Bereg ( rue, Береґ; ) was an administrative county (

comitatus ''Comitatus'' was in ancient times the Latin term for an armed escort or retinue. The term is used especially in the context of Germanic warrior culture for a warband tied to a leader by an oath of fealty and describes the relations between a lo ...

) of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. Its territory is now mostly in western

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and a smaller part in northeastern

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning 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 ...

. The capital of the county was

Beregszász Berehove ( uk, Берегове; hu, Beregszász) is a city located in Zakarpattia Oblast (province) in western Ukraine, near the border with Hungary. It is the cultural centre of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. Serving as the administrativ ...

("Berehove" in Ukrainian, ''Berehovo'' in Rusyn, ''Bergsaß'' in German, ''Beregovo'' in Russian, ''Bereg'' in Romanian).

Geography

Bereg county shared borders with the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n crownland Galicia (now in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and Ukraine) and the Hungarian counties Máramaros,

Ugocsa Ugocsa was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in north-western Romania () and western Ukraine (). The capital of the county was Nagyszőllős (now Vynohradiv, Ukraine). Geography Ugocsa county ...

, Szatmár, Szabolcs and Ung. It was situated between the Carpathian Mountains in the north and the river

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

in the south. Its area was 3788 km² around 1910.

History

Bereg is one of the oldest counties in Hungary. In 1920 the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It forma ...

assigned most of the territory to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. The southwestern part remained in Hungary and the county of Szatmár-Ugocsa-Bereg was created in 1923. Following 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, which ...

Szatmár County was recreated, thus Bereg-Ugocsa county was created with

as capital. In 1939, after the breakup of Czechoslovakia the complete county was occupied and annexed by Hungary, however the redeemed territories of the former county remained separate as the administrative branch offices of Bereg. After the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award, also known as the Vienna Diktat, was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all o ...

, the county was recreated again. After World War II, the most of the territory of Bereg county became part of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

Zakarpattia Oblast The Zakarpattia Oblast ( uk, Закарпатська область, Zakarpatska oblast) is an administrative oblast located in western Ukraine, mostly coterminous with the historical region of Carpathian Ruthenia. Its administrative centre is ...

. The remainder was merged into the newly formed Szatmár-Bereg County. In 1950 it became part of Szabolcs-Szatmár County, which was renamed in 1990 to Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. Since 1991, when the Soviet Union split up, the Zakarpattya region is part of Ukraine.

Demographics

1900

In 1900, the county had a population of 208,589 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: * Ruthenian: 95,308 (45,7%) * Hungarian: 93,198 (44,7%) *

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: 18,639 (8,9%) * Slovak: 991 (0,5%) *

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

: 72 (0,0%) * Croatian: 20 (0,0%) * Serbian: 0 (0,0%) * Other or unknown: 361 (0,2%) According to the census of 1900, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: *

Greek Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

: 103,261 (49,5%) *

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

: 56,289 (27,0%) *

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

: 29,052 (13,9%) *

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

: 19,128 (9,2%) *

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

: 780 (0,4%) *

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

: 44 (0,0%) * Unitarian: 26 (0,0%) * Other or unknown: 9 (0,0%)

1910

In 1910, the county had a population of 236,611 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: * Hungarian: 113,090 (47,8%) * Ruthenian: 100,918 (42,6%) *

: 20,722 (8,8%) * Slovak: 1,123 (0,5%) *

: 215 (0,1%) * Croatian: 54 (0,0%) * Serbian: 12 (0,0%) * Other or unknown: 477 (0,2%) According to the census of 1910, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: *

: 117,435 (49,7%) *

: 61,106 (25,9%) *

: 33,660 (14,2%) *

: 23,003 (9,7%) *

: 992 (0,4%) *

: 349 (0,0%) * Unitarian: 13 (0,1%) * Other or unknown: 53 (0,0%)

Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Bereg county were: All the towns mentioned are now in Ukraine.

References

{{HUCountiesto1918 States and territories established in 1940 States and territories disestablished in 1920 States and territories disestablished in 1923 States and territories disestablished in 1945 1945 disestablishments in Hungary Counties in the Kingdom of Hungary