Árva County


Árva County was an administrative county 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.

Geography

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 river between Zázriva 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. After the destruction of the town by the Lithuanian troops in 1683, the seat was moved to Alsókubin.

History

Emerging from the Zólyom royal land, the first written mention about Árva County is from 1349. 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.
In the aftermath of World War I, the territory of the whole county became part of newly formed Czechoslovakia. After a border dispute 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 and its territory became a part of Váh County.

Demographics

In 1900, the county had a population of 85.009 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities:
Total:
According to the census of 1900, the county was composed of the following religious communities:
Total:
In 1910, county had a population of 78,745 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities:
Total:
According to the census of 1910, the county was composed of the following religious communities:
Total:
In the early 20th century, the districts and their capitals were: