| Békés County | |
| Native Name: | Békés vármegye |
| Native Name Lang: | hu |
| Settlement Type: | Counties of Hungary |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Southern Great Plain |
| Seat Type: | County seat |
| Seat: | Békéscsaba |
| Parts Type: | Districts |
| Parts: | 9 districts |
| P1: | Békéscsaba District |
| P2: | Békés District |
| P3: | Gyomaendrőd District |
| P4: | Gyula District |
| P6: | Orosháza District |
| P7: | Sarkad District |
| P8: | Szarvas District |
| P9: | Szeghalom District |
| Leader Title: | President of the General Assembly |
| Leader Name: | Mihály Zalai |
| Leader Party: | Fidesz-KDNP |
| Area Total Km2: | 5629.71 |
| Area Rank: | 7th in Hungary |
| Population As Of: | 2018 |
| Population Total: | 338025[1] |
| Population Rank: | 11th in Hungary |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | GDP |
| Demographics1 Footnotes: | [2] |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics1 Info1: | HUF 748 billion €2.402 billion (2016) |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 55xx – 59xx |
| Area Code Type: | Area code(s) |
| Area Code: | (+36) 66, 68 |
Békés (in Hungarian pronounced as /ˈbeːkeːʃ/, Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Județul Bichiș) is an administrative division (county or vármegye) in south-eastern Hungary, on the border with Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Csongrád, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, and Hajdú-Bihar. The capital of Békés county is Békéscsaba. The county is also part of the Danube-Kris-Mures-Tisa euroregion.
In Slovak, it is known as Békešská župa and in Romanian as Județul Bichiș.
After Hungarians conquered the area, Békés and its surroundings were the property of the Csolt clan. Békés (the name means "peaceful") was originally the name of the castle which gave its name to the comitatus, and, like many castles, was possibly named after its first steward.
This county has a total area of 56300NaN0 – 6.05% of Hungary.
Békés County lies on the Pannonian Plain (Great Plain) and is a flat area with good soil. The average rainfall is 645 mm per year. One-fifth of the natural gas resources of Hungary can be found in Békés. The river Körös runs through the county.
The area has been inhabited since 5000-4000 BC. Before the arrival of the Hungarians several other tribes lived in the area.
The castle of Gyula was built in the early 15th century. Gyula was the most significant town of the county at that time, and became the county seat under Matthias I. It was an important fortress during the Ottoman wars in Europe but it was captured in 1566. During this time, several towns were destroyed in the area.
In the early 18th century, after the Ottomans were expelled, the county was repopulated, not only with Hungarians, but with Slovaks (in the towns Békéscsaba, Endrőd, Szarvas, Tótkomlós), Serbs (Battonya), Germans (Németgyula, Elek), and Romanians (Kétegyháza). Most of the non-Magyar population was assimilated by the mid-19th century.
The agricultural importance of the county and the new railway line between Pest and Békéscsaba (finished in 1858) brought development, which was quickened when Hungary lost its southern territories to Romania after World War I and Békéscsaba had to take over the role of the lost cities.
The population growth peaked in 1950 (472,000), in the same year when Békéscsaba became the county seat. During the following years, the county was industrialized, like most of Hungary, and the population of the cities and towns grew.
See also: Demographics of Hungary. In 2015, it had a population of 351,148 and the population density was 62/km2.
More than 60% of the population lives in towns.
Besides the Hungarian majority, the main minorities are the Roma (approx. 9,500), Slovak (7,500), Romanian (5,000), German (2,500) and Serb (500).
Total population (2011 census): 359,948
Ethnic groups (2011 census):[3] Identified themselves: 325,597 persons:
300,213 (92.20%)
9,290 (2.85%)
7,267 (2.23%)
5,137 (1.58%)
Approx. 53,000 persons in Békés County did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.
See also: Religion in Hungary. Religious adherence in the county according to 2011 census:[4]
| No. | style=width:175px; align="center" | English and Hungarian names | Area (km2) | Population (2011) | Density (pop./km2) | Seat | No. of municipalities |
| 1 | Békéscsaba District Békéscsabai járás | 636.16 | 83,541 | 131 | Békéscsaba | 9 | |
| 2 | Békés District Békési járás | 525.24 | 37,409 | 71 | Békés (town) | 7 | |
| 3 | Gyomaendrőd District Gyomaendrődi járás | 686.21 | 23,943 | 35 | Gyomaendrőd | 5 | |
| 4 | Gyula District Gyulai járás | 413.22 | 41,627 | 101 | Gyula | 4 | |
| 5 | Mezőkovácsháza District Mezőkovácsházai járás | 881.49 | 40,550 | 46 | Mezőkovácsháza | 18 | |
| 6 | Orosháza District Orosházi járás | 717.18 | 51,482 | 72 | Orosháza | 8 | |
| 7 | Sarkad District Sarkadi járás | 570.97 | 22,908 | 40 | Sarkad | 11 | |
| 8 | Szarvas District Szarvasi járás | 485.06 | 28,779 | 59 | Szarvas | 6 | |
| 9 | Szeghalom District Szeghalmi járás | 714.19 | 29,709 | 42 | Szeghalom | 7 | |
| Békés County | 5,629.71 | 359,948 | 64 | Békéscsaba | 75 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
See main article: Békés County Assembly. The Békés County Council, elected at the 2023 local government elections, is made up of 18 councillors,[5] with the following party composition:
| Party | Seats | Current County Assembly | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fidesz-KDNP | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Jobbik | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Democratic Coalition | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Momentum Movement | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Hungarian Socialist Party | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Our Homeland Movement | 2 | |||||||||||||
The following members elected of the National Assembly during the 2022 parliamentary election:[7]
Békés County has 1 urban county, 21 towns, 8 large villages and 45 villages.
The regional structure of Békés county is typical of the Great Plain: it has a small number of villages, but those are large, both by area and by population. There are several farmsteads as well. 70% of the population lives in cities and towns, while 17% are in the county seat. A large village network is characteristic of the county which currently has 75 administratively independent settlements, of which 19 are cities and 56 are villages. The oldest towns, and with the largest populations, are: Békéscsaba, the county seat - a city carrying a rank of county right, Orosháza, Gyula, Békés, and Szarvas.
municipalities are large villages.
Natives of the county include:
Békés County has a partnership relationship with:
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