Sopron (German: ''Ödenburg'') 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 divided between

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 ...

and

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

Sopron Sopron (; german: Ödenburg, ; sl, Šopron) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the Roman Empire, a ...

Geography

Sopron county shared borders with the

n land Lower Austria and the Hungarian counties Moson,

Győr Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia region, and – halfway between Budapest and Vienna – situated on one of ...

, Veszprém and Vas. The

Lake Neusiedl Lake Neusiedl (german: Neusiedler See), or Fertő ( hu, Fertő (tó); hr, Nežidersko jezero, Niuzaljsko jezero; sl, Nežidersko jezero; sk, Neziderské jazero; cs, Neziderské jezero) is the largest endorheic lake in Central Europe, strad ...

(Hungarian: ''Fertő tó'', German: ''Neusiedler See'') lay in the county. Its area was about 3,256 km² around 1910.

History

The Sopron

arose as one of the first comitati of the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1920, by 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 ...

the western part of the county became part of

, while the eastern part became a part of Hungary. In 1921, it was decided by referendum that the city of

and eight surrounding settlements would join Hungary instead of Austria. Győr, Moson és Pozsony

In 1950, Sopron county merged with Győr-Moson county to form Győr-Sopron county, while a small part of Sopron county went to Vas county. The county was renamed to Győr-Moson-Sopron county in 1990. Győr-Sopron 1950

Demographics

1900

In 1900, the county had a population of 279,796 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: * Hungarian: 136,616 (48.8%) * German: 109,369 (39.1%) * Croatian: 31,317 (11.2%) * Slovak: 505 (0.2%) * Romanian: 22 (0.0%) * Serbian: 12 (0.0%) * Ruthenian: 4 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 1,951 (0.7%) 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 ...

: 235,390 (84.1%) *

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 ...

: 33,924 (12.1%) *

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 ...

: 9,736 (3,5) *

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 ...

: 641 (0.2%) *

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 ...

: 53 (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 ...

: 26 (0.0%) * Unitarian: 15 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 11 (0.0%)

1910

In 1910, the county had a population of 283,510 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: * Hungarian: 141,011 (49.7%) * German: 109,160 (38.5%) * Croatian: 31,004 (10.9%) * Slovak: 397 (0.1%) * Romanian: 33 (0.0%) * Serbian: 15 (0.0%) * Ruthenian: 4 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 1,886 (0.7%) According to the census of 1910, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: * Roman Catholic: 239,578 (84.5%) *

: 34,820 (12.3%) *

: 8,192 (2,9) *

: 743 (0.3%) *

: 93 (0.0%) *

: 50 (0.0%) * Unitarian: 27 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 7 (0.0%)

Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Sopron county were: Eisenstadt, Mattersburg,

Rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO( ...

and

Oberpullendorf Oberpullendorf (; hr, Gornja Pulja or ; hu, Felsőpulya) is a town in Burgenland, Austria. It is the administrative center of the district of Oberpullendorf. Geography Oberpullendorf is a municipality in the middle of the Burgenland. It con ...

are now in Austria.

References

{{authority control States and territories established in the 11th century States and territories disestablished in 1920 States and territories disestablished in 1950 Counties in the Kingdom of Hungary Győr-Moson-Sopron County Sopron Eisenstadt-Umgebung District Eisenstadt Mattersburg District Oberpullendorf District Vas County