Szeben County

Szeben was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (southern Transylvania). The capital of the county was Nagyszeben (present-day Sibiu).

Szeben County Comitatus Cibinensis (Latin) Szeben vármegye (Hungarian) Komitat Hermannstadt (German) Comitatul Sibiu (Romanian)
County of the Kingdom of Hungary
1876–1920
Coat of arms
Capital	Nagyszeben
Area
• Coordinates	45°48′N 24°9′E
• 1910	3,619 km2 (1,397 sq mi)
Population
• 1910	176,900
History
• Established	1876
• Treaty of Trianon	4 June 1920
Today part of	Romania
Sibiu is the current name of the capital.

Geography

Map of Szeben County, 1891.

Szeben County shared borders with Romania and the Hungarian counties Hunyad, Alsó-Fehér, Nagy-Küküllő, and Fogaras. The river Olt flowed through the county. Its area was 3,619 km² (1,397 sq mi) around 1910.

History

Szeben County was formed in 1876, when the administrative structure of Transylvania was changed. It included the former Saxon seats of Hermannstadt/Sibiu, Mühlbach/Sebeș, Reussmarkt/Miercurea, and (most of) Nocrich, as well as parts of Alsó-Fehér and Felső-Fehér counties. In 1920, by the Treaty of Trianon, the county became part of Romania. Its territory lies in the present Romanian counties Sibiu and Alba (the area around Sebeș).

Demographics

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

Population by mother tongue

Census	Total	Romanian	German	Hungarian	Other or unknown
1880	141,627	90,802 (66.27%)	40,723 (29.72%)	2,991 (2.18%)	2,497 (1.82%)
1890	148,738	98,719 (66.37%)	42,497 (28.57%)	4,342 (2.92%)	3,180 (2.14%)
1900	166,188	108,413 (65.24%)	47,678 (28.69%)	8,084 (4.86%)	2,013 (1.21%)
1910	176,921	113,672 (64.25%)	49,757 (28.12%)	10,159 (5.74%)	3,333 (1.88%)

Population by religion

Census	Total	Eastern Orthodox	Lutheran	Greek Catholic	Roman Catholic	Calvinist	Other or unknown
1880	141,627	90,553 (63.94%)	33,781 (23.85%)	10,853 (7.66%)	4,680 (3.30%)	1,110 (0.78%)	650 (0.47%)
1890	148,738	88,365 (59.41%)	39,065 (26.26%)	12,550 (8.44%)	6,414 (4.31%)	1,586 (1.07%)	758 (0.51%)
1900	166,188	95,380 (57.39%)	43,439 (26.14%)	14,050 (8.45%)	8,747 (5.26%)	3,147 (1.89%)	1,425 (0.86%)
1910	176,921	99,952 (56.50%)	45,912 (25.95%)	16,064 (9.08%)	9,503 (5.37%)	3,528 (1.99%)	1,962 (1.11%)

Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Szeben county were:

Districts (járás)
District	Capital
Nagydisznód	Nagydisznód (now Cisnădie)
Nagyszeben	Nagyszeben (now Sibiu)
Szászsebes	Szászsebes (now Sebeș)
Szelistye	Szelistye (now Săliște)
Szerdahely	Szerdahely (now Miercurea Sibiului)
Újegyház	Újegyház (now Nocrich)
Urban districts (rendezett tanácsú város)
Nagyszeben (now Sibiu)
Szászsebes (now Sebeș)