Alsó-Fehér County

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Alsó-Fehér County Comitatus Albensis Inferior  (Latin) Alsó-Fehér vármegye  (Hungarian) Komitat Unterweißenburger  (German) Comitatul Alba de Jos  (Romanian)
County of the Principality of Transylvania (1744-1867) County the Kingdom of Hungary (1867-1920)
Coat of arms
Capital	Gyulafehérvár; Nagyenyed (1876-1920)
Area
• Coordinates	46°19′N 23°44′E / 46.317°N 23.733°E / 46.317; 23.733Coordinates: 46°19′N 23°44′E / 46.317°N 23.733°E / 46.317; 23.733
• 1910	3,580 km2 (1,380 sq mi)
Population
• 1910	221618
History
• Established	1744
• Treaty of Trianon	4 June 1920
Today part of	Romania
Alba Iulia; Aiud are the current name of the capital.

Alsó-Fehér was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in western Romania (central Transylvania). The latest capital of the county was Nagyenyed (present-day Aiud).

Geography[]

Alsó-Fehér county shared borders with Hunyad, Torda-Aranyos, Kis-Küküllő, Nagy-Küküllő and Szeben counties. The rivers Maros and Küküllő flowed through the county. Its area was 3580 km² around 1910.

History[]

Alsó-Fehér (Lower Fehér) county was formed when the county Fehér was split in the 1744 (the other half, Felső-Fehér county, consisted entirely of enclaves between Székely and Saxon seats). In 1876, when the administrative structure of Transylvania was changed, the territory of Alsó-Fehér was modified and Felső-Fehér county was entirely abolished and merged with other counties. In 1920 the Treaty of Trianon assigned the territory of the county to Romania. Its territory lies in the present Romanian counties of Alba, Sibiu (the south-east) and Mureș (a small northeastern part).

Demographics[]

In 1900, the county had a population of 212,352 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities:^[1]

Total:

• Romanian: 166,099 (78,2%)
• Hungarian: 36,360 (17,1%)
• German: 7,953 (3,8%)
• Slovak: 100 (0,0%)
• Serbian: 40 (0,0%)
• Croatian: 14 (0,0%)
• Ruthenian: 6 (0,0%)
• Other or unknown: 1,780 (0,9%)

According to the census of 1900, the county was composed of the following religious communities:^[2]

Total:

• Eastern Orthodox: 87,210 (41,1%)
• Greek Catholic: 80,211 (37,8%)
• Calvinist: 21,296 (10,0%)
• Roman Catholic: 11,226 (5,3%)
• Lutheran: 7,170 (3,4%)
• Jewish: 3,903 (1,8%)
• Unitarian: 1,315 (0,6%)
• Other or unknown: 21 (0,0%)

Ethnic map of the county with data of the 1910 census (see the key in the description)

In 1910, county had a population of 221,618 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities:^[3]

Total:

• Romanian: 171,483 (77,4%)
• Hungarian: 39,107 (17,6%)
• German: 7,269 (3,3%)
• Slovak: 184 (0,1%)
• Serbian: 18 (0,0%)
• Croatian: 8 (0,0%)
• Ruthenian: 8 (0,0%)
• Other or unknown: 3,541 (1,6%)

According to the census of 1910, the county was composed of the following religious communities:^[4]

Total:

• Eastern Orthodox: 89,724 (40,5%)
• Greek Catholic: 85,276 (38,5%)
• Calvinist: 23,009 (10,4%)
• Roman Catholic: 11,194 (5,0%)
• Lutheran: 7,283 (3,3%)
• Jewish: 3,845 (1,7%)
• Unitarianist: 1,269 (0,6%)
• Other or unknown: 18 (0,0%)

The majority of the Hungarians lived in the cities of the county (like Gyulafehérvár, Nagyenyed, Abrudbánya, Vízakna, etc.) and in the districts of Marosújvár and Nagyenyed.

Subdivisions[]

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Alsó-Fehér county were:

References[]