Vas (in German: Eisenburg) is the name of an administrative county (comitatus or megye) in present Hungary, and also in the former Kingdom of Hungary.

Vas county

Vas county lies in western Hungary. It shares borders with Austria and Slovenia and the Hungarian counties Győr-Moson-Sopron, Veszprém and Zala. The capital of Vas county is Szombathely. Its area is 3336 km².

Vas (former county)

Vas is also the name of a historic administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently in western Hungary, eastern Austria and eastern Slovenia. The capital of the county was Szombathely.

Geography

Vas county shared borders with the Austrian lands Lower Austria and Styria and the Hungarian counties Sopron, Veszprém and Zala. It stretched between the river Mura in the south, the foothills of the Alps in the west and the river Marcal in the east. The river Rába flowed through the county. Its area was 5472 km² around 1910.

History

Vas county arose as one of the first comitatus of the Kingdom of Hungary.

In 1918 (confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon 1920), the western part of the county became part of the new Austrian land Burgenland, and a small part in the south-west became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia). The remainder stayed in Hungary, as the present Hungarian county Vas. A small part of former Sopron county went to Vas county. Some villages north of Zalaegerszeg went to Zala county, and a small region west of Pápa went to Veszprém county.

Since 1991, when Slovenia became independent from Yugoslavia, the Yugoslavian part of former Vas county (around Murska Sobota) is part of Slovenia.

Districts

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

• Szombathely
• Kőszeg
• Oberwart (Hungarian: Felsőőr)
• Güssing (Hungarian: Németújvár)
• Szentgotthárd
• Murska Sobota (Hungarian: Muraszombat)
• Körmend
• Vasvár
• Sárvár
• Celldölmölk (name before approx. 1900: Kiscell)

Urban districts:

• Szombathely
• Kőszeg

The towns Oberwart and Güssing are presently in Austria, Murska Sobota is presently in Slovenia.