Szeben was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (southern Transylvania). The capital of the county was Nagyszeben (present-day Sibiu).

Geography

Map of Szeben County in the Kingdom of Hungary
Map of Szeben County, 1891.

Szeben County shared borders with Romania and the Hungarian counties Hunyad, Alsó-Fehér, Nagy-Küküllő, and Fogaras. The river Olt flowed through the county. Its area was 3,619 km2 (1,397 sq mi) around 1910.

History

Szeben County was formed in 1876, when the administrative structure of Transylvania was changed. It included the former Saxon seats of Hermannstadt/Sibiu, Mühlbach/Sebeș, Reussmarkt/Miercurea, and (most of) Nocrich, as well as parts of Alsó-Fehér and Felső-Fehér counties. In 1920, by the Treaty of Trianon, the county became part of Romania. Its territory lies in the present Romanian counties Sibiu and Alba (the area around Sebeș).

Demographics

Ethnic map of the county with data of the 1910 census (see the key in the description)
Population by mother tongue
CensusTotalRomanianGermanHungarianOther or unknown
1880141,62790,802 (66.27%)40,723 (29.72%)2,991 (2.18%)2,497 (1.82%)
1890148,73898,719 (66.37%)42,497 (28.57%)4,342 (2.92%)3,180 (2.14%)
1900166,188108,413 (65.24%)47,678 (28.69%)8,084 (4.86%)2,013 (1.21%)
1910176,921113,672 (64.25%)49,757 (28.12%)10,159 (5.74%)3,333 (1.88%)
Population by religion
CensusTotalEastern OrthodoxLutheranGreek CatholicRoman CatholicCalvinistOther or unknown
1880141,62790,553 (63.94%)33,781 (23.85%)10,853 (7.66%)4,680 (3.30%)1,110 (0.78%)650 (0.47%)
1890148,73888,365 (59.41%)39,065 (26.26%)12,550 (8.44%)6,414 (4.31%)1,586 (1.07%)758 (0.51%)
1900166,18895,380 (57.39%)43,439 (26.14%)14,050 (8.45%)8,747 (5.26%)3,147 (1.89%)1,425 (0.86%)
1910176,92199,952 (56.50%)45,912 (25.95%)16,064 (9.08%)9,503 (5.37%)3,528 (1.99%)1,962 (1.11%)

Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Szeben county were:

Districts (járás)
DistrictCapital
NagydisznódNagydisznód (now Cisnădie)
NagyszebenNagyszeben (now Sibiu)
SzászsebesSzászsebes (now Sebeș)
SzelistyeSzelistye (now Săliște)
SzerdahelySzerdahely (now Miercurea Sibiului)
ÚjegyházÚjegyház (now Nocrich)
Urban districts (rendezett tanácsú város)
Nagyszeben (now Sibiu)
Szászsebes (now Sebeș)

Notes