The Hungary–Romania border (; ) refers to the state border between Hungary and Romania. It was established in 1920 by an international commission, the "Lord Commission", presided over by geographers including Emmanuel de Martonne and Robert Ficheux, and historians Robert William Seton-Watson and Ernest Denis. The border was set by the Treaty of Trianon which was signed on 4 June 1920.Lowczyk Olivier, (2010) La fabrique de la paix. Du Comité d'études à la Conférence de la paix, l'élaboration par la France des traités de la Première Guerre mondiale, Paris, Economica, Coll. Bibliothèque stratégique, (in French).

The border has been stable since the end of the Second World War, when it received its current shape, and is no longer officially in dispute between the countries. In the current form, the border is about 448 kilometers long, or about 278 miles. It is demarcated by pillars, and about 20 kilometers of the border are marked by the Mureș River ("Maros" in Hungarian).

At the moment, the border is an internal border of the European Union, having once been an external border until Hungary's accession to the alliance on 1 May 2004. Romania followed suit, and became a member state of the European Union on 1 January 2007. Both countries later joined the Schengen Area (Hungary on 21 December 2007 and Romania on 1 January 2025), easing travel between the two.

History

Prior to World War I, the eastern and southern Carpathian Mountains formed a natural border between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Romania.

Hungary and Romania became belligerents in World War I as Romania entered the war in 1916 on the side of the Allies. During that war the part of Transylvania south of the Maros (Mureș) and east of the Szamos (Someș) had been occupied by Romania forces at the time of the cease-fire agreement of Belgrade signed on 13 November 1918. On 1 December 1918, the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia declared union with the Kingdom of Romania. Subsequently, the Romanian forces moved further into Hungary and occupied Budapest from August to mid-November 1919.

The Treaty of Trianon finalized the armistice between the Allies and Hungary. In the treaty Romania recovered all of Transylvania (including parts of Maramureș, Banat and Crișana),

Briefly during World War II, Northern Transylvania (including part of Maramureș and Crișana) was returned to Hungary under the Second Vienna Award in 1940. In 1944 as World War II drew to a close and Romania joined the war against Germany, the Allies agreed de facto to the Trianon boundaries, and this was confirmed at the Paris Peace Conference in 1946, and by the subsequent peace treaties formalized in 1947.

Geography

The Hungarian–Romanian border begins at a tripoint located in the historical region of the Banat, south-east of the Hungarian town of Szeged, where the border between Hungary and Serbia intersects the land border between Romania and Serbia. It generally runs south-south-westwards/north-north-eastwards across the Pannonian Basin to another tripoint located on the Tur river, north of the Romanian town of Satu Mare, where the Hungarian-Ukrainian border intersects the land border between Romania and Ukraine.

Counties along the border Both countries use counties as the second form of administrative division. Four Hungarian and four Romanian counties sit along the border.

Hungarian counties From north to south, the Hungarian counties bordering Romania are:

Szabolcs–Szatmár–Bereg, bordering the Romanian counterparts Satu Mare and Bihor (narrowly) counties. Hajdú–Bihar, bordering the Romanian counterpart Bihor county. Békés, bordering the Romanian counterparts Bihor and Arad counties almost evenly. Csongrád-Csanád, bordering the Romanian counterparts Arad (narrowly) and Timiș counties.

Romanian counties From north to south, the Romanian counties bordering Hungary are:

Satu Mare, bordering the Hungarian counterpart Szabolcs–Szatmár–Bereg county Bihor, bordering the Hungarian counterparts Szabolcs–Szatmár–Bereg (narrowly), Hajdú–Bihar and Békés counties. Arad, bordering the Hungarian counterparts Békés and Csongrád-Csanád (narrowly) counties. Timiș, bordering the Hungarian counterpart Csongrád-Csanád county.

Border crossings

Road

Hungary checkpoint Romanian checkpoint Opened Type of road Route in Hungary Route in Romania Notes Garbolc Bercu October 2013 local road 41134 Dj194 Planned after Romania joining the Schengen Area Zajta Peleș 41135 DC63 Temporary crossing Csengersima Dorolț (Petea) main road Csenger Oar planned highway planned highway Vállaj Urziceni local/main road 4915 Ömböly Horea 49133 Dj196C Planned after Romania joining the Schengen Area Nyírábrány Valea lui Mihai main road Bagamér Șimian (Voivozi) DC7 Temporary crossing Létavértes Săcuieni local/main road 4814 Pocsaj Roșiori DC19 Temporary crossing Nagykereki Borș II 4 September 2020 highway Part of Ártánd Borș main road Körösnagyharsány Cheresig 42156 Dj797 Planned after Romania joining the Schengen Area Méhkerék Salonta local/main road 4252 Gyula (Dénesmajor) Iermata Neagră local road 42146 DC119 Temporary crossing Gyula Vărșand main road Elek Grăniceri local road 4435 Dj709B Temporary crossing Dombegyház Variașu Mic 11 December 2013 local road 4439 Dj709C Planned after Romania joining the Schengen Area Battonya Pecica (Turnu) local/main road 4455 Csanádpalota Nădlac II 13 July 2015 highway Part of Nagylak Nădlac main road Kiszombor Cenad main road vehicle only <7,5t

Rail All railway crossings are standard gauge. As of June 2019, all railway crossings have passenger traffic. Tiborszállás – Carei; last train: 9 December 2023 Nyírábrány – Valea lui Mihai Biharkeresztes – Episcopia Bihor; electrified 25 kV 50 Hz Kötegyán – Salonta Lőkösháza – Curtici; electrified 25 kV 50 Hz, double-track line

See also Hungary–Romania relations Union of Hungary and Romania

References