Baranya (Hungarian, in Croatian and Serbian: Baranja) is the name of an administrative county (comitatus or megye) in present Hungary, and also in the former Kingdom of Hungary.

Baranya county

Baranya county lies in southern Hungary, on the border with Croatia. The river Drave forms part of its southern border, and the river Danube its eastern border. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Somogy, Tolna and Bács-Kiskun. The capital of Baranya county is Pécs. Its area is 4430 km².

Baranya (former county)

Baranya is also the name of a historic administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently in southern Hungary (the present county Baranya) and north-eastern Croatia (part of the Osijek-Baranja county). The capital of the county was Pécs.

Geography

Baranya county shared borders with the Hungarian counties Somogy, Tolna, Bács-Bodrog and Verőce (the latter county part of Croatia-Slavonia). The county stretched along the rivers Drave (north bank) and Danube (west bank), up to their confluence. Its area was 5176 km² around 1910.

History

Baranya county arose as one of the first comitatus of the Kingdom of Hungary, in the 11th century.

In 1918 (confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon 1920), the south-east of the county became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia). The remainder stayed in Hungary, as the present Hungarian county Baranya. After World War II the district of Szigetvár (previously part of Somogy county) went to Baranya county.

Since 1991, when Croatia became independent from Yugoslavia, the Yugoslavian part of pre-1918 Baranya county is part of Croatia. In modern times there is a Magyar minority in Croatian Baranja and a Croatian in Hungarian Baranya.

Districts

In the early 20th century, the districts and their capitals were:

• Pécs
• Szentlörinc
• Hegyhát, capital Sásd
• Pécsvárad
• Mohács
• Branjin (Hungarian: Baranyavár), capital Darda (Hungarian: Dárda)
• Siklós

Urban county:

• Pécs

The town Darda is presently in Croatia.