Map of the counties in the Kingdom of Hungary around 1880

A comitatus (less frequently, a comitat, or, inaccurately, a county; for the various names, their origin and use see here) is the name of an administrative unit in the Kingdom of Hungary from the 10th century to 1918. Image File history File links Kingdom_of_Hungary_counties. ... Image File history File links Kingdom_of_Hungary_counties. ... The Kingdom of Hungary (Hungarian: Magyar Királyság) is the name of a multiethnic kingdom that existed in Central Europe from 1000 to 1918. ... The Kingdom of Hungary (Hungarian: Magyar Királyság) is the name of a multiethnic kingdom that existed in Central Europe from 1000 to 1918. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

The area of the Kingdom of Hungary also included present-day neighbouring countries of Hungary, i.e.:

• Slovakia,
• Ukraine - in Carpathian Ruthenia,
• Romania - in Transylvania and Banat,
• Serbia - in Voivodina,
• Croatia - in central Croatia and Slavonia,
• Austria - in Burgenland

The word comitatus is also used for the administrative units (megye) in present-day Hungary (since 1918, i. e. after World War I). For those counties see Counties of Hungary. This article only deals with the period before 1918. Carpathian Ruthenia (Ukrainian Карпатська Русь, Karpatska Rus ) or Carpatho-Ukraine or Carpathian Ukraine is a name for a small part of Central Europe that was part of the Kingdom of Hungary (since 1526 under Habsburg rule). ... Map of Romania with Transylvania in yellow Transylvania (Romanian: or Transilvania; Hungarian: ; German: ; Serbian: or Erdelj / Ердељ) is a historical region in the center of Romania. ... Banat (Romanian: Banat; Serbian: Банат or Banat; German: Banat; Hungarian: Bánát or Bánság; Slovak: Banát) is a geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe divided among three countries: the eastern part belongs to Romania (the counties of TimiÅŸ, CaraÅŸ-Severin, Arad, and MehedinÅ£i), the western... Motto: Samo Sloga Srbina Spasava (Serbian, Only solidarity will save the Serbs) Anthem: Bože pravde God of Justice Capital Belgrade Largest city Belgrade Official language(s) Serbian1 Government Republic  - President Boris Tadić  - Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica Formation and independence    - Formation of Serbia 814   - Formation of the Serbian Empire... Serbia and Montenegro  -Serbia    -Kosovo and Metohia    -Vojvodina  -Montenegro Official languages Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, Rusyn 1 Capital Novi Sad Area  - Total  - % water 21,500 km² n/a Population  - Total (2002)  - Density 2,031,992 94. ... Coat of arms Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia. ... Burgenland (Hungarian Várvidék, Őrvidék or FelsÅ‘Å‘rvidék, Croatian Gradišće, Slovenian Gradiščansko) is the easternmost state or Land of Austria. ... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire Canada France Italy Russian Empire United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria German Empire Ottoman Empire Commanders Douglas Haig Sir Arthur Currie John Jellicoe Ferdinand Foch Nicholas II Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Reinhard Scheer Franz Josef I Oskar Potiorek Ä°smail Enver Ferdinand I... Counties of Hungary Hungary is subdivided administratively into 43 regions. ...

For lists of the individual counties see Administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Hungary. The following lists show the administrative divisions of the lands belonging to the Hungarian crown (1000 _1918) at selected points of time. ...

Royal counties (late 10th century - late 13th century)

History

The proto-Magyars settled in present-day Hungary after 900 and largely took over the system of counties (called župa) and castle districts used in this territory by Great Moravia. The Hungarian Principality arose after 955 and in the 10th century its territory was restricted to present-day western Hungary, southwestern Slovakia and Burgenland. The first counties were probably the counties situated in present-day northern Pannonia (Transdanubia) - they arose before 1000 or around 1000. The exact time of the creation of many other counties is disputed, many of them, however, arose not later than under the rule of Stephen I of Hungary. Initially there were also several small frontier counties (Latin: marchiae) established for military purposes only (e. g. Beckov, Hlohovec), which however ceased to exist in the 14th century when royal counties were transformed to noble ones. Initially, there were also some small special castle districts, which ceased in the 13th century. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Events Persian scientist, Rhazes, distinguished smallpox from measles in the course of his writings. ... Great Moravia (Old Church Slavonic approximately Велья Морава, Czech Velká Morava, Slovak Veľká Morava, Latin Magna Moravia) was a Slav state existing on the territory of present-day Moravia and Slovakia between 833 and the early 10th century. ... Events August 10 - Otto I the Great defeats Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld Edwy becomes King of England. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... Burgenland (Hungarian Várvidék, Őrvidék or FelsÅ‘Å‘rvidék, Croatian Gradišće, Slovenian Gradiščansko) is the easternmost state or Land of Austria. ... Position of the Roman province of Pannonia Pannonia is an ancient country bounded north and east by the Danube, conterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. ... Stephen the Great raising the double cross: equestrian sculpture by Alajos Stróbl, 1906, crowns the Fishermens Bastion, Budapest. ... Hlohovec (-Slovak, German: Freistadt(l) an der Waag, Hungarian Galgóc) is a town in southwestern Slovakia, with a current population of 23,729 (2001). ... This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ...

Functioning

Each county was the responsibility of a county head, whose seat was a castle - a quasi-capital of the county. The county head was the representative of the king, the judge, and the supreme law observance supervisor on his respective territory. He collected the fees and payments in kind made by the subjects for the king, gave two thirds of them to the king and kept the rest. His castle had special fortification and was able to withstand even long-term besieges. The sources mention deputy county heads in the 12th century for the first time. Look up monarch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ...

The royal county consisted of castle districts.

Noble counties (late 13th century - 1848, except for 1785-1790)

History

In the late 13th century, the royal counties gradually turned into noble counties. The reasons for this development were:

• The arrival of new hospites (foreign settlers in the Kingdom Hungary, who were allowed to apply their own foreign law in their settlements; esp. Germans and esp. after 1242) considerably restricted the real powers of the county heads, because the hospites were outside his jurisdiction
• At the end of the 12th century, but especially in the early 13th century under King Andrew II, large parts of royal territory (i. e. of the kingdom) was donated to the so-called "royal servants" (in the 9th - 12th century members of certain professions, esp. craftsmen, who were settled in special villages and served the king with their respective skills).
• In the 13th century, the royal servants managed to co-ordinate their activities in order to increase their own powers at the expense of those of the county heads (see e. g. The Golden Bull of Hungary of 1222) and thus became nobles - servientes regis.

As a result, by royal decrees of 1267, 1290, and 1298, the king could only confirm the fact that the royal counties turned into noble ones. Nobles (mostly former royal servant families) became quasi-rulers in the counties. The change from a royal to a noble county, however, was accomplished at different times in the particular counties. Andrew II (Hungarian: András or Endre, Slovak: Ondrej) (c. ... The servientes regis (-Latin, Hungarian: királyi szerviensek, Slovak: kráľovskí servienti) were a class of nobles in the Kingdom of Hungary in the 13th and 14th century. ...

In the 15th century, the borders of the counties stabilised and basically remained unchanged till 1918. Between the early 16th century and the late 17th century, however, most of the counties ceased to exist, because they became part of the Ottoman Empire (the Turks) or of Transylvania. After the final defeat of the Turks in 1718, the three southern counties Temesiensis, Torontaliensis and Krassoviensis created the special administrative district Banatus Temesiensis (Hungarian: Temesi Bánság). This district was dissolved again in 1779, but its southernmost part remained part of the Military Frontier (Confiniaria militaria) till the late 19th century. Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Söğüt (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah... Map of Romania with Transylvania in yellow Transylvania (Romanian: or Transilvania; Hungarian: ; German: ; Serbian: or Erdelj / Ердељ) is a historical region in the center of Romania. ... Bacs-Bodrog, Szerem, Torontal, Temes and Krasso-Szoreny counties after 1881 Temes (Hungarian, in Romanian: Timiş, in Serbian: Tamiš) is the name of administrative county (comitatus) of the historic Kingdom of Hungary. ... Torontál (in Hungarian: Torontál, in Serbian: Torontal or Торонтал) is the name of administrative county (comitatus) of the historic Kingdom of Hungary. ... Bács-Bodrog, Szerém, Torontál, Temes and Krassó-Szörény counties after 1881 Krassó-Szörény (Hungarian, in Romanian: CaraÅŸ-Severin) is the name of administrative county (comitatus) of the historic Kingdom of Hungary. ... Military Frontier (Military Border, Military Krajina, Vojna Krajina, Војна Крајина, Militärgrenze, Confiniaria militaria) was a borderland of Habsburg Austria which acted as the cordon sanitaire against the Turks from the Middle Ages (Croatian Krajina) or from the late 17th and 18th centuries (Slavonian and Banat Krajina) until the 19th century. ...

The bodies of the new counties considerably helped to defend the interests of lower and middle nobility with respect to the oligarchs, who were often the de-facto rulers of the kingdom, and with respect to the absolutistic efforts of the Habsburg kings. The counties as noble institutions were abolished only in the course of the Revolution of 1848 by legal articles III - V and XVI/ 1848. Oligarch may refer to one of the folowing. ... Absolutism is a political theory which argues that one person, who is often generally a monarch, should hold all power. ... Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy; also used as the flag of the Austrian Empire until the Ausgleich of 1867. ... —Alexis de Tocqueville, Recollections The European Revolutions of 1848, in some countries known as the Spring of Nations, were the bloody consequences of a variety of changes that had been taking place in Europe in the first half of the 19th century. ...

Transitory period (1785 - 1790)

In 1785, king Joseph II decided to abolish the counties as entities of noble autonomy (self-governance) and introduced a new system of state administration in the Kingdom of Hungary. The kingdom including Croatia and Slavonia was primarily divided into 10 newly created military/administrative districts (Nitra, Banská Bystrica, Košice, Győr, Pest, Mukacheve etc.), each of which consisted of 4 to 7 counties. The territory of the counties corresponded to the traditional one, but in 1786 many of them were merged and the counties became pure units of state administration - main county heads were abolished, the county clerks became employees of the state, the courts became the responsibility of the state etc. .The capitals of the districts were chosen so as to be situated right in the middle of the district. The number of processus districts was reduced. The official language was German (instead of Latin). The districts were headed by a commissioner appointed by the Austrian emperor (who was the king of the Kingdom of Hungary at the same time). In 1790, however, forcing a strong resistance against any kind of modernisation in Hungary, the king had to cancel the entire reform and the old system was renewed. 1785 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (March 13, 1741 – February 20, 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790. ... An autonomous (subnational) entity is a subnational entity that has a certain amount of autonomy. ... Coat of arms Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia. ... Nitra - City Center Nitra (German: ( ); Hungarian: / Nyitria [archaic]) is a city in western Slovakia (and the fourth largest urban settlement in Slovakia) situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the Nitra River valley. ... Banská Bystrica (German: Neusohl, Hungarian: Besztercebánya) is a town in central Slovakia, in the Hron river valley, surrounded by the mountains Nízke Tatry, Veľká Fatra, and Kremnické vrchy. ... Košice (German: Kaschau, Hungarian: Kassa) is Slovakias second largest city. ... GyÅ‘r (German: Raab, Slovak: Ráb) is the most important city of Northwest-Hungary, the capital of GyÅ‘r-Moson-Sopron county and lies on one of the important roads of Central Europe, halfway between Budapest and Vienna. ... Pest (in Slovak Pešť, pron. ... Mukacheve coat of arms Mukacheve (Ukrainian: Мукачеве (Mukacheve), Ruthenian: Мукачів (Mukachiv), Romanian: Muncaci, Russian: Мукачево (Mukachevo), Hungarian: Munkács, Slovak and Czech: Mukačevo, German: Munkatsch, Yiddish: Munkacz or Minkatsh) is a city in Zakarpattia Oblast of southwestern Ukraine. ... 1786 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The processus (Latin: processus/ reambulatio, Hungarian: szolgabírói járás, Slovak: slúžnovský obvod/slúžnovský okres, German: Stuhlbezirk) was the name of the lowest-level administrative unit (district) in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 15th century and 1918. ... An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ... 1790 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Functioning

Only the duty to support the king militarily, the territorial unit and formally also the title of county head remained from the former royal counties.

The new county was a self-governing (autonomous) entity of lower gentry. It was led by the county head (comes), appointed by the king, and by his deputy, appointed by the county head. These two persons were the link between the king and the nobility. As a rule, the county heads (from the 15th /16th century onwards called main county head) were the supreme feudal lords of the county. From the beginning of the 14th century, the county head was at the same time the castellan of the respective county castle in 13 counties. People became county heads for a limited period of time and could be recalled by the king, but a number of prelates (from the 15th century also seculars) received the "eternal county leadership" of their diocese. Feudalism comes from the Late Latin word feudum, itself borrowed from a Germanic root *fehu, a commonly used term in the Middle Ages which means fief, or land held under certain obligations by feodati. ... A lord is a male who has power and authority. ... This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ... A castellan was the governor or caretaker of a castle or keep. ... Look up prelate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ... Pope Pius XI blesses Bishop Stephen Alencastre as fifth Apostolic Vicar of the Hawaiian Islands in a Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace window. ...

Note that the formal title comes was also borne by some dignitaries of the Court (e. g. comes curiae) and other nobles in the Early Middle Ages, and then by other members of middle nobility in the Late Middle Ages, and it did not mean count in these cases. A court is an official, public forum which a sovereign establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Dante by Michelino The Late Middle Ages is a term used by historians to describe European history in the period of the 14th and 15th centuries (1300–1500 CE). ... Look up Count in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Countess redirects here. ...

From the 13th-14th century onwards, the deputy county heads, and not the county head himself, were the real administrators of the county. This development was emphasised by the fact that the county heads were also higher dignitaries of the state or of the court at the same time (palatine, treasurer (Kingdom of Hungary) etc. ), so that they did not have much time for the management of the county. The deputy county head 's role was to administer the county during the county head 's absence. Originally, the deputy county head was a personal employee of the king and thus the main person through which the king exercised influence in the county. At the same time, the deputy was the castellan of the castle of the county head or an economic officer (Latin: provisor) of the properties of the same. Initially, the nobles of the county could not influence the appointment of the deputy county head, but in the early 15th century, they managed to put through a rule that only a noble from the same county can become the deputy county head (see below). See Palatine Hill for geography of Rome. ... The treasurer (Latin: magister tavernicorum, Hungarian: tárnok(mester), Slovak: taverník, German: Schatzmeister) or in full title main royal treasurer ( tavernicorum regalium magister) was the supreme economic officer(a kind of finance minister) in the Kingdom of Hungary till 1848/1918. ... A castellan was the governor or caretaker of a castle or keep. ...

Initially, in the 13th century, influence of nobles made itself felt only in the judicial sphere. The judges of the servientes regis - the so-called iudices servientium - developed into the noble judges (see below), and the courts of the servientes regis - the so-called sedes iudiciaria or sedria - developed into the county court (the Latin name remained sedria). The sedria meetings were led by the county head, later de-facto by his deputy (see below). Until the 15th century, the county head's co-judges were his deputy county head, the (usually four) noble judges, and a number of persons appointed ad hoc from among the present nobles. From the 15th century onwards, permanent jurors were elected from among the nobles of the county. The sedria served as the court of first instance for minor disputes of the nobles and as the appeal instance for village courts and patrimonial courts (sedes dominialis). (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... The servientes regis (-Latin, Hungarian: királyi szerviensek, Slovak: kráľovskí servienti) were a class of nobles in the Kingdom of Hungary in the 13th and 14th century. ... Ad hoc is a Latin phrase which means for this [purpose]. It generally signifies a solution that has been tailored to a specific purpose, such as a tailor-made suit, a handcrafted network protocol, and specific-purpose equation and things like that. ... The Court of First Instance, created in 1989, is a court of the European Union. ... An appeal is the act or fact of challenging a judicially cognizable and binding judgment to a higher judicial authority. ...

From the beginning of their existence, the noble judges were the real representatives of county autonomy. They were elected by the congregatio generalis (see below) and were not only judges, but also political administrators of their respective processus districts (see below). They formed the core of the newly arising class of squires. The processus (Latin: processus/ reambulatio, Hungarian: szolgabírói járás, Slovak: slúžnovský obvod/slúžnovský okres, German: Stuhlbezirk) was the name of the lowest-level administrative unit (district) in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 15th century and 1918. ... In medieval times a squire was a man-at-arms in the service of a knight, often as his apprentice. ...

Later, the counties even turned to political entities representing the noble autonomy (noble self-government). This evolution started especially under the kings Charles Robert and Louis I. From 1385 onwards, the counties were sending representatives to meetings of the Diet of the Kingdom of Hungary and they played a role in the collection and setting of taxes. But only in the early 15th century, the nobles managed to put through a rule that only a noble from the same county can become the deputy county head and a co-judge. From 1504 onwards the deputy county head's appointment had to be approved by the nobles (congregatio generalis -see below), so that the deputy county head definitively became the de-facto leader of the county. The county head, appointed by the king from the oligarchs (supreme nobility), was only the formal representative of the county. Charles I of Hungary (Anjou France 1288 or 1291 - Hungary July 16, 1342), also called Charles Robert, Carobert and Charles I Robert, was the king of Hungary from August 27, 1310. ... Louis the Great. ... Events August 14 - Battle of Aljubarrota between the Portuguese under John I of Portugal and the Castilians, under John I of Castile. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Oligarch may refer to one of the folowing. ...

The county authorities were very powerful and administered all spheres of public life. They were responsible for all inhabitants of the county, except for inhabitants of free royal towns (liberae regiae civitate), mining towns, free districts, and at the time of the Anjou kings also of royal castle domains. Until 1486, some members of the supreme nobility were exempt from the jurisdiction of the county, too. Anjou is a former county (c. ...

The most important body of self-government of the county was the congregatio generalis, i. e. the county assembly convened and led by the county head. Originally, this body was created and served only as a judicial body, which comprised the judge, the sedria members and 8 elected noble jurors, and which was usually convened once a year. At the same time, the inquisitio communis (hearing of a witness) enabled the nobles to influence the proceedings conducted at the royal curia. Gradually, judicial affairs were excluded from the meetings of the congregatio generalis, which thus turned from a judicial body into an administrative body. All nobles of the county participated in person in the meetings of the congregatio and the congregatio decided on all important political, military and economic affairs. This article is confusing for some readers, and needs to be edited for clarity. ... A Curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i. ...

As from the beginning of the 15th century, the territory of each county was divided into processuses each of which was administered by one of the noble judges (there were therefore usually four in each county). The aim was to simplify the administration. The number of processuses was increasing from the 18th century onwards, because the functions of the counties were increasing too. The processuses, in turn, consisted of 2 to 6 circuits (Latin: circuli), each of which was the responsibility of a deputy noble judge. The processus (Latin: processus/ reambulatio, Hungarian: szolgabírói járás, Slovak: slúžnovský obvod/slúžnovský okres, German: Stuhlbezirk) was the name of the lowest-level administrative unit (district) in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 15th century and 1918. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

Until the 1840s (with an exception in 1785-1790), the official language of county administration was Latin. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language. ...

State counties (1849 - 1860)

In 1849, in the course of and after the defeat of the Magyars in the 1848-1849 Revolution, the Austrian Habsburgs established a military dictatorship in the Kingdom of Hungary and the counties were turned into simple state administration entities and authorities. 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... —Alexis de Tocqueville, Recollections The European Revolutions of 1848, in some countries known as the Spring of Nations, were the bloody consequences of a variety of changes that had been taking place in Europe in the first half of the 19th century. ... Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy; also used as the flag of the Austrian Empire until the Ausgleich of 1867. ... Dictatorship, in contemporary usage, refers to absolute rule by leadership unrestricted by law, constitutions, or other social and political factors within the state. ...

1st provisional arrangement (1849 - 1850)

A provisional centralised administration started to be created by the Austrians in February 1849, Alexander Bach issued a decree on provisional organisation of the Kingdom of Hungary in early August 1849 and a regulation on the administrative system of the Kingdom of Hungary followed on October 24. Under this regulation:

• Croatia-Slavonia, the Military frontier, Voivodina and the Temes-Banate were separated from the Kingdom of Hungary (which did not include Transylvania at that time) and directly subordinated to Vienna
• the remaining territory of the Kingdom of Hungary was divided into 5 military districts (in present-day Slovakia: Bratislava, Košice, in the remaining territory: Sopron, Pest-Buda, Oradea) led by generals appointed by the emperor, which in turn were divided into civil districts (around 4 in each military district), the civil districts were divided into counties (with their previous borders) and the counties into districts. German became the official language.

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and the countrys largest city, with a population of some 450,000. ... Košice (German: Kaschau, Hungarian: Kassa) is Slovakias second largest city. ... Soprons Fire Tower Sopron (pronounced shop-ron), historically also known by the German name Ödenburg, is the name of a city in Hungary. ... Pest (in Slovak Pešť, pron. ... Buda (German: Ofen) is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the right bank of the Danube. ... County Bihor County Status County capital Mayor Petru Filip, Democratic Party, since 2000 Area 111. ...

2nd provisional arrangement (so-called Geringer Provisional Arrangement; September 13 1850 - January 18 1853)

Under a regulation on provisional political administration of the Kingdom of Hungary issued on September 13 1850, the territory was divided into the above 5 districts (called civil districts now), which in turn consisted of counties and the counties of districts. The territories of some counties changed, some counties were newly created. The districts were led by main district county heads, the counties by a chairman (German:Vorstand) and the districts by noble judges (German: Stuhlrichter).

"Definitive" arrangement (January 19 1853 - October 20 1860)

Only slight changes were made to the previous arrangement. Each district was formally turned to an administrative territory of a governorship department (since July 1 1860: administrative territory of the branche-offices of the governorship). Some county territories were slightly modified and they were led by commissioners. The only responsibilities of these state counties were political administration and the management of taxes. The courts were the responsibility of other entities.

Transitory period (1860 - 1867)

The situation prevailing before 1848 was restored in October 1860, both in terms of borders and in terms of noble autonomy. In 1863, however, the noble autonomy was replaced by an absolutist system of state administration again.

Modernised counties (1867 - 1918)

History

After the Austrian-Hungarian Compromise in 1867, the territory and names of the counties still largely corresponded to those of the pre-1848 period. But, otherwise, these autonomous (i. e. self-governing) entities were considerably modified as compared to their pre-1848 predecessors. Above all, it was not only the nobles anymore who led the counties (see Functioning). Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... The German term Ausgleich (Hungarian kiegyezés) refers to the compromise or composition of February 1867 that established the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was signed by Franz Joseph of Austria and a Hungarian delegation led by Ferenc Deák. ... 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

The territory of the Kingdom of Hungary consisted of counties, which in turn consisted of districts (more precisely processuses, but often simply called districts even in official documents). The processus (Latin: processus/ reambulatio, Hungarian: szolgabírói járás, Slovak: slúžnovský obvod/slúžnovský okres, German: Stuhlbezirk) was the name of the lowest-level administrative unit (district) in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 15th century and 1918. ...

64(63?) counties were created in 1867 in the Kingdom of Hungary (71 including Croatia-Slavonia). This number (71) did not change until 1918, except that the Turna county ceased to exist in 1882. The number of processus districts was steadily increasing till 1910. Around 1891 there were 409 such districts. Following the Battle of Mohács, in 1527 some of the Croatian (and Hungarian) nobles supported Ivan Zapolja, while some preferred suzerainty to the Austrian king Ferdinand of Habsburg. ... Turňa (in Latin and Hungarian: Torna, in German: Tornau) is the name of a historic administrative county (comitatus) in southern eastern Slovakia and northern present-day Hungary from a time when Slovakia was part of the Kingdom of Hungary. ... 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ...

The powers and responsibilities of the counties were constantly decreased after 1867 and were transferred to ministries. In 1869, the counties lost the jurisdiction powers (the courts), in 1870 the responsibility for municipal towns (towns with municipal rights, i. e. former free royal towns), and later also the responsibilities in terms of construction, orphans, veterinary medicine and (overall) financial management. The most important changes concerned the towns: The Municipal Act 42/1870 abolished the ancient rights of free royal towns, and a great number of municipal towns was withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the counties. In 1876, however, the towns - except for 25 (+ 5 in Croatia-Slavonia + Rijeka) most important towns - lost their "independence" again. 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... In the Holy Roman Empire, an Imperial Free City (in German: Freie Reichsstadt) was a city formally responsible to the Emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which belonged to a territory and were thus governed by one of the many princes and dukes of... Rijeka (in local Croatian dialects Rika and Reka; Fiume in Italian and Hungarian, Reka in Slovene; Sankt Veit am Flaum in older German; R(ij)eka and Fiume both mean river) is the principal seaport of Croatia, located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea. ...

In 1868 Transylvania was definitely reunited to the Kingdom of Hungary proper, and the town and district of Rijeka declared autonomous. In 1873 part of the Military Frontier was united with the Kingdom of Hungary proper and part with Croatia-Slavonia. Some greater reorganisation (incl. some changes of county borders) occurred in 1876 and smaller border changes followed in 1877, 1882 and 1884. 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Map of Romania with Transylvania in yellow Transylvania (Romanian: or Transilvania; Hungarian: ; German: ; Serbian: or Erdelj / Ердељ) is a historical region in the center of Romania. ... Rijeka (in local Croatian dialects Rika and Reka; Fiume in Italian and Hungarian, Reka in Slovene; Sankt Veit am Flaum in older German; R(ij)eka and Fiume both mean river) is the principal seaport of Croatia, located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea. ... Military Frontier (Military Border, Military Krajina, Vojna Krajina, Војна Крајина, Militärgrenze, Confiniaria militaria) was a borderland of Habsburg Austria which acted as the cordon sanitaire against the Turks from the Middle Ages (Croatian Krajina) or from the late 17th and 18th centuries (Slavonian and Banat Krajina) until the 19th century. ... Following the Battle of Mohács, in 1527 some of the Croatian (and Hungarian) nobles supported Ivan Zapolja, while some preferred suzerainty to the Austrian king Ferdinand of Habsburg. ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Functioning

The main county body was the municipal committee comprising 50% virilists (persons paying the highest direct taxes), and the other 50% elected persons fulfilling the prescribed census and ex officio members (deputy county head, main notary and others). The county was led by the main county head, who was a government official subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior of the Kingdom of Hungary. The deputy county head was a very important function as well. 1870 US Census for New York City A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ... This page includes English translations of several Latin phrases and abbreviations such as . ... Notary can refer to either of the following two professions: Notary public. ...

Nomenclature

Origin of the name

The Latin word comitatus is derived from the word comes, which originally stood for companion or retinue member. In the Early and High Middle Ages, the title comes was a noble title used in various meanings, in the Kingdom of Hungary especially (but not exclusively) in the meaning "county head". Latin is an ancient Indo-European language. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...

The Hungarian word megye (or Latin mega) is derived from the old Slavic word medzä (according to other sources: mežda) meaning approximately territorial border. The word medza and meja is still used in present-day Slovak and Slovenian in this sense, and seems to have meant rather the border of a county initially in the Hungarian language, too.  Countries where a West Slavic language is the national language  Countries where an East Slavic language is the national language  Countries where a South Slavic language is the national language The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup...

The Hungarian word ispán (county head) is derived from the old and modern Slavic word župan, which was used by the Slavs living in the Carpathian Basin before the arrival of the Hungarians and stood for the head of various territorial units. The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... The Pannonian plain is a large plain in central/south-eastern Europe that remained when the Pliocene Pannonian Sea (see below) dried out. ...

Comitatus vs. county

It is more correct to call the Hungarian counties "comitatuses" in English, mainly because they were completely different from the functions and territories of British counts or German Grafs, and because there were counts in that sense in the Kingdom of Hungary as well (in Hungarian and Slovak gróf). Nevertheless, the comitatuses have been frequently called "counties", therefore this term is used in this article. Look up Count in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Countess redirects here. ... Graf is a German noble title equal in rank to a count (derived from the Latin Comes, with a history of its own) or a British earl (an Anglo-Saxon title derived from the Viking title Jarl). ...

Names in various languages

County:

• Royal county: Latin parochia / provincia / compagus civitatis / comitatus comitatus /mega (and other names), in later Hungarian : vármegye/ megye/ várispánság, in later Slovak: (kráľovský) komitát / župa/ hradské španstvo, in later German (Burg-)Komitat / (Burg-)Gespanschaft / (rarely) Ispanschaft. Note that some Hungarian historians distinguish between the functions of a vármegye (led by a comes comitatus) and those of a várispánság (led by a comes civitatis), usually argueing that the administrative unit called vármegye sometimes included several military units called várispánság.
• Noble county and later: Latin: comitatus (no other form from the 13th century onwards), Hungarian: vármegye / megye (modernized county usually vármegye), Slovak: stolica / župa (modernised county župa only), German: Gespanschaft / Komitat / (rarely) Grafschaft (modernised county usually Gespanschaft), Croatian:županija, French: comitat

Processus (district): Latin: processus/ reambulatio, Hungarian: szolgabírói járás, Slovak: slúžnovský obvod/slúžnovský okres, German: Stuhlbezirk Latin is an ancient Indo-European language. ...

County head:

• Royal county: Latin: comes parochialis / comes civitatis/ comes comitatus, in later Hungarian: várispán/ vármegyei ispán /megyésispán, in later Slovak: hradský špán / župan, in later German: Burggespan / Gespan
• Noble county: Latin: comes, Hungarian: ispán, Slavic languages: župan, German: Gespan

Main county head: Latin: comes (supremus), Hungarian: főispán, Slovak: hlavný župan, German: Obergespan  Countries where a West Slavic language is the national language  Countries where an East Slavic language is the national language  Countries where a South Slavic language is the national language The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup...

Deputy county head:

• royal county: mentioned as comes castri / castellani by the then Latin sources.
• noble county and later: Latin: comes curialis*/ vicecomes, Hungarian: alispán/ vicispán, Slovak: podžupan/ vicišpán, in German: Untergespan/ Vizegespan (*according to some sources this was the county head)

Congregatio generalis: Latin congregatio generalis, Hungarian: közgyűlés, Slovak: generálna kongregácia / stoličné zhromaždenie, German: Komitatsgeneralversammlung

Noble judges: Latin: iudices nobilium/ iudlium, Hungarian (pl) szolgabírák, Slovak (pl) slúžni, German Schöffen / Stuhlrichter (later Stuhlrichter only)

Jurors: Latin: iurati assessores / iurassores, Hungarian: esküdtek, Slovak: súdni prísažní, German Geschworene

Deputy noble judges: Latin: viceiudex, Hungarian: alszolgabírák, Slovak: podslúžni, German: Unterstuhlrichter(?).

Municipal town: Hungarian:törvényhatósági város , Slovak: municipálne mesto , German: Munizipalstadt/ Munizipium