Vas (Hungarian: Vas vármegye, pronounced [ˈvɒʃ]; German: Komitat Eisenburg; Slovene: Železna županija or županija Železna; Croatian: Željezna županija) is an administrative county (comitatus or vármegye) of Hungary. It was also one of the counties of the former Kingdom of Hungary. It is part of the Centrope Project.

Geography

Vas County lies in western Hungary. It shares borders with Austria (Burgenland), Slovenia (Mura Statistical Region), and the Hungarian counties of Győr-Moson-Sopron, Veszprém, and Zala. The capital of Vas County is Szombathely. Its area is 3,336 km².

History

Vas is also the name of a historic administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in western Hungary, eastern Austria, and eastern Slovenia. The capital of the county was Szombathely.

Vas County arose as one of the first comitatus of the Kingdom of Hungary.

In 1920, by the Treaty of Trianon the western part of the county became part of the new Austrian land Burgenland, and a smaller part in the southwest, known as Vendvidék, became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed to Yugoslavia). In the Vendvidék in 1919 was founded an unrecognized state the Prekmurje Republic, similar to Burgenland the Lajtabánság. The remainder stayed in Hungary, as the present Hungarian county Vas. After World War II due to Communist reforms, a small part of the former Sopron county went to Vas County, some villages north of Zalaegerszeg went to Zala county, and a small region west of Pápa went to Veszprém county.

Since 1991, when Slovenia became independent from Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav part of the former Vas County (around Murska Sobota) is part of Slovenia.

Vas County is home to a small Slovene minority, which lives in the area between the town of Szentgotthárd and the Slovenian border (see Hungarian Slovenes).

Demographics

  1. Roman Catholic (72.9%)
  2. Lutheran (8.10%)
  3. Calvinistic (4.30%)
  4. Other Christian denomination (4.00%)
  5. Other religion (0.30%)
  6. Not religious (10.4%)

In 2015, the county had a population of 253,997 and the population density was 76/km².

YearCounty populationChange
1949283,070n/a
1960282,728-0.12%
1970277,619-1.81%
1980285,4982.84%
1990275,944-3.35%
2001268,123-2.83%
2011256,629-4.29%
2015253,997-1.03%
2018253,305-0.27%

Ethnicity

Besides the Hungarian majority, the main minorities are the Croats (approx. 3,000), Roma (2,500), Germans (2,000) and Slovenes (1,500).

Total population (2011 census): 256,629 Ethnic groups (2011 census): Identified themselves: 225 052 persons:

Approx. 39,000 persons in Vas County did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.

Religion

Religious adherence in the county according to 2011 census:

Regional structure

District of Vas County
№English and Hungarian namesArea (km²)Population (2011)Density (pop./km²)Seat№ of municipalities
1Celldömölk District Celldömölki járás474.1324,63052Celldömölk28
2Körmend District Körmendi járás614.5327,17744Körmend46
3Kőszeg District Kőszegi járás286.4525,09088Kőszeg21
4Sárvár District Sárvári járás685.4638,68456Sárvár42
5Szentgotthárd District Szentgotthárdi járás255.0414,96159Szentgotthárd16
6Szombathely District Szombathelyi járás646.36112,320174Szombathely40
7Vasvár District Vasvári járás374.1413,76737Vasvár23
Vas County3,336.14256,62978Szombathely216

Politics

Countyhall of Vas.

The Vas County Council, elected at the 2014 local government elections, is made up of 15 counselors, with the following party composition:

PartySeatsCurrent County Assembly
Fidesz-KDNP10
Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik)2
Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP)2
Mayors Association for Vas County (PVME)1

Presidents of the General Assembly

List of presidents since 1990
Gyula Pusztai (MSZP)1990–1998
Péter Markó (Fidesz)1998–2006
Ferenc Kovács (Fidesz-KDNP)2006–2014
László Majthényi (Fidesz-KDNP)2014–

Municipalities

Vas County has 1 urban county, 12 towns and 203 villages.

City with county rights

(ordered by population, as of 2011 census)

Towns

Villages

Gallery

External links

  • in Hungarian and English

47°10′N 16°45′E/47.167°N 16.750°E/ 47.167; 16.750