Sáros (-Hungarian, Slovak: Šariš, Latin: comitatus Sarossiensis, German: Scharosch) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in northeastern Slovakia. Today, Šariš is only an informal designation of the corresponding territory.
Geography
Sáros county shared borders with the Austrian crownland Galicia and the Hungarian counties Szepes, Abaúj-Torna and Zemplén. It was situated between the Levoča Hills (i.e., Szepesség (Spiš)), Kassa and Felső-Szvidnyik. The river Tarca flowed through the county. Its area was 3,652 km2 around 1910.
Capitals The capital of Sáros county was Sáros Castle. After various other towns, since 1647 the capital has been Prešov.
History Sáros county was created in the 13th century from the comitatus Novi Castri (Újvár County, named after Novum Castrum, today Abaújvár) which included also the territories of the later counties of Abaúj and Heves.
In the aftermath of World War I, all of Sáros county became part of newly formed Czechoslovakia, as recognized by the concerned states in the 1920 Treaty of Trianon. During World War II, when Czechoslovakia was divided, Šariš became part of the First Slovak Republic. Since 1993, Šariš has been part of Slovakia, located in the Prešov Region. Historically a prosperous region, it is nowadays relatively poor.
Demographics
+ Population by mother tongue Census Total Slovak Ruthenian Hungarian German Other or unknown 1880 168,013 115,470 (70.84%) 30,898 (18.96%) 4,226 (2.59%) 10,699 (6.56%) 1,706 (1.05%) 1890 168,021 112,331 (66.86%) 35,019 (20.84%) 5,708 (3.40%) 11,811 (7.03%) 3,152 (1.88%) 1900 174,470 115,141 (65.99%) 33,988 (19.48%) 10,926 (6.26%) 10,886 (6.24%) 3,529 (2.02%) 1910 174,620 101,855 (58.33%) 38,500 (22.05%) 18,088 (10.36%) 9,447 (5.41%) 6,730 (3.85%)
+ Population by religion Census Total Roman Catholic Greek Catholic Lutheran Jewish Other or unknown 1880 168,013 88,828 (52.87%) 51,361 (30.57%) 14,741 (8.77%) 12,735 (7.58%) 348 (0.21%) 1890 168,021 89,805 (53.45%) 51,855 (30.86%) 14,267 (8.49%) 11,822 (7.04%) 272 (0.16%) 1900 174,470 93,753 (53.74%) 53,434 (30.63%) 14,494 (8.31%) 12,262 (7.03%) 527 (0.30%) 1910 174,620 94,223 (53.96%) 52,938 (30.32%) 14,224 (8.15%) 12,323 (7.06%) 912 (0.52%)
Subdivisions
In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Sáros county were:
Districts (járás) District Capital BártfaBártfa (now Bardejov) EperjesEperjes (now Prešov) FelsővízközFelsővízköz (now Svidník) GiráltGirált (now Giraltovce) HéthársHéthárs (now Lipany) KisszebenKisszeben (now Sabinov) LemesLemes (now Lemešany) Urban districts (rendezett tanácsú város)Bártfa (now Bardejov)Eperjes (now Prešov)Kisszeben (now Sabinov)
Notes
References