Zemplín

Zemplín (Hungarian: Zemplén, German: Semplin, Latin: Zemplinum) is the name of a historic administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently in eastern Slovakia. Today in Slovakia, Zemplín is only an informal designation of the corresponding territory.

Geography

Zemplín county shared borders with Poland (during some periods the Austrian crownland Galicia) and the Hungarian counties Sáros (Šariš), Abaúj-Torna (Abov-Turňa), Borsod, Szabolcs and Ung. It was situated in the easternmost strip of Slovakia (except for the region between Vihorlatské vrchy and the Latorica river), plus a strip along the Bodrog and Tisza rivers in present-day Hungary. The rivers Laborec and Bodrog flowed through the county. Its area was 6,269 km² around 1910.

Capitals

Initially, the capital of the county was the Zemplín Castle, in the 13th century also Sárospatak (in Slovak: Potok, hence the alternative name of the county comitatus de Potok). Since the Late Middle Ages the capital was the town of Zemplín, and since 1748 was Sátoraljaújhely (Slovak: Nové Mesto pod Šiatrom).

History

Zemplín was one of the oldest counties of the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1918 (confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon 1920), the northern part of the county became part of newly formed Czechoslovakia. The southern half (including the bigger part of the divided Sátoraljaújhely) stayed in Hungary as the county Zemplén.

During World War II, when Czechoslovakia was split temporarily, some of the Czechoslovak part of the county was occupied by Hungary under the First Vienna Award, and added to the counties Zemplén and Ung. After World War II, the pre-war border was restored, and the Hungarian county Zemplén merged with the county Borsod and the Hungarian part of Abov-Turňa to form the present Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county. Since the separation of Czechoslovakia into Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 1993, the northern part of Zemplín is part of Slovakia, Košice Region and Prešov Region.

Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of the county Zemplén/Zemplín were:

Districts (járás)
District	Capital
Bodrogköz, SK Medzibodrožie	Királyhelmec, SK Královský Chlmec
Gálszécs	Gálszécs, SK Sečovce
Homonna	Homonna, SK Humenné
Mezőlaborc	Mezőlaborc, SK Medzilaborce
Nagymihály	Nagymihály, SK Michalovce
Sárospatak	Sárospatak
Sátoraljaújhely	Sátoraljaújhely
Szerencs	Szerencs
Szinna	Szinna, SK Snina
Sztropkó	Sztropkó, SK Stropkov
Tokaj	Tokaj
Varannó	Varannó, SK Vranov nad Topľou
Urban districts (rendezett tanácsú város)
Sátoraljaújhely

The towns Sátoraljaújhely, Sárospatak, Tokaj and Szerencs are presently in Hungary.

See also: List of traditional regions of Slovakia