Temes County


County of Temes was an administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary. Its territory is now in southwestern Romania and northeastern Serbia. The capital of the county was Temesvár, which also served as the kingdom's capital between 1315–1323.

Geography

Temes county was located in the Banat region. It shared borders with the Kingdom of Serbia and the Hungarian counties of Torontál, Arad and Krassó-Szörény. The river Danube formed its southern border, and the river Maros its northern border. The river Temes flowed through the county. Its area in 1910 was 7,433 km².

History

Temes County was formed in the 11th century, after the establishment of Hungarian rule in the region. It was named after the local Temes river. Principal center of the County was named Temesvár in Hungarian language, meaning literally: Temes Castle. The area was taken by the Ottoman Empire in 1552 century and the county was abolished. This territory was then included into the Ottoman Temeşvar Eyalet.
After the region was captured by the Habsburgs in 1716, the area was included into the so-called Banat of Temeswar, a Habsburg province with administrative center in Temeswar. This province was abolished in 1778 and the county of Temes was restored. It was incorporated into Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary.
Between 1849 and 1860, the area of the county was part of Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat, a separate Austrian crown land. During this time, the county did not exist since voivodeship was divided into districts. Temes County was re-established after 1860, when the area was again incorporated into the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary.
In 1918, the county first became part of the newly proclaimed Banat Republic that lasted only few days. The region was taken by Serbian and French troops, and then divided in 1919 between Romania and the also newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, as both of the powers claimed the entire territory of the Banat. The border arrangements were set by the Paris Peace Conference. A majority of the county was assigned to Romania, while the south-western third was assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
The Yugoslav part of the pre-1920 Temes County is part of the Serbian autonomous region of Vojvodina. The Romanian part is now part of Timiș County, except a 10 km wide strip along the Mureș River, which is in the Romanian Arad County.

Demographics

1900

In 1900, the county had a population of 476,242 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, the county had a population of 500,835 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 subdivisions of Temes county were:
The towns of Vršac, Bela Crkva, and Kovin are now in Serbia; the other towns mentioned are now in Romania.