| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
Zala county lies in south-western Hungary. It shares borders with Croatia and Slovenia and the Hungarian counties Vas, Veszprém and Somogy. The capital of Zala county is Zalaegerszeg. Its area is 3784 km˛. Lake Balaton lies partly in the county.
Zala is also the name of a historic administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently in south-western Hungary, northern Croatia and eastern Slovenia. The territory of the historic county comprises the present Hungarian county Zala and part of present Veszprém county, the Croatian region of Medimurje to the south-west of it, bordered by the river Drave, and a small region around Lendava in present-day Slovenia. The capital of the county was Zalaegerszeg.
Zala county shared borders with the Austrian land Styria and the Hungarian counties Vas, Veszprém, Somogy, Belovár-Körös and Varasd (the latter two in Croatia-Slavonia). The river Drave formed its southern border, Lake Balaton its eastern border. The rivers Mura and Zala flowed through the county. Its area was 5974 km˛ around 1910.
Zala county arose as one of the first comitatus of the Kingdom of Hungary.
In 1918 (confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon 1920), the south-west 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 Zala . A small part of former Vas county, north of Zalaegerszeg, went to Zala county. The part of Zala county north of Lake Balaton went to Veszprém county.
Since 1991, when Slovenia and Croatia became independent from Yugoslavia, the part of former Zala county between the rivers Mura and Drave is part of Croatia (region of Medimurje). The area around Lendava in presently in Slovenia.