Zólyom County


Zólyom county was an administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Slovakia.

Geography

Zólyom county shared borders with the counties of Bars, Turóc, Liptó, Gömör-Kishont, Nógrád and Hont. The county's territory was situated along the central Garam river, approximately between Korpona and Breznóbánya. Its area was 2634 km² around 1910. The county was characterised by extensive mining activities.

Capitals

The capital of the county was the castle of Pusztavár near Zólyom, then from the late 15th century the Zvolen Castle and from the 1760s the town of Besztercebánya.

History

Zólyom county arose as a Hungarian comitatus in the 13th century, when most parts of the territory were conquered by the Kingdom of Hungary, from a huge royal property. Initially, it comprised with a territory of the latter separated Árva, Turóc and Liptó counties.
In the aftermath of World War I, Zólyom county became part of newly formed Czechoslovakia, as recognized by the concerned states in 1920 by the Treaty of Trianon. The Zvolen county continued to exist until 1927, but it had completely different powers etc. and somewhat different borders. During the existence of the newly created Slovak State, Hron county was created in 1940, whose territory roughly corresponded to that of the Zvolen county. The capital was Banská Bystrica.
Together with the Slovak parts of Hont and Gemer, it became part of the Banská Bystrica Region created in 1948. In 1993, Czechoslovakia was split and the Zvolen county became part of Slovakia.

Demographics

1900

In 1900, the county had a population of 124,420 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 133,653 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 Zólyom county were: