Somogy was an administrative county ( comitatus) 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 Hungarian monarch, c ...

. Its territory, which was slightly larger than that of present Somogy county, is now in south-western

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

. The capital of the county was

Kaposvár Kaposvár (; also known by other alternative names) is a city with county rights in the southwestern part of Hungary, south of Lake Balaton. It is one of the leading cities of Transdanubia, the capital of Somogy County, and the seat of the Kapo ...

Geography

Somogy County shared borders with the Hungarian counties of Zala, Veszprém, Tolna, Baranya, Verőce and Belovár-Körös (the latter two part of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Bar ...

). It extended along the southern shore of

Lake Balaton Lake Balaton () is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the region's foremost tourist destinations. The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and ...

and encompassed the region south of the lake. The river

Drava The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

(Hungarian: Dráva) formed most of its southern border. Its area was 6530 km² around 1910.

History

In the 10th century, the Hungarian Nyék tribe occupied the region around

, mainly the areas which are known today as Zala and Somogy counties. Somogy County arose as one of the first comitatuses of the

, in the 11th century.

Demographics

1900

In 1900, the county had a population of 345,586 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: * Hungarian: 310,320 (89.8%) *

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 ...

: 20,193 (5.8%) * Croatian: 11,641 (3.4%) *

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, traditiona ...

: 381 (0.1%) * Slovak: 291 (0.1%) *

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...

: 28 (0.0%) * Ruthenian: 8 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 2,724 (0.8%) According to the census of 1900, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: *

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 ...

: 251,246 (72.7%) *

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 C ...

: 65,621 (19.0%) *

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

: 17,481 (5.1%) *

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 ...

: 10,969 (3.2%) * Unitarian: 81 (0.0%) *

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 C ...

: 77 (0.0%) *

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 ...

: 66 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 45 (0.0%)

1910

In 1910, the county had a population of 365,961 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: * Hungarian: 333,597 (91.2%) * German: 18,718 (5.1%) * Croatian: 9,934 (2.7%) * Slovak: 364 (0.1%) *

: 44 (0.0%) *

: 63 (0.0%) * Ruthenian: 4 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 3,237 (0.9%) According to the census of 1910, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: *

: 273,650 (74.8%) *

: 63,569 (17.4%) *

: 17,700 (4.9%) *

: 10,645 (2.9%) *

: 129 (0.0%) *

: 106 (0.0%) * Unitarian: 104 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 58 (0.0%) The city of Siófok, which was in Somogy county before the 1850s, reverted from Veszprém county to Somogy county before World War II. After World War II, the district of Szigetvár went to Baranya county.

Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Somogy county were:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somogy County (Former) States and territories established in 1715 1596 disestablishments States and territories disestablished in 1946 Counties in the Kingdom of Hungary History of Somogy