Little Hungarian Plain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Little Hungarian Plain | |
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| The castle of the Eszterházy family. Such buildings are typical in the area
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| Location | Western Hungary |
| Territory | 8,000 km² |
| Highest point | ? |
| Lowest point | Danube river |
| Terrain | plain |
The Little Hungarian Plain or Little Alföld (Hungarian: Kisalföld, Slovak: Malá dunajská kotlina, German: Kleine Ungarische Tiefebene) is a plain (tectonic basin) of appr. 8,000 km2 in northwestern Hungary, southwestern Slovakia (Podunajská nížina – Danubian Lowland), and eastern Austria. It is a part of the Pannonian plain which covers most parts of Hungary.
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[edit] Geography
Its borders are the Carpathians on the north, the Bakony-Vértes Hills (at the Balaton) in the south, and the Vienna Basin and the Alps in the west. In Hungary, it includes most of Győr-Moson-Sopron and Vas counties, and the western part of Komárom-Esztergom and Veszprém.
The plain is roughly cut in half by the river Danube which is splitting up into many arms between Bratislava and Komárno forming great islands. Its main tributaries are the Váh (Hun: Vág), Rába, Rábca and Marcal rivers.
Smaller microregions of the Little Alföld are Hanság (German: Waasen), Seewinkel (Hun: Fertőzug), Neusiedl Basin, Rábaköz, Szigetköz, Marcali Basin, Moson Plain, Komárom-Esztergom Plain and Žitný ostrov (Hun: Csallóköz).
The neighbouring regions of Kemeneshát, Sopron-Vas Plain and Steirisches Hügelland are sometimes classified as belonging to the Little Alföld, but Hungarian and Austrian geographists use the term in a more narrow meaning.
[edit] History
The plain has been an important area of agriculture since the Neolithic Age. The southern part of it belonged to the Roman province of Pannonia between the 1st and 5th centuries and later was inhabited by German and Slavic peoples and since 900 also by Magyars. After 900 the whole region became part of the Hungarian principality, since 1000 Kingdom of Hungary. After World War I the Little Alföld was divided between Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Austria. In the 1990's Slovakia built a large dam and power plant at Gabčikovo (Hun. Bős) that caused international controversy with Hungary.
[edit] Population
Country borders don't follow closely the linguistic boundaries, especially in the case of the northern part of the plain where Hungarians are a majority in the 2 southernmost districts (Dunajská Streda and Komárno) and a minority in the remaining districts. There are also smaller groups of Croats in the tri-state border region. Important cities in the region are Győr, Komárom, Komárno, Dunajská Streda, Nové Zámky, and Mosonmagyaróvár.
[edit] See also
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Alpokalja | Kőszeg Mountains • Sopron Mountains • Vas Hills • Balfi Hills |
| Little Hungarian Plain | Hanság • Fertőzug • Neusiedl Basin • Rábaköz • Szigetköz • Marcali Basin • Moson Plain • Komárom-Esztergom Plain | |
| Transdanubia | Zala Hills • Inner Somogy • Outer Somogy • Zselic • Völgység • Szekszárd Hills • Baranya Hills • Villány Mountains | |
| Transdanubian Medium Mountains | Keszthely Mountains • Tapolca Basin • Balaton Uplands • Bakony • Bakonyalja • Sokoró • Vértesalja • Velence Mountains • Gerecse Mountains • Buda Mountains • Pilis Mountains • Visegrád Mountains | |
| Mecsek | Western Mecsek • Eastern Mecsek | |
| Northern Medium Mountains | Börzsöny • Cserhát • Mátra • Mátralába • Bükk • Aggtelek Karst • Zemplén Mountains | |
| Great Hungarian Plain | Mezőföld • Sárrét • Sárköz • Drávamellék • Kiskunság • Jászság • Pest Plain • Heves Plain • Borsodi-Mezőség • Bodrogköz • Tiszahát • Szatmár Plain • Maros-Körös köze • Körös-vidék • Nagykunság • Hortobágy • Hajdúság • Nyírség |
