Békés County Békés vármegye
Counties of Hungary
Descending, from top: Körös river near Mezőberény, Arboretum of Szarvas, and Downtown of Békéscsaba
Flag Coat of arms
Békés County within Hungary
Country	Hungary
Region	Southern Great Plain
County seat	Békéscsaba
Districts	9 districts Békéscsaba District Békés District Gyomaendrőd District Gyula District Mezőkovácsháza District Orosháza District Sarkad District Szarvas District Szeghalom District
Government
• President of the General Assembly	Mihály Zalai (Fidesz-KDNP)
Area
• Total	5,629.71 km2 (2,173.64 sq mi)
• Rank	7th in Hungary
Population  (2018)
• Total	338,025[1]
• Rank	11th in Hungary
GDP [2]
• Total	HUF 748 billion €2.402 billion (2016)
Postal code	55xx – 59xx
Area code(s)	(+36) 66, 68
ISO 3166 code	HU-BE
Website	www.bekesmegye.hu

Békés (Hungarian: Békés vármegye, pronounced [ˈbeːkeːʃ], Romanian: Județul Bichiș) is an administrative division (county or vármegye) in south-eastern Hungary, on the border with Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Csongrád, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, and Hajdú-Bihar. The capital of Békés county is Békéscsaba. The county is also part of the Danube-Kris-Mures-Tisa euroregion.

Etymology[edit]

In Slovak, it is known as Békešská župa and in Romanian as Județul Bichiș.

After Hungarians conquered the area, Békés and its surroundings were the property of the Csolt clan. Békés (the name means "peaceful") was originally the name of the castle which gave its name to the comitatus, and, like many castles, was possibly named after its first steward.

Geography[edit]

This county has a total area of 5,630 km² (2,174 sq mi) – 6.05% of Hungary.

Békés County lies on the Pannonian Plain (Great Plain) and is a flat area with good soil. The average rainfall is 645 mm per year. One-fifth of the natural gas resources of Hungary can be found in Békés. The river Körös runs through the county.

Neighbours[edit]

• Hajdú-Bihar County on the north.
•  Romania on the east and south – Counties of Arad and Bihor.
• Csongrád-Csanád and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County on the west.

History[edit]

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 the 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), and Romanians (Kétegyháza). Most of the non-Magyar 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.

Demographics[edit]

In 2015, it had a population of 351,148 and the population density was 62/km².
More than 60% of the population lives in towns.

Year	County population[3]	Change
1949	471,561	n/a
1960	467,861	-0.78%
1970	438,971	-6.17%
1980	436,910	-0.47%
1990	411,887	-5.73%
2001	397,791	-3.42%
2011	359,948	-9.51%
2015	351,148	-2.45%
2018	338,025	-3.88%

Ethnicity[edit]

Besides the Hungarian majority, the main minorities are the Roma (approx. 9,500), Slovak (7,500), Romanian (5,000), German (2,500) and Serb (500).

Total population (2011 census): 359,948
Ethnic groups (2011 census):^[4] Identified themselves: 325,597 persons:

• Hungarians: 300,213 (92.20%)
• Gypsies: 9,290 (2.85%)
• Slovaks: 7,267 (2.23%)
• Romanians: 5,137 (1.58%)
• Others and indefinable: 3,690 (1.13%)

Approx. 53,000 persons in Békés County did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.

Religion[edit]

Religious adherence in the county according to 2011 census:^[5]

• Catholic – 70,307 (Roman Catholic – 69,478; Greek Catholic – 809);
• Reformed – 46,366;
• Evangelical – 27,870;
• Orthodox – 3,491;
• Other religions – 6,936;
• Non-religious – 113,094;
• Atheism – 4,150;
• Undeclared – 87,734.

Regional structure[edit]

Politics[edit]

County Assembly[edit]

The Békés County Council, elected at the 2023 local government elections, is made up of 18 councillors,^[6] with the following party composition:

Presidents of the County Assembly[edit]

Members of the National Assembly[edit]

The following members elected of the National Assembly during the 2022 parliamentary election:^[8]

Municipalities[edit]

Békés County has 1 urban county, 21 towns, 8 large villages and 45 villages.

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 as well. 70% of the population lives in cities and towns, while 17% are in the county seat. A large village network is characteristic of the county which currently has 75 administratively independent settlements, of which 19 are cities and 56 are villages. The oldest towns, and with the largest populations, are: Békéscsaba, the county seat - a city carrying a rank of county right, Orosháza, Gyula, Békés, and Szarvas.

City with county rights

(ordered by population, as of 2011 census)

• Békéscsaba (62,050) – county seat

Towns

Villages

municipalities are large villages.

Gallery[edit]

• 
  Békéscsaba, the capital of the county
• 
  Gyula Castle
• 
  Wenckheim Mansion in Szabadkígyós
• 
  Taxodium in the River Körös
• 
  Batthyány Mansion's park in Kondoros
• 
  Tavern in Kondoros
• 
  Arboretum in Szarvas
• 
  Roman Catholic Church of Békéscsaba

Notable people[edit]

Natives of the county include:

International relations[edit]

Békés County has a partnership relationship with:

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official site in Hungarian, German, English, Slovak and Romanian
• Békés Megyei Hírlap (beol.hu) - The county portal
• Hungary at GeoHive
• Roaming in Békés County free guide 2010 Published by Békés County Government Text by Barát Tünde

46°44′15″N 21°2′41″E / 46.73750°N 21.04472°E / 46.73750; 21.04472