Veszprém
and Zala
. It stretched between the river Mura in the south, the foothills of the Alps
in the west and the river Marcal
in the east. The river Rába
flowed through the county. Its area was 5472 km² around 1910.
.
In 1918 (confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon
1920), the western part of the county became part of the new Austria
n land Burgenland
, and a small part in the southwest became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia). The remainder stayed in Hungary
, as the present Hungarian county Vas. A small part of former Sopron
county went to Vas county. Some villages north of Zalaegerszeg
went to Zala
county, and a small region west of Pápa
went to Veszprém
county.
Since 1991, when Slovenia
became independent from Yugoslavia
, the Yugoslavian part of former Vas county (known in Slovenian
as Prekmurje
) has been part of the Republic of Slovenia. In 1919 there was briefly proclaimed the Republic of Prekmurje
, but it existed only 6 days, alike the Lajtabánság
.
The towns of Oberwart
and Güssing
are in Austria
; Murska Sobota
is in Slovenia
.
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 Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, eastern 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...
and eastern Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
(Prekmurje
Prekmurje
Prekmurje is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region settled by Slovenes and lying between the Mur River in Slovenia and the Rába Valley in the most western part of Hungary...
). The capital of the county was Szombathely
Szombathely
Szombathely is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas county in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria...
.
Geography
Vas county shared borders with the AustriaAustria
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 Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
and Styria and the Hungarian counties Sopron
Sopron (county)
Sopron is the name of a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary in present-day eastern Austria and northwestern Hungary. The capital of the county was Sopron.- Geography :...
, Veszprém
Veszprém (county)
Veszprém is the name of an administrative county in Hungary. Veszprém is also the name of the capital city of Veszprém county.-Veszprém county:...
and Zala
Zala
Zala is the name of an administrative county in Hungary. Itlies in south-western Hungary. It is named after the Zala River. It shares borders with Croatia and Slovenia and the Hungarian counties Vas, Veszprém and Somogy. The capital of Zala county is Zalaegerszeg. Its area is 3784 km²...
. It stretched between the river Mura in the south, the foothills of the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
in the west and the river Marcal
Marcal
The Marcal is a right tributary of the Rába which has its source near Sümeg in the Bakony region of western Hungary. The river flows north and reaches Ukk on the Little Hungarian Plain. It follows a path similar to the Rába, and in many places the two rivers are only a kilometer apart...
in the east. The river Rába
Rába
The Rába is a river in southeastern Austria and western Hungary and a right tributary of the Danube. Its source is in Austria, some kilometres east of Bruck an der Mur below Heubodenhöhe Hill. It flows through the Austrian states of Styria and Burgenland, and the Hungarian counties of Vas and...
flowed through the county. Its area was 5472 km² around 1910.
History
Vas county arose as one of the first comitatus of the Kingdom of HungaryKingdom 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...
.
In 1918 (confirmed by the 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...
1920), the western part of the county became part of the new 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 land Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
, and a small part in the southwest became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia). The remainder stayed in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, as the present Hungarian county Vas. A small part of former Sopron
Sopron (county)
Sopron is the name of a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary in present-day eastern Austria and northwestern Hungary. The capital of the county was Sopron.- Geography :...
county went to Vas county. Some villages north of Zalaegerszeg
Zalaegerszeg
In 2001 Zalaegerszeg had 61,654 inhabitants . The distribution of religions were, 71.1% Roman Catholic, 3.8% Calvinist, 1.6% Lutheran, 11.6% Atheist .-Notable people:* Lajos Botfy , mayor...
went to Zala
Zala
Zala is the name of an administrative county in Hungary. Itlies in south-western Hungary. It is named after the Zala River. It shares borders with Croatia and Slovenia and the Hungarian counties Vas, Veszprém and Somogy. The capital of Zala county is Zalaegerszeg. Its area is 3784 km²...
county, and a small region west of Pápa
Pápa
Pápa is a historical city in Veszprém county, Hungary, located close to the northern edge of the Bakony Hills, and noted for its baroque architecture. With its 33,000 inhabitants, it is the cultural, economic and tourism centre of the region....
went to Veszprém
Veszprém (county)
Veszprém is the name of an administrative county in Hungary. Veszprém is also the name of the capital city of Veszprém county.-Veszprém county:...
county.
Since 1991, when Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
became independent from Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, the Yugoslavian part of former Vas county (known in Slovenian
Slovenian language
Slovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...
as Prekmurje
Prekmurje
Prekmurje is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region settled by Slovenes and lying between the Mur River in Slovenia and the Rába Valley in the most western part of Hungary...
) has been part of the Republic of Slovenia. In 1919 there was briefly proclaimed the Republic of Prekmurje
Republic of Prekmurje
The Republic of Prekmurje or Mura Republica was an unrecognized state in Prekmurje, an area traditionally known in Hungarian as Vendvidék ...
, but it existed only 6 days, alike the Lajtabánság
Lajtabánság
Lajtabánság was a short lived Hungarian state in western Hungary the current territory of the Austrian federal state of Burgenland. The state existed between October 4 and November 5 1921, after the Treaty of Trianon after the army of the rump Kingdom of Hungary left the territory but before...
.
Subdivisions
In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Vas county were:| Districts (járás) | |
|---|---|
| District | Capital |
| Celldömölk | Celldömölk Celldömölk is the fourth largest city in Vas County. Parts of the Eragon movie were filmed here. The town has 12 thousand inhabitants can be found in the centre of Kemenesalja Hills. It has a history older than 750 years... |
| Felsőőr | Felsőőr, AT German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... Oberwart Oberwart Oberwart or Felsőőr is a town in Burgenland in southeast Austria on the banks of the Pinka River, and the capital of the district of the same name... |
| Körmend | Körmend Körmend -Places of interest:The town is especially well known for its castle which used to belong to the Batthyany family, one of the most important aristocrat families of Hungary. Blessed Ladislaus Batthyány-Strattmann , a famous ophthalmologist who was beatified by the Catholic Church, lived in the... |
| Kőszeg | Kőszeg Koszeg ----Kőszeg is a town in Vas county, Hungary. The town is famous for its historical character.- History :The origins of the only free royal town in the historical garrison county of Vas go back to the third quarter of the 13th century... |
| Muraszombat | Muraszombat, SI Slovenian language Slovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union... Murska Sobota Murska Sobota Murska Sobota is a city in northeastern Slovenia. It is located in the eponymous municipality near the Mura River in the region of Prekmurje and is the regional capital.-Name:... |
| Németújvár | Németújvár, AT Güssing Güssing Güssing is a town in Burgenland, Austria. It is located at , with a population of 3,811 , and is the administrative center of the Güssing district.The Güssing Castle, built in 1157, is the oldest castle in Burgenland and a regional landmark.... |
| Sárvár | Sárvár |
| Szentgotthárd | Szentgotthárd Szentgotthárd Szentgotthárd is the westernmost town of Hungary. It is situated on the Rába River near the Austrian border, and is home to much of Hungary's small Slovene ethnic minority.... |
| Szombathely | Szombathely Szombathely Szombathely is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas county in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria... |
| Vasvár | Vasvár Vasvár Vasvár ), is a town in Vas county, Hungary.-See also:* Peace of Vasvár* Vasvári kistérség... |
| Urban districts (rendezett tanácsú város) | |
| Kőszeg Koszeg ----Kőszeg is a town in Vas county, Hungary. The town is famous for its historical character.- History :The origins of the only free royal town in the historical garrison county of Vas go back to the third quarter of the 13th century... |
|
| Szombathely Szombathely Szombathely is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas county in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria... |
|
The towns of Oberwart
Oberwart
Oberwart or Felsőőr is a town in Burgenland in southeast Austria on the banks of the Pinka River, and the capital of the district of the same name...
and Güssing
Güssing
Güssing is a town in Burgenland, Austria. It is located at , with a population of 3,811 , and is the administrative center of the Güssing district.The Güssing Castle, built in 1157, is the oldest castle in Burgenland and a regional landmark....
are in 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...
; Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota is a city in northeastern Slovenia. It is located in the eponymous municipality near the Mura River in the region of Prekmurje and is the regional capital.-Name:...
is in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
.