- Békés County
:"For the historical county see
Békés (former county) Infobox Hungarian county
name =Békés
region =Southern Great Plain
seat =Békéscsaba
area = 5631
population = 376,657
density = 69.6
cities = 75Békés County ( _hu. Békés megye), is an administrative division (county or "megye") in south-eastern
Hungary , on the border withRomania . It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Csongrád,Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok andHajdú-Bihar . The capital of Békés county isBékéscsaba . The county is also part of theDanube-Kris-Mures-Tisa euroregion.Geography
Békés county lies on the
Pannonian Plain (Great Plain), it is a flat area with good soil. Average rainfall is 645 mm/year. One-fifth of the natural gas resources of Hungary can be found in Békés. The river Körös/Criş runs through the county.Demographics
The county has a population of 377,000 (2008). More than 60 % of the population lives in towns. Besides the Hungarian majority, the main minorities are the Slovaks (approx. 7,000), Roma (5,000), Romanians (4,000), Germans (1,500) and Serbs (400).
History
The area has been inhabited since 5000-4000 BC. Before the arrival of the
Hungarians several other tribes lived in the area.The castle of Gyula was built in the early 15th century. Gyula was the most significant town of the county at that time, and became county seat under Matthias I. It was an important fortress during the
Ottoman wars in Europe but it was captured in 1566. During this time several towns were destroyed in the area.In the early 18th century, after the Ottomans were expelled, the county was repopulated, not only with Hungarians, but with
Slovaks (in the towns Békéscsaba, Endrőd, Szarvas, Tótkomlós),Serbs (Battonya),Germans (Németgyula, Elek) andRomanians (Kétegyháza). Most of the foreign population was assimilated by the mid-19th century.The agricultural importance of the county and the new railway line between Pest and Békéscsaba (finished in 1858) brought development, which was quickened when Hungary lost its southern territories to Romania after
World War I and Békéscsaba had to take over the role of the lost cities.The population growth peaked in 1950 (472,000), in the same year when Békéscsaba became the county seat. During the following years the county was industrialized, like most of Hungary, and the population of the cities and towns grew.
Regional structure
The regional structure of Békés county is typical of the Great Plain: it has a small number of villages, but those are large, both by area and by population. There are several farmsteads too. 70% of the population lives in cities and towns, 17% in the county seat.
City with county rights
Békéscsaba (county seat)Cities and towns
(ordered by population, according to the 2001
census )*Gyula (32,967)
*Orosháza (32,052)
*Békés (21,657)
*Szarvas (18,563)
*Gyomaendrőd (15,523)
*Mezőberény (11,551)
*Sarkad (10,959)
*Szeghalom (10,201)
*Dévaványa (8,986)
*Vésztő (7,656)
*Mezőkovácsháza (7,026)
*Battonya (6,747)
*Tótkomlós (6,638)
*Füzesgyarmat (6,565)
*Mezőhegyes (6,355)
*Csorvás (5,765)
*Elek (5,583)
*Körösladány (5,267)Villages
*
Almáskamarás
*Békéssámson
*Békésszentandrás
*Bélmegyer
*Biharugra
*Bucsa
*Csabacsüd
*Csabaszabadi
*Csanádapáca
*Csárdaszállás
*Doboz
*Dombegyház
*Dombiratos
*Ecsegfalva
*Gádoros
*Gerendás
*Geszt
*Hunya
*Kamut
*Kardos
*Kardoskút
*Kaszaper
*Kertészsziget
*Kétegyháza
*Kétsoprony
*Kevernes
*Kisdombegyház
*Kondoros
*Körösnagyharsány
*Köröstarcsa
*Körösújfalu
*Kötegyán
*Kunágota
*Lökösháza
*Magyarbánhegyes
*Magyardombegyház
*Medgyesbodzás
*Medgyesegyháza
*Méhkerék
*Mezőgyán
*Murony
*Nagybánhegyes
*Nagykamarás
*Nagyszénás
*Okány
*Örménykút
*Pusztaföldvár
*Pusztaottlaka
*Sarkadkeresztúr
*Szabadkígyós
*Tarhos
*Telekgerendás
*Újkígyós
*Újszalonta
*Végegyháza
*Zsadány
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