Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén

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Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County
Region	Northern Hungary
County seat	Miskolc
Area	7247 km²
Population	739.143
Population density	102/km²
Municipalities	355

Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (IPA: [borʃod ɒbɒuːj zɛmpleːn]) is the name of an administrative county (comitatus or megye) in north-eastern Hungary (commonly called "Northern Hungary"), on the border with Slovakia. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Nógrád, Heves, Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. The capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county is Miskolc. Of the seven statistical regions of Hungary it belongs to the region Northern Hungary.

Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén is the second largest county of Hungary both by area and by population.

Contents 1 Origins and meanings of name 2 Geography 2.1 Rivers 2.2 Highest points 3 Economy 4 History 4.1 From the Conquest until the Turkish occupation (900s–1526) 4.2 From the Turkish occupation until the First World War (1526–1914) 4.3 From 1914 to today 5 Regional structure 5.1 City with county rights 5.2 Cities/towns 5.3 Villages 6 Tourist sights 6.1 Castles 6.2 Nature 7 External links

[edit] Origins and meanings of name

The county bears the name of three historic counties of Hungary, each of them was centered around a castle.

• Borsod is named after the castle it belonged to. The castle was possibly named after its first steward, Bors (in old Hungarian language the -d suffix was a derivation suffix for place names, thus the name "Borsod" means "belonging to Bors".) The name bors itself is of Turkish origin and means "pepper" both in old and modern Hungarian language. The castle itself was a motte castle, and stood near modern-day Edelény.
• Abaúj is a shortened form of the name of its castle, Abaújvár. The "Aba" part refers to the Aba clan which ruled the area in the middle age, while "új vár" means "new castle". The castle stood near the village of Abaújvár.
• Zemplén is named after its castle too. The name is derived from the Slovak word zem or the Slavic zemlja, meaning earth, soil, ground or country. The castle, like its name indicates, was a motte, its remnants can still be seen near the Slovakian village Zemplín.

[edit] Geography

Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén is one of the most geographically diverse areas of Hungary. It lies where the Northern Mountains meet the Great Hungarian Plain, thus the northern parts of the county are mountainous – with some of the highest peaks and deepest caves in the country –, the southern parts are flat. The average temperature is lower than that of the country, the average humidity is higher (7–800 mm/year.) The region holds the country's record for lowest temperature: -35°C, February 16, 1940, the town of Görömböly-Tapolca (now Miskolctapolca.)

[edit] Rivers

• Tisza, which forms a natural border between Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg countries
• Sajó, a tributary to Tisza
• Bodrog, a tributary to Tisza
• Hernád, a tributary to Sajó

[edit] Highest points

• Istállós-kő, Bükk Mountains (959 m.)
• Nagy-Milic, Zemplén Mountains (896 m.)

[edit] Economy

Due to the emphasis on industrialization during the former Socialist regime and the county's richness in brown coal, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén has become one of the leading industrial regions of the country, "the Ruhr Area of Hungary". The most important centres of heavy industry were Miskolc, Ózd, Tiszaújváros and Kazincbarcika. With the fall of the Socialist regime the industry faced a crisis, and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén is among the counties that have the highest rate of unemployment and also the lowest rates of GDP per capita in Hungary. The region Northern Hungary is among the five regions having the lowest GDP in the European Union.

40% of the area is arable land.

[edit] History

Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county was created after World War II from the pre-1938 counties Borsod-Gömör-Kishont, Abaúj-Torna and Zemplén. (see also: 1950 Administrative Reform in Hungary

[edit] From the Conquest until the Turkish occupation (900s–1526)

Before the Conquest of Hungary (late 9th century) the area was inhabited by Slavic tribes. The historical comitatus (Hungarian: vármegye – "castle county", since each of them belonged to a castle) came into existence during the Middle Ages. Borsod county belonged to the Castle of Borsod, Abaúj belonged to the Castle of Újvár (in the modern village of Abaújvár) and Zemplén belonged to the Castle of Zemplén (today in Slovakia.)

At this time the area of Borsod also included the later county Torna, and Abaúj also included the later counties Sáros and Heves. In the 12th century the former Abaúj comitatus was split into Abaúj, Heves and Sáros counties, while Torna was separated from Borsod. For the next hundreds of years the borders remained unchanged.

About two third of the areas of these counties were royal property, the others were ruled by clans, for example the Miskóc clan (after whom the city of Miskolc was named.) The area was inhabited mostly by castle serfs and foreign settlers (Pechenegs, Walloons, Czechs and Germans.) By the 12th century more and more areas were owned by noble families and the Church. Most of Borsod was ruled by the Bors-Miskóc clan, while Abaúj was the estate of the Aba clan.

By the 14th century most of the area was owned by oligarchs. King Charles Robert strengthened his rule by curbing the power of these oligarchs. One of his largest enemies, Amadé of the Aba clan was the de facto ruler of Northern Hungary. Charles Robert defeated Amadé in the Battle of Rozgony in 1312, and regained power over Northern Hungary.

The differences between towns and villages became important during the Anjou age of Hungary. In Borsod and Abaúj the Free Royal Town of Kassa (today's Košice, Slovakia) and Miskolc emerged as the most important towns. The Castle of Diósgyőr had its prime under Louis the Great, it was one of the favourite residences of the royal family.

In the 16th century wine growing gained more importance. Today Tokaj-Hegyalja in Zemplén is one of the most important and famous wine districts of Hungary, home of the famous Tokay wine (named after the town Tokaj, the centre of the wine district.)

[edit] From the Turkish occupation until the First World War (1526–1914)

After the battle of Mohács, as the Turks occupied more and more of the Southern territories of Hungary, the area of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, as the northernmost part of the country, became an important area. After the Turkish occupation ended, and Hungary became part of the Habsburg empire, the area – because of its distance from Austria – was the main base of the resistance, and held this status until the Ausgleich ("Compromise"), when Hungary, formerly a mere province of the Empire, became an equal partner with Austria (1867). The family of Francis II Rákóczi (leader of the Revolution against Habsburg rule in the early 18th century) had estates here, and the revolution itself was organised from here.

The region also had cultural importance. The Reformation began its spreading in Hungary in this area, and the first Protestant college was opened in Sárospatak. Many of the important persons of the Age of Enlightenment grew up in this region, for example the important politicians Louis Kossuth, Bertalan Szemere and László Pálóczy, and the language reformer Ferenc Kazinczy.

During the 18th century several towns bought their freedom from their feudal landowners. New guilds were formed, manufactures were built, mines were opened, glassworks and forges were built. Miskolc began to catch up with Kassa and take over the role as the leading city of the region, and because of this Borsod was the fastest developing county of the three counties. Lots of foreign settlers arrived, Slovakians, Greeks, Germans, Russians – even today there are whole villages with significant number of them. According to the census of 1787 Borsod, Abaúj and Zemplén had almost 500.000 inhabitants.

After the Ausgleich Northern Hungary – just like the other parts of the country – experienced an era of prosperity and fast development. New factories, railway lines were built, the population grew. In 1882 Abaúj county was merged with Torna, and was renamed Abaúj-Torna.

[edit] From 1914 to today

After World War I and the treaty of Trianon Hungary lost its northern parts to Czechoslovakia. Abaúj-Torna lost 48% of its area, Zemplén lost 72%, only Borsod remained intact. The neighboring county of Gömör-Kishont lost 92.5% of its area, the remaining parts were merged with Borsod. The county seats were Miskolc (Borsod-Gömör-Kishont), Szikszó (Abaúj-Torna) and Sátoraljaújhely (Zemplén).

Under the First Vienna Award Hungary got the lost territories back. During World War II Kassa was the capital of Abaúj-Torna. After Hungary lost the war, the pre-1938 borders were reinstated. The administration of the country needed to be completely reorganised, since most of the border counties were cut apart. In 1950 the Hungarian parts of the former counties Borsod-Gömör-Kishont, Abaúj-Torna and Zemplén were united, forming the county of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, with Miskolc being the county capital.

During the Socialist era the region was developed into the centre of heavy industry. Whole new towns came into existence in place of small villages (Tiszaújváros, Kazincbarcika), the industrial character of existing cities became more important (Miskolc, Ózd.) Urbanization was rapid, workers from all over the country were arriving in these cities and towns, and the population of Miskolc reached its highest level in the 1980s (around 211.000.) The end of the Socialist era and the recession of the 1990s hit hard, the unemployment rate is one of the highest of the country, and the local governments try to get over the crisis by strengthening the touristic potential. This seems to be a good idea, since Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén is a geographically diverse area with rich natural and cultural treasures.

[edit] Regional structure

Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén is the county of extremes: it is the home of the country's third largest city and second largest agglomeration, where one fourth of the county' population resides, on the other hand, the county is full of hamlets with population under 200. Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén has 23 cities/towns and over 300 villages. With a total of 355 cities, towns and villages this county has the most municipalities in Hungary. Approximately half of the population lives in cities/towns.

See also List of towns in Hungary for more information on municipalities and administration of Hungary.

[edit] City with county rights

• Miskolc (county seat)

[edit] Cities/towns

(ordered by population, according to the 2001 census)

Ózd (39.114)		Mezőcsát (6578)
Kazincbarcika (32.934)		Szikszó (6062)
Sátoraljaújhely (18.352)		Emőd (5471)
Mezőkövesd (17.995)		Tokaj (5155)
Tiszaújváros (17.581)		Nyékládháza (5021)
Sárospatak (14.718)		Szendrő (4355)
Sajószentpéter (13.343)		Borsodnádasd (3605)
Edelény (11.220)		Abaújszántó (3422)
Szerencs (10.213)		Cigánd (3299)
Putnok (7625)		Gönc (2254)
Felsőzsolca (7157)		Pálháza (1114)
Encs (7000)

[edit] Villages

Abaújalpár		Cserépfalu		Hegymeg		Kupa		Rakaca		Szuhakálló
Abaújkér		Cserépváralja		Hejce		Kurityán		Rakacaszend		Szuhogy
Abaújlak		Csernely		Hejőbába		Lak		Rásonysápberencs		Taktabáj
Abaújszolnok		Csincse		Hejőkeresztúr		Lácacséke		Rátka		Taktaharkány
Abaújvár		Csobaj		Hejőkürt		Ládbesenyő		Regéc		Taktakenéz
Abod		Csobád		Hejőpapi		Legyesbénye		Répáshuta		Taktaszada
Aggtelek		Csokvaomány		Hejőszalonta		Léh		Révleányvár		Tarcal
Alacska		Damak		Hercegkút		Lénárddaróc		Ricse		Tard
Alsóberecki		Dámóc		Hernádbűd		Litka		Rudabánya		Tállya
Alsódobsza		Debréte		Hernádcéce		Makkoshotyka		Rudolftelep		Telkibánya
Alsógagy		Detek		Hernádkak		Martonyi		Sajóbábony		Teresztenye
Alsóregmec		Dédestapolcsány		Hernádkércs		Mád		Sajóecseg		Tibolddaróc
Alsószuha		Domaháza		Hernádnémeti		Mályi		Sajógalgóc		Tiszabábolna
Alsótelekes		Dövény		Hernádpetri		Mályinka		Sajóhidvég		Tiszacsermely
Alsóvadász		Dubicsány		Hernádszentandrás		Megyaszó		Sajóivánka		Tiszadorogma
Alsózsolca		Egerlövő		Hernádszurdok		Meszes		Sajókápolna		Tiszakeszi
Arka		Erdőbénye		Hernádvécse		Mezőkeresztes		Sajókaza		Tiszaladány
Arló		Erdőhorváti		Hét		Mezőnagymihály		Sajókeresztúr		Tiszalúc
Arnót		Égerszög		Hidasnémeti		Mezőnyárád		Sajólád		Tiszapalkonya
Aszaló		Fancsal		Hídvégardó		Mezőzombor		Sajólászlófalva		Tiszatardos
Ároktő		Farkaslyuk		Hollóháza		Méra		Sajómercse		Tiszatarján
Baktakék		Fáj		Homrogd		Mikóháza		Sajónémeti		Tiszavalk
Balajt		Felsőberecki		Igrici		Mogyoróska		Sajóörös		Tolcsva
Baskó		Felsődobsza		Imola		Monaj		Sajópálfala		Tomor
Bánhorváti		Felsőgagy		Ináncs		Monok		Sajópetri		Tornabarakony
Bánréve		Felsőkelecsény		Irota		Muhi		Sajópüspöki		Tornakápolna
Becskeháza		Felsőnyárád		Izsófalva		Múcsony		Sajósenye		Tornanádaska
Bekecs		Felsőregmec		Jákfalva		Nagybarca		Sajószöged		Tornaszentandrás
Berente		Felsőtelekes		Járdánháza		Nagycsécs		Sajóvámos		Tornaszentjakab
Beret		Felsővadász		Jósvafő		Nagyhuta		Sajóvelezd		Tornyosnémeti
Berzék		Filkeháza		Karcsa		Nagykinizs		Sály		Trizs
Bodroghalom		Fony		Karos		Nagyrozvágy		Sárazsadány		Uppony
Bodrogkeresztúr		Forró		Kács		Nekézseny		Sáta		Újcsanálos
Bodrogkisfalud		Fulókércs		Kánó		Nemesbikk		Selyeb		Vadna
Bodrogolaszi		Füzér		Kány		Négyes		Semjén		Vajdácska
Bogács		Füzérkajata		Kázsmárk		Novajidrány		Serényfalva		Varbó
Boldogkőújfalu		Füzérkomlós		Kelemér		Nyésta		Sima		Varbóc
Boldogkőváralja		Füzérradvány		Kenézlő		Nyíri		Sóstófalva		Vatta
Boldva		Gadna		Keresztéte		Nyomár		Szakácsi		Vágáshuta
Borsodbóta		Gagyapáti		Kesznyéten		Olaszliszka		Szakáld		Vámosújfalu
Borsodgeszt		Gagybátor		Kéked		Onga		Szalaszend		Vilmány
Borsodivánka		Gagyvendégi		Királd		Ormosbánya		Szalonna		Vilyvitány
Borsodszentgyörgy		Galvács		Kiscsécs		Oszlár		Szászfa		Viss
Borsodszirák		Garadna		Kisgyőr		Ónod		Szegi		Viszló
Bódvalenke		Gelej		Kishuta		Pamlény		Szegilong		Vizsoly
Bódvarákó		Gesztely		Kiskinizs		Parasznya		Szemere		Zalkod
Bódvaszilas		Girincs		Kisrozvágy		Pácin		Szendrőlád		Zádorfalva
Bózsva		Golop		Kissikátor		Pányok		Szentistván		Zemplénagárd
Bőcs		Gömörszőlős		Kistokaj		Pere		Szentistvánbaksa		Ziliz
Bükkaranyos		Göncruszka		Komjáti		Perecse		Szin		Zubogy
Bükkábrány		Györgytarló		Komlóska		Perkupa		Szinpetri		Zsujta
Bükkmogyorósd		Halmaj		Kondó		Prügy		Szirmabesenyő
Bükkszentkereszt		Hangács		Korlát		Pusztafalu		Szomolya
Bükkzsérc		Hangony		Kovácsvágás		Pusztaradvány		Szögliget
Büttös		Harsány		Köröm		Radostyán		Szőlősardó
Csenyéte		Háromhuta		Krasznokvajda		Ragály		Szuhafő

[edit] Tourist sights

[edit] Castles

• Castle of Boldogkő
• Castle Cserépvár
• Castle of Dédes
• Castle of Diósgyőr
• Castle of Füzér
• Castle of Sárospatak
• Castle of Szerencs

[edit] Nature

• Dripstone cave of Aggtelek
• Bükk National Park
• Lillafüred
• Szalajka Valley

See also: Miskolc#Tourist sights

[edit] External links

• Official site

Counties of Hungary
Counties:	Bács-Kiskun | Baranya | Békés | Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén | Csongrád | Fejér | Győr-Moson-Sopron | Hajdú-Bihar | Heves | Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok | Komárom-Esztergom | Nógrád | Pest | Somogy | Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg | Tolna | Vas | Veszprém | Zala
Urban counties:	Békéscsaba | Debrecen | Dunaújváros | Eger | Érd | Győr | Hódmezővásárhely | Kaposvár | Kecskemét | Miskolc | Nagykanizsa | Nyíregyháza | Pécs | Salgótarján | Sopron | Szeged | Szekszárd | Székesfehérvár | Szolnok | Szombathely | Tatabánya | Veszprém | Zalaegerszeg
Capital:	Budapest
	See also: Administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Hungary; Geography of Hungary

Coordinates: 48°15′N, 21°00′E