Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen County Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen varmegye
Counties of Hungary
Descending, from top: Hills near Boldogk?varalja , Sajo river near Sajonemeti , and Castle of Diosgy?r
Flag Coat of arms
Borsod?Abauj?Zemplen County within Hungary
Coordinates: 48°15′N 21°00′E  /  48.250°N 21.000°E  / 48.250; 21.000
Country	Hungary
Region	Northern Hungary
County seat	Miskolc
Districts	16 districts Cigand District Edeleny District Encs District Gonc District Kazincbarcika District Mez?csat District Mez?kovesd District Miskolc District Ozd District Putnok District Sarospatak District Satoraljaujhely District Szerencs District Szikszo District Tiszaujvaros District Tokaj District
Government
? President of the General Assembly	Dezs? Torok ( Fidesz - KDNP )
Area
? Total	7,249.67 km 2 (2,799.11 sq mi)
? Rank	2nd in Hungary
Population   (2018)
? Total	648,216 [1]
? Rank	2nd in Hungary
GDP [2]
? Total	HUF 1,672 billion €5.370 billion (2016)
Postal code	34xx?39xx
Area code(s)	(+36) 46, 47, 48, 49
ISO 3166 code	HU-BZ
Website	baz .hu

Borsod?Abauj?Zemplen ( Hungarian : Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen varmegye , pronounced [?bor?od ??b?uːj ?z?mpleːn] ; Slovak : Bor?odsko-abovsko-zemplinska ) is an administrative county ( comitatus or varmegye) in north-eastern Hungary (commonly called "Northern Hungary"), on the border with Slovakia ( Ko?ice Region ). It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Nograd , Heves , Hajdu?Bihar and Szabolcs?Szatmar?Bereg . The capital of Borsod?Abauj?Zemplen county is Miskolc . Of the seven statistical regions of Hungary it belongs to the region Northern Hungary .

Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen is the second largest county of Hungary both by area (after Bacs?Kiskun ) and by population (after Pest County ). It is the only Hungarian county with two UNESCO World Heritage Sites (the Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst and the Tokaj Wine Region Historic Cultural Landscape ).

Origins and meanings of name [ edit ]

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 to which it belonged. 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 'place belonging to Bors.') The name Bors itself is of Hungarian origin, derived from the Turkish loan word bors , which means 'black pepper / peppercorn' ^[3] or a Slavic personal name Bor(i)? , Bor?a . The castle itself was a motte castle, and stood near modern-day Edeleny .
• Abauj is a shortened form of the name of its castle, Abaujvar . The Aba portion refers to the Aba clan which ruled the area in the Middle Ages, while uj var means 'new castle.' The castle stood near the village of Abaujvar .
• Zemplen is named after its castle as well. 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 with earthen walls; its remnants can still be seen near the Slovak village Zemplin .

Note that besides these three castles, there were other castles in the old counties which became the modern Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, such as the well-known Fuzervar .

Coat of arms and flag [ edit ]

The county's coat of arms was created in 1991 from the coats of arms of the former counties now forming parts of Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen. From left to right: Coat of arms of Abauj-Torna county. ? Coat of arms of Zemplen county. ? Coat of arms of Borsod county. ? Coat of arms of Gomor / Gomor-Kishont county ^[4] (with its red background color changed to the same blue as used in the coat of arms of Abauj).

The flag is vertically divided into two equal sections (red and blue), with the coat of arms on it, and the county's name embroidered with gold thread under the coat of arms. Its ratio is 2:1. The use of both coat of arms and flag is regulated by the county council. ^[4]

Geography [ edit ]

Borsod?Abauj?Zemplen 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 (?31 °F) on 16 February 1940 in the town of Goromboly-Tapolca (now Miskolctapolca .)

Rivers [ edit ]

• Tisza , which forms a natural border between Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen and Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg countries
• Sajo , a tributary to Tisza
• Bodrog , a tributary to Tisza
• Hernad , a tributary to Sajo

Highest points [ edit ]

• Istallos-k? , Bukk Mountains (959 m.)
• Nagy-Milic , Zemplen Mountains (894 m.)

History [ edit ]

Borsod?Abauj?Zemplen county was created after World War II from the pre-1938 counties Borsod ?Gomor?Kishont, Abauj?Torna and Zemplen (see also: 1950 Administrative Reform in Hungary ).

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

The historical comitatus (Hungarian: varmegye ? "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 , Abauj belonged to the Castle of Ujvar (in the modern village of Abaujvar) and Zemplen belonged to the Castle of Zemplen (today in Slovakia.)

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

About two-thirds of the areas of these counties were royal property, the others were ruled by clans, for example the Miskoc 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-Miskoc clan, while Abauj was the estate of the Aba clan.

By the 14th century most of the area was owned by oligarchs . To straighten his rule Charles Robert waged war against them. Palatine Amade Aba (Genus Aba) was "de facto" ruler of Northern Hungary. Charles Robert betrayed and defeated Amade in the Battle of Rozgony in 1312, and also gained power over Northern Hungary.

The differences between towns and villages became important during the Anjou age of Hungary. In Borsod and Abauj the Free Royal Town of Kassa (today's Ko?ice , Slovakia) and Miskolc emerged as the most important towns. The Castle of Diosgy?r 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 Zemplen is one of the most important and famous wine districts of Hungary, home of the famous Tokay wine (named after the town Tokaj , the center of the wine district.)

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

After the battle of Mohacs , as the Turks occupied more and more of the Southern territories of Hungary, the area of Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, as the northernmost part of the country, became an important area. After the Turkish occupation ended, and Hungary became part of the Habsburg monarchy , 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 Rakoczi (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 spreading in Hungary in this area, and the first Protestant college was opened in Sarospatak . Many of the important persons of the Age of Enlightenment grew up in this region, for example the important politicians Lajos Kossuth , Bertalan Szemere and Laszlo Paloczy , 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. Many foreign settlers arrived, Slovaks, Greeks, Germans, Russians ? even today there are whole villages with significant number of them. According to the census of 1787 Borsod, Abauj and Zemplen 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 Abauj county was merged with Torna, and was renamed Abauj-Torna .

Furthermore, a large population of Jews was established during this time period. The famous film mogul who created Paramount Pictures, Adolph Zukor , was born in Ricse , a town in this county. ^[5]

From 1914 to today [ edit ]

After World War I and the Treaty of Trianon Hungary had to give up its northern parts to Czechoslovakia . Abauj-Torna had to give up 48% of its area, 72% of Zemplen became part of Czechoslovakia, only Borsod remained fully within Hungary. The neighboring county of Gomor-Kishont retained 7.5% of its area, and remaining parts were merged with Borsod. The county seats were Miskolc (Borsod-Gomor-Kishont), Szikszo (Abauj-Torna) and Satoraljaujhely (Zemplen).

Under the First Vienna Award , arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy following the Munich Agreement , Hungary re-annexed territories that has been ceded to Czechoslovakia. During World War II Kassa was the capital of Abauj-Torna. After Allied Victory in Europe , the pre-1938 borders were reinstated. The administration of the country needed to revert to pre-war status quo, since most of the land grabs proved temporary. Hundreds of thousands of Hungarians remaining in Slovakia were forcibly expelled. In 1950 the Hungarian parts of the former counties Borsod-Gomor-Kishont, Abauj-Torna and Zemplen were united, forming the county of Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, 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 ( Tiszaujvaros , Kazincbarcika ), the industrial character of existing cities became more important (Miskolc, Ozd .) 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-Abauj-Zemplen is a geographically diverse area with rich natural and cultural treasures.

Demographics [ edit ]

In 2015, it had a population of 667,594 and the population density was 92/km ² .

Year	County population [6]	Change
1949	630,621	n/a
1960	725,303	15.01%
1970	776,750	7.09%
1980	809,468 (record)	4.21%
1990	761,963	-5.87%
2001	744,404	-2.30%
2011	686,266	-7.81%
2015	667,594	-2.79%
2018	648,216	-2.99%

Ethnicity [ edit ]

Besides the Hungarian majority, the main minorities are the Roma (approx. 58,000), Germans (2,500), Slovaks (2,000) and Rusyns (1,500).

Total population (2011 census): 686,266
Ethnic groups (2011 census): ^[7] Identified themselves: 643,950 persons:

• Hungarians : 576,814 (89.57%)
• Romani : 58,246 (9.05%)
• Others and indefinable: 8,890 (1.38%)

Approx. 89,000 persons in Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen County did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.

Religion [ edit ]

Religious adherence in the county according to 2011 census: ^[8]

• Catholic ? 282,904 ( Roman Catholic ? 248,033; Greek Catholic ? 34,816);
• Reformed ? 135,677;
• Evangelical ? 3,483;
• other religions ? 10,500;
• Non-religious ? 83,033;
• Atheism ? 5,821;
• Undeclared ? 164,848.

Regional structure [ edit ]

No.	English and Hungarian names	Area (km 2 )	Population (2011)	Density (pop./km 2 )	Seat	No. of municipalities
1	Cigand District Cigandi jaras	389.99	16,042	41	Cigand	15
2	Edeleny District Edelenyi jaras	717.86	33,314	46	Edeleny	45
3	Encs District Encsi jaras	378.39	21,390	56	Encs	29
4	Gonc District Gonci jaras	549.67	19,275	35	Gonc	32
5	Kazincbarcika District Kazincbarcikai jaras	341.70	66,470	195	Kazincbarcika	22
6	Mez?csat District Mez?csati jaras	351.27	14,446	41	Mez?csat	8
7	Mez?kovesd District Mez?kovesdi jaras	723.87	42,434	59	Mez?kovesd	23
8	Miskolc District Miskolci jaras	972.80	250,530	258	Miskolc	39
9	Ozd District Ozdi jaras	385.57	54,285	141	Ozd	17
10	Putnok District Putnoki jaras	391.25	19,290	49	Putnok	26
11	Sarospatak District Sarospataki jaras	477.67	24,946	52	Sarospatak	16
12	Satoraljaujhely District Satoraljaujhelyi jaras	321.38	23,058	72	Satoraljaujhely	21
13	Szerencs District Szerencsi jaras	432.07	38,106	88	Szerencs	16
14	Szikszo District Szikszoi jaras	309.25	17,507	57	Szikszo	24
15	Tiszaujvaros District Tiszaujvarosi jaras	248.87	31,842	128	Tiszaujvaros	16
16	Tokaj District Tokaji jaras	255.81	13,331	52	Tokaj	11
Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen County		7,249.67	686,266	95	Miskolc	358

Economy [ edit ]

Due to the emphasis on industrialization during the former Socialist regime and the county's richness in brown coal , Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen 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 , Ozd , Tiszaujvaros and Kazincbarcika . With the fall of the Socialist regime the industry faced a crisis, and Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen is among the counties that have the highest rate of unemployment and also the lowest rates of GDP per capita in Hungary.

The county is the site of the Borsod Power Plant , one of the largest biomass power plants in Hungary.

Politics [ edit ]

County Assembly [ edit ]

The Borsod?Abauj?Zemplen County Council, elected at the 2019 local government elections , is made up of 29 counselors, ^[9] with the following party composition:

Party		Seats	Current County Assembly
	Fidesz - KDNP	18
	Opposition coalition [a]	8
	Democratic Coalition	3

Presidents of the County Assembly [ edit ]

President [10]	Terms
Dezs? Torok ( Fidesz - KDNP )	2014?

Members of the National Assembly [ edit ]

The following members elected of the National Assembly during the 2022 parliamentary election : ^[11]

Constituency	Member	Party
Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen County 1st constituency	Katalin Csobor		Fidesz?KDNP
Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen County 2nd constituency	Janos Kiss		Fidesz?KDNP
Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen County 3rd constituency	Gabor Riz		Fidesz?KDNP
Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen County 4th constituency	Zoltan Demeter		Fidesz?KDNP
Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen County 5th constituency	Richard Horcsik		Fidesz?KDNP
Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen County 6th constituency	Zsofia Koncz		Fidesz?KDNP
Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen County 7th constituency	Andras Tallai		Fidesz?KDNP

Municipalities [ edit ]

Borsod?Abauj?Zemplen County has 1 urban county , 27 towns , 8 large villages and 322 villages.

Borsod?Abauj?Zemplen is the county of extremes: it is the home of the country's fourth 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-Abauj-Zemplen has 28 cities/towns (as of 2019) and over 300 villages. With a total of 358 cities, towns and villages this county has the most municipalities in Hungary. Approximately half of the population lives in cities/towns.

City with county rights

(ordered by population, as of 2011 census)

• Miskolc (167,754) ? county seat

Towns

Villages

municipalities are large villages.

Tourist sights [ edit ]

Castles

• Castle of Boldogk?
• Castle Cserepvar
• Castle of Dedes
• Castle of Diosgy?r
• Castle of Fuzer
• Castle of Sarospatak
• Castle of Szerencs

Nature

• Dripstone cave of Aggtelek
• Bukk National Park
• Lillafured

Gallery [ edit ]

• 
  Miskolc , the capital of the county
• 
  Tokaj wine region
• 
  Castle of Diosgy?r
• 
  Romanesque church in Vizsoly
• 
  L'Huillier-Coburg Palace in Edeleny
• 
  Baradla Cave in the Aggtelek National Park
• 
  Karolyi Mansion in Fuzerradvany
• 
  Blower Engine Room in Ozd

International relations [ edit ]

Borsod?Abauj?Zemplen County has a partnership relationship with:

Harghita County , Romania

Istanbul Province , Turkey

References and notes [ edit ]

References

Notes

External links [ edit ]

• Official website (in Hungarian)
• Borsod Online (boon.hu) ? The county portal
• Official site deutsches office