Békés County

Békés County Békés megye
Counties of Hungary
Descending, from top: the Körös near Mezőberény, Arboretum of Szarvas, and Jókai Theater in Békéscsaba
Flag Coat of arms
Békés County within Hungary
Country	Hungary
Region	Southern Great Plain
County seat	Békéscsaba
Government
• President of the General Assembly	Mihály Zalai (Fidesz-KDNP)
Area
• Total	5,629.71 km2 (2,173.64 sq mi)
Area rank	7th in Hungary
Population (2011 census)
• Total	359,948
• Rank	11th in Hungary
• Density	64/km2 (170/sq mi)
Postal code	55xx – 59xx
Area code(s)	(+36) 66, 68
ISO 3166 code	HU-BE
Website	www.bekesmegye.hu

Békés County (Hungarian: Békés megye, Romanian: Bichiş), is an administrative division (county or megye) 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.

Geography

This county has a total area of 5,630 km² (2,174 sq mi) – 6,05% of Hungary.

Békés county lies on the Pannonian Plain (Great Plain), it is a flat area with good soil. Average rainfall is 645 mm/year. One-fifth of the natural gas resources of Hungary can be found in Békés. The river Körös runs through the county.

Neighbours

• Hajdú-Bihar County in the North.
•  Romania in the East and South – Arad County.
• Csongrád and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County in the West.

History

Old countrymap with settlements and roads, railway

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 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.

Demographics

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.

Year	County population[1]	Change
1949	471,561	n/a
1960	467,861	-0.78%
1970	438,971	-6.17%
1980	436,910	-0.47%
1990	411,887	-5.73%
2001	397,791	-3.42%
2011	359,948	-9.51%

Ethnicity

Besides the Hungarian majority, the main minorities are the Roma (approx. 9,500), Slovaks (7,500), Romanians (5,000), Germans (2,500) and Serbs (500).

Total population (2011 census): 359,948
Ethnic groups (2011 census):^[2] Identified themselves: 325 597 persons:

• Hungarians: 300 213 (92,20%)
• Gypsies: 9 290 (2,85%)
• Slovaks: 7 267 (2,23%)
• Romanians: 5 137 (1,58%)
• Others and indefinable: 3 690 (1,13%)

Approx. 53,000 persons in Békés County did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.

Religion

Religious adherence in the county according to 2011 census:^[3]

• Catholic – 19.5% (Roman Catholic – 19.3%; Greek Catholic – 0.2%);
• Reformed – 12.9%;
• Evangelical – 7.7%;
• Orthodox – 1.0%;
• Other religions – 1.9%;
• Non-religious – 31.4%;
• Atheism – 1.2%;
• Undeclared – 24.4%.

Regional structure

District of Békés County

Politics

The Békés County Council, elected at the 2014 local government elections, is made up of 18 counselors, with the following party composition:^[4]

Municipalities

Békéscsaba

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 too. 70% of the population lives in cities and towns, 17% in the county seat. A large village network is chatacteristic 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.

City with county rights

• Békéscsaba – county seat; 62,050 (as of 2011)

Towns

(ordered by population, as of 2011 census)

Villages

municipalities are large villages.

Gallery

Notable people

Natives of the county include:

International relations

Békés County has a partnership relationship with:

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Békés County.

• Official site in Hungarian, German, English, Slovak and Romanian
• Békés Megyei Hírlap (beol.hu) - The county portal
• Hungary at GeoHive

• Roaming in Békés County free guide 2010 Published by Békés County Government Text by Barát Tünde

Coordinates: 46°44′15″N 21°2′41″E / 46.73750°N 21.04472°E / 46.73750; 21.04472

Békés County
County seat: Békéscsaba
Cities and towns	Battonya Békés Csorvás Dévaványa Elek Füzesgyarmat Gyomaendrőd Gyula Körösladány Medgyesegyháza Mezőberény Mezőhegyes Mezőkovácsháza Orosháza Sarkad Szarvas Szeghalom Tótkomlós Újkígyós Vésztő
Villages	Almáskamarás Békéssámson Békésszentandrás Bélmegyer Biharugra Bucsa Csabacsüd Csabaszabadi Csanádapáca Csárdaszállás Doboz Dombegyház Dombiratos Ecsegfalva Gádoros Gerendás Geszt Hunya Kamut Kardos Kardoskút Kaszaper Kétegyháza Kertészsziget Kétsoprony Kevernes Kisdombegyház Kondoros Körösnagyharsány Köröstarcsa Körösújfalu Kötegyán Kunágota Lökösháza Magyarbánhegyes Magyardombegyház Medgyesbodzás Méhkerék Mezőgyán Murony Nagybánhegyes Nagykamarás Nagyszénás Okány Örménykút Pusztaföldvár Pusztaottlaka Sarkadkeresztúr Szabadkígyós Tarhos Telekgerendás Újszalonta Végegyháza Zsadány
Other topics	History Geography Government Economy Culture Tourism

Counties (megyék) of Hungary
Baranya Bács-Kiskun Békés Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén Csongrád Fejér Győr-Moson-Sopron Hajdú-Bihar Heves Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Komárom-Esztergom Nógrád Pest Somogy Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg Tolna Vas Veszprém Zala