Bereg (; ) was an administrative county (

comitatus Comitatus may refer to: *Comitatus (warband), a Germanic warband who follow a leader * ''Comitatus'', the office of a Roman or Frankish comes, translated as count. * ''Comitatus'', translated as county, a territory such as governed by medieval cou ...

) of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. Its territory is now mostly in western

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and a smaller part in northeastern

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much 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 south, Croatia and ...

. The capital of the county was

Beregszász Berehove (, ; , ) is a city in Zakarpattia Oblast, western Ukraine. It is situated near the border with Hungary. It is the cultural centre of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, and Hungarians constitute roughly half (a plurality) of its popula ...

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

Geography

Bereg county shared borders with the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n crownland Galicia (now in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and Ukraine) and the Hungarian counties Máramaros, Ugocsa, Szatmár, Szabolcs and

Ung Ung or UNG may refer to: People * Woong, a Korean given name also spelled Ung * Ung (surname), a Cambodian and Norwegian surname * Ung Thị (full name Nguyễn Phúc Ung Thị; 1913–2001), Vietnamese-born American businessman * Franz Unger (1 ...

. It was situated between the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

in the north and the river

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...

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 (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

assigned most of the territory to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. 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, whic ...

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 was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all of Maramureș and part of Cri ...

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

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

Zakarpattia Oblast Zakarpattia Oblast (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Закарпатська область), also referred to as simply Zakarpattia (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Закарпаття; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Kárpátalja'') or Transcar ...

. 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 Zakarpattia Oblast (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Закарпатська область), also referred to as simply Zakarpattia (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Закарпаття; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Kárpátalja'') or Transcar ...

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, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also 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, traditional ...

: 72 (0,0%) * Croatian: 20 (0,0%) *

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

: 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 Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

: 103,261 (49,5%) *

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

: 56,289 (27,0%) *

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

: 29,052 (13,9%) *

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

: 19,128 (9,2%) *

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

: 780 (0,4%) *

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

: 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%) *

: 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.

Culture

* Bereg cross stitch, an ancient traditional needlework

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