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Békés County (Hungarian: Békés megye, Romanian: Bichiş), is an administrative division (county or megye) 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.
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.
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).
The area has been inhabited since 5000-4000 BC. Before the arrival of the Hungarians several other tribes lived in the area.
Békés was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory, which was smaller than that of present Békés county, is now in southeastern Hungary. The capital of the county was Gyula.
Békés county shared borders with the Hungarian counties Csongrád, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Hajdú, Bihar, Arad and Csanád. The river Körös/Criş flowed through the county. Its area was 3671 km² around 1910.
Békés county arose as one of the first comitatus of the Kingdom of Hungary, in the 11th century. After World War II, the territory of Békés county was expanded with:
In 1900, the county had a population of 278,731 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities:
Békés (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈbeːkeːʃ]; Slovak: Békéš, Romanian: Bichiş) is a town in Békés county, Hungary. It lies about 10 km (6 mi) north of Békéscsaba and 190 km (118 mi) east of Budapest.
The area of the present town has been inhabited since ancient times, due to its good soil and proximity to rivers. 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. Many documents from the 13th century prove that Békés was the county seat. After 1403, when the area became the estate of the Maróthi family, Békés slowly lost its importance and the role of the centre of the comitatus was gradually taken over by Gyula.
In 1566, the castle of Gyula was occupied by the Ottoman army, and Békés fell under Ottoman rule too. The Ottomans built a motte castle in the town, but it was destroyed in 1595 when the Ottomans had to defend Gyula against the Hungarians who tried to get it back. The area became deserted. It was only exactly 100 years later, in 1695, that Békés was freed from Ottoman rule.
Békés may design:
