Borsod is named after the castle to which it belonged. The castle was possibly named after its first steward, Bors (in oldHungarian language the -d suffix was a derivation suffix for place names, thus the nameBorsod means 'place belonging to Bors.') The name Bors itself is of Hungarian origin, derived from the Turkish loan wordbors, which means 'black pepper / peppercorn'[3] or a Slavic personal nameBor(i)š,Borša. The castle itself was amotte castle, and stood near modern-dayEdelény.
Abaúj is a shortened form of the name of its castle,Abaújvár. TheAba portion refers to the Aba clan which ruled the area in the Middle Ages, whileúj vár means 'new castle.' The castle stood near the village ofAbaújvár.
Zemplén is named after its castle as well. The name is derived from theSlovak wordzem or the Slaviczemlja, meaning 'earth, soil, ground' or 'country.' The castle, like its name indicates, was a motte with earthen walls; its remnants can still be seen near the Slovak villageZemplín.
Note that besides these three castles, there were other castles in the old counties which became the modern Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, such as the well-knownFüzérvár.
The historicalcomitatus (Hungarian:vármegye – "castle county", since each of them belonged to a castle) came into existence during theMiddle Ages.Borsod county belonged to the Castle ofBorsod,Abaúj belonged to the Castle ofÚjvár (in the modern village of Abaújvár) and Zemplén belonged to the Castle ofZemplén (today in Slovakiac
At this time the area of Borsod also included the later countyTorna, and Abaúj also included the later countiesSáros andHeves. In the 12th century the former Abaúj comitatus was split into Abaúj, Heves and Sáros counties, while Torna was separated from Borsod. For the next hundreds of years the borders remained unchanged.
About two-thirds of the areas of these counties were royal property, the others were ruled by clans, for example the Miskóc clan (after whom the city of Miskolc was named). The area was inhabited mostly by castle serfs and foreign settlers (Pechenegs,Walloons,Czechs andGermans). By the 12th century more and more areas were owned by noble families and theChurch. Most of Borsod was ruled by the Bors-Miskóc clan, while Abaúj was the estate of the Aba clan.
By the 14th century most of the area was owned byoligarchs. To strengthen his ruleCharles Robert waged war against them. Palatine Amadé Aba (Genus Aba) was the de facto ruler of Northern Hungary. Charles Robert betrayed and defeated Amadé in theBattle of Rozgony in 1312, and also gained power over Northern Hungary.
The differences between towns and villages became important during theAnjou age of Hungary. In Borsod and Abaúj the Free Royal Town of Kassa (today'sKošice, Slovakia) and Miskolc emerged as the most important towns. The Castle ofDiósgyőr had its prime underLouis the Great, it was one of the favourite residences of the royal family.
In the 16th century wine growing gained more importance. TodayTokaj-Hegyalja in Zemplén is one of the most important and famous wine districts of Hungary, home of the famousTokay wine (named after the townTokaj, the center of the wine district).
From the Turkish occupation until the First World War (1526–1914)
After thebattle of Mohács, as theTurks occupied more and more of the Southern territories of Hungary, the area of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, as the northernmost part of the country, became an important area. After the Turkish occupation ended, and Hungary became part of theHabsburg monarchy, the area – because of its distance fromAustria – was the main base of the resistance, and held this status until theAusgleich ("Compromise"), when Hungary, formerly a mere province of the Empire, became an equal partner with Austria (1867). The family ofFrancis II Rákóczi (leader of the Revolution against Habsburg rule in the early 18th century) had estates here, and the revolution itself was organised from here.
During the 18th century several towns bought their freedom from theirfeudal landowners. Newguilds were formed, manufactures were built, mines were opened,glassworks and forges were built. Miskolc began to catch up with Kassa and take over the role as the leading city of the region, and because of this Borsod was the fastest developing county of the three counties. Many foreign settlers arrived, Slovaks, Greeks, Germans, Russians – even today there are whole villages with significant number of them. According to the census of 1787 Borsod, Abaúj and Zemplén had almost 500,000 inhabitants.
After theAusgleich Northern Hungary – just like the other parts of the country – experienced an era of prosperity and fast development. New factories, railway lines were built, the population grew. In 1882 Abaúj county was merged with Torna, and was renamedAbaúj-Torna.
Furthermore, a large population of Jews was established during this time period. The famous film mogul who created Paramount Pictures,Adolph Zukor, was born inRicse, a town in this county.[4]
AfterWorld War I and theTreaty of Trianon Hungary had to give up its northern parts toCzechoslovakia. Abaúj-Torna had to give up 48% of its area, 72% of Zemplén became part of Czechoslovakia, only Borsod remained fully within Hungary. The neighboring county of Gömör-Kishont retained 7.5% of its area, and remaining parts were merged with Borsod. The county seats were Miskolc (Borsod-Gömör-Kishont), Szikszó (Abaúj-Torna) and Sátoraljaújhely (Zemplén).
Under theFirst Vienna Award, arbitrated byNazi Germany andFascist Italy following theMunich Agreement, Hungary re-annexed territories that had been ceded to Czechoslovakia. DuringWorld War II Kassa was the capital of Abaúj-Torna. AfterAlliedVictory in Europe, the pre-1938 borders were reinstated. The administration of the country needed to revert to pre-war status quo, since most of the land grabs proved temporary. Hundreds of thousands of Hungarians remaining in Slovakia were forcibly expelled. In 1950 the Hungarian parts of the former counties Borsod-Gömör-Kishont, Abaúj-Torna and Zemplén were united, forming the county of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, with Miskolc being the county capital.
During theSocialist era the region was developed into the centre of heavy industry. Whole new towns came into existence in place of small villages (Tiszaújváros,Kazincbarcika), the industrial character of existing cities became more important (Miskolc,Ózd). Urbanization was rapid, workers from all over the country were arriving in these cities and towns, and the population of Miskolc reached its highest level in the 1980s (around 211,000). The end of the Socialist era and the recession of the 1990s hit hard, the unemployment rate was one of the highest of the country, and the local governments tried to get over the crisis by strengthening the touristic potential. This seems to be a good idea, since Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén is a geographically diverse area with rich natural and cultural treasures.
The county's coat of arms was created in 1991 from the coats of arms of the former counties now forming parts of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén. From left to right: Coat of arms of Abaúj-Torna county. – Coat of arms of Zemplén county. – Coat of arms of Borsod county. – Coat of arms of Gömör / Gömör-Kishont county[5] (with its red background color changed to the same blue as used in the coat of arms of Abaúj).
The flag is vertically divided into two equal sections (red and blue), with the coat of arms on it, and the county's name embroidered with gold thread under the coat of arms. Its ratio is 2:1. The use of both coat of arms and flag is regulated by the county council.[5]
Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén is one of the mostgeographically diverse areas of Hungary. It lies where the Northern Mountains meet theGreat Hungarian Plain, thus the northern parts of the county are mountainous – with some of the highest peaks and deepest caves in the country – the southern parts are flat. The average temperature is lower than that of the country, the average humidity is higher (700–800 mm (28–31 in)/year). The region holds the country's record for lowest temperature: −35 °C (−31 °F) on 16 February 1940 in the town of Görömböly-Tapolca (nowMiskolctapolca).
The population of Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén County was 623,024 as of the 2022 Census, with apopulation density of 86 individuals per square kilometer (86/km2). The number ofhouseholds was 249,122 and the number offamilies was 164,073. Since the 2011 Census, the population decreased by 63,242 (-9.2%).[1]
In the 2022 Census, the vast majority (83.5%) of the population identified asHungarian. A minority of 7.5% identified as belonging to another ethnic group and 13.0% of the population did not respond. The ethnic groups most identified with wereRomani (6.0%),Slovakian (0.4%),German (0.3%) andRuthenian (0.2%). Small percentages identified as other domestic ethnic groups (0.4%) or other groups (0.2%).[1][a]
In the 2011 Census, 84.1% of the population identified as Hungarian. Nearly a tenth (9.8%) of the population identified as belonging to another ethnic group and 13.1% did not respond. Romani made up 8.5% of the population, German 0.4%, Slovakian 0.3%, and Ruthenian (0.2%). Small percentages identified as other domestic ethnic groups (0.3%) or other groups (0.1%).[6][a]
Religion in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County (2022 census – of those who declared their religion (61.8%))
Roman Catholic (44.0%)
Calvinistic (26.7%)
Greek Catholic (7.60%)
Lutheran (0.70%)
Yehova's witnesses (0.60%)
Other Christian denomination (2.50%)
Other religion (0.30%)
Not religious (17.6%)
In the 2022 Census, just over half of the population (50.9%) were religious adherents. The largest religious communities wereRoman Catholic (27.2%),Calvinist (16.5%), andGreek Catholic (4.7%),Lutheran (0.4%), Other Christian denomination (1.2%), and other religious affiliations (0.1%). Small percentages (less than 0.1%) were affiliated withJudaism andOrthodox Christianity. Thenon-religious made up 10.9% of the population. More than a third (38.2%) of the population did not respond.
In the 2011 Census, 63.0% of the population were religious adherents. Just over a third of the population was Roman Catholic (36.1%). Others included Calvinist (19.8%), Greek Catholic (5.1%), Lutheran (0.5%), Other Christian denomination (1.2%), and other religious affiliations (0.2%). Small percentages (less than 0.1%) were affiliated with Judaism and Orthodox Christianity.Atheists made up (0.8%) of the population and other non-religious made up 12.1%. Nearly a quarter (24.0%) of the population did not respond.[1][8]
In 1930, the population was 51.0% Roman Catholic, 32.5% Calvinist, 8.3% Greek Catholic, 6.0% Jewish, 1.9% Lutheran, and others (0.2%).[6]
Due to the emphasis on industrialization during the formerSocialist regime and the county's richness inbrown coal, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén has become one of the leading industrial regions of the country, "the Ruhr Area of Hungary". The most important centres of heavy industry wereMiskolc,Ózd,Tiszaújváros andKazincbarcika. With the fall of the Socialist regime the industry faced a crisis, and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén is among the counties that have the highest rate of unemployment and also the lowest rates of GDP per capita in Hungary.
The Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén County Council, elected at the 2024 local government elections,[9] is made up of 29 counselors,[10] with the following party composition:
Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén County has1urban county,27towns,8 large villages and322 villages.
Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén is the county of extremes: it is the home of the country's fourth largest city and second largest agglomeration, where one fourth of the county' population resides, on the other hand, the county is full of hamlets with population under 200. Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén has 28 cities/towns (as of 2019) and over 300 villages. With a total of 358 cities, towns and villages this county has the most municipalities in Hungary. Approximately half of the population lives in cities/towns.
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