Vas (former county)

Vas was the name of a historic administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently in western Hungary, eastern Austria and eastern Slovenia (Prekmurje). The capital of the county was Szombathely.

[edit] Geography

Vas county shared borders with the Austrian lands Lower Austria and Styria and the Hungarian counties Sopron, Veszprém and Zala. It stretched between the river Mura in the south, the foothills of the Alps in the west and the river Marcal in the east. The river Rába flowed through the county. Its area was 5472 km² around 1910.

[edit] History

Vas county arose as one of the first comitatus of the Kingdom of Hungary.

In 1918 (confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon 1920), the western part of the county became part of the new Austrian land Burgenland, and a small part in the southwest became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia). The remainder stayed in Hungary, as the present Hungarian county Vas. A small part of former Sopron county went to Vas county. Some villages north of Zalaegerszeg went to Zala county, and a small region west of Pápa went to Veszprém county.

Since 1991, when Slovenia became independent from Yugoslavia, the Yugoslavian part of former Vas county (known in Slovenian as Prekmurje) has been part of the Republic of Slovenia. In 1919 was proclaim the Republic of Prekmurje, but existed 6 days, alike the Lajtabánság.

[edit] Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Vas county were:

Districts (járás)
District	Capital
Celldömölk	Celldömölk
Felsőőr	Felsőőr, AT Oberwart
Körmend	Körmend
Kőszeg	Kőszeg
Muraszombat	Muraszombat, SI Murska Sobota
Németújvár	Németújvár, AT Güssing
Sárvár	Sárvár
Szentgotthárd	Szentgotthárd
Szombathely	Szombathely
Vasvár	Vasvár
Urban districts (rendezett tanácsú város)
Kőszeg
Szombathely