Árva County

Árva County (Hungarian: Árva vármegye, Latin: Comitatus Arvensis, Slovak: Oravská stolica/župa,[1] German: Komitat Arwa, Polish: Komitat Orawa) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary since the 14th century until 1920. Its territory is now in northern Slovakia and southern Poland. Today, the Slovak name is only used as an informal designation of the corresponding territory (see Orava region).

Árva County
Comitatus Arvensis  (Latin)
Árva vármegye  (Hungarian)
Komitat Arwa  (German)
Oravská župa  (Slovak)
County of the Kingdom of Hungary
(14th century-1854, 1860-1920)
Coat of arms

CapitalÁrvavárallya;
Alsókubin (1683-1854, 1860-1920)
Area
 • Coordinates49°13′N 19°18′E
 
• 1910
2,019 km2 (780 sq mi)
Population 
• 1910
78700
History 
• Established
14th century
• Merged to Árva-Turóc County
1854
• County recreated
20 October 1860
4 June 1920
Today part of Slovakia
 Poland
Oravský Podzámok; Dolný Kubín is the current name of the capital.

Geography
Map of Árva, 1891.

Árva County shared borders with the Austrian land Galicia and the Hungarian counties Trencsén, Turóc and Liptó County. The county's territory was situated along the Árva (Orava) river between Zázriva (Zázrivá) and the Tatra mountains. Its area was 2,019 km² around 1910. Now the territory is divided between Poland and Slovakia. The main Polish town of Orava is Jabłonka.

Capitals

The county seat was at the Orava Castle (Hungarian: Árva vára). After the destruction of the town by the Lithuanian troops in 1683, the seat was moved to Alsókubin (also Kolbin, Kublen, Kubin, Also Helben, Clbin, Culbyn, Cublyn, present-day Dolný Kubín).[2]

History

Emerging from the Zólyom royal land (Hungarian: zólyomi erdőispánság), the first written mention about Árva County (comitatus) is from 1349.[3] However, the territory had been still referenced as a district in 1351-1368 and it finally became a county with its own self-administration in 1370.[3]

In the aftermath of World War I, the territory of the whole county became part of newly formed Czechoslovakia. After a border dispute (treated in detail under Polish–Czechoslovak border conflicts) several villages in the north-east territory were exchanged between Poland and Czechoslovakia. The former county's Czechoslovak part was abolished with effective date 1 January 1923[4] and its territory became a part of Váh County.

Demographics
The original seat of the county was Orava Castle

In 1900, the county had a population of 85.009 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities:[5]

Total:

According to the census of 1900, the county was composed of the following religious communities:[6]

Total:

Ethnic map of the county with data of the 1910 census (see the key in the description).

In 1910, county had a population of 78,745 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities:[7]

Total:

According to the census of 1910, the county was composed of the following religious communities:[8]

Total:

Districts

In the early 20th century, the districts and their capitals were:

Districts (járás)
DistrictCapital
     AlsókubinAlsókubin (now Dolný Kubín)
     NámesztóNámesztó (now Námestovo)
     TrsztenaTrsztena (now Trstená)
     VárTurdossin (now Tvrdošín)

References
  1. Viliam, Volko; Kiš, Miloslav (2007). Stručný vývoj územného a administratívneho členenia Slovenska [A Brief History of the Territorial and Administrative Division of Slovakia]. Bratislava: Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic. pp. 21, 23.
  2. Maslíková, Ľudmila (2010). "Hospodárske pomery vo Veličnej na základe urbárov z 17. a prvej polovice 18. storočia". Historia nova (in Slovak). Bratislava: Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Komenského (1): 46. ISBN 978-80-8127-160-1.
  3. Maslíková 2010, p. 41.
  4. Volko-Kiš 2007, p. 38.
  5. "KlimoTheca :: Könyvtár". Kt.lib.pte.hu. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
  6. "KlimoTheca :: Könyvtár". Kt.lib.pte.hu. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
  7. "KlimoTheca :: Könyvtár". Kt.lib.pte.hu. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  8. "KlimoTheca :: Könyvtár". Kt.lib.pte.hu. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
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