Hungary Gazetteers

Back to Hungary Page►

Magyarország helységnévtára tekintettel a közigazgatási, népességi és hitfelekezeti viszonyokra
Magyarország helységnévtára tekintettel a közigazgatási, népességi és hitfelekezeti viszonyokra. (Gazetteer of Hungary with Administrative, Populational, and Ecclesiastical Circumstances). János Dvorzsák, Budapest: Havi Füzetek Kiadóhivatala, 1877. (FHL INTL book 943.9 E5d vol.1-2; FHL INTL film 599564 item 3 (vol. 1) and FHL INTL film 973041 (vol. 2); FHL INTL fiche 6000840).

Volume 1 is an index that lists all place names in alphabetical order, followed by the name of the historical county and a set of numbers. These numbers refer to the gazetteer entry in Volume 2. The first number is the sequential number of the county (hung. megye, ger. comitat), the second is the consecutive number of the district (hung. járás, ger. bezirk), the last is the number of the locality. The numbers are followed by the location of the post office or by the various symbols. Many place names listed in the index are followed by "=" or "v". These are "see" references and refer you to another version of the place name. Other place names are followed by " ". This indicates a farmstead (p. or puszta), settlement (t. or telep), mill (m. or malom), or other small settlement and refers you to the larger locality it belongs to.

Volume 2 gives specific information about the locality. It is arranged by county and districts. Use the numbers from the index in Volume 1 to find the entry for your town. Counties are numbered at the heads of the pages. Additional names the locality was known by are listed in parentheses. The names of farmsteads, settlements and mills that belong to the locality are sometimes listed within the brackets. Population figures follow according to religion. The following abbreviations are used:

If the village had its own parish church or synagogue, the abbreviation for the religion will be in BOLDFACE capital letters followed by the diocese, also in Boldface type. If the people attended church else¬where, the abbreviation of the religion will be in lowercase. The location of the parish or synagogue follows the population figure. If "-" follows the population figure, it means that the specific parish was not known.

Also available on-line at http://www.iabsi.com/gen/public/dvorzsak_gazetteer.htm.

Magyarország geographiai szótára mellyben minden város, falu és puszta körülményesen leiratik
Fényes, Elek. Magyarország geographiai szótára mellyben minden város, falu és puszta körülményesen leiratik. (Gazetteer of Hungary, 1851). Pest: Kozma Vazul Ny., 1851. (FHL INTL book 943.9 E5f v.1-2; FHL INTL film 844956 Items 1-2). Volume 1-2: A-K, volume 3-4: L-Z.

Arrangement: The arrangement is alphabetical by the name of the smallest administrative unit (town, parish, village etc.). This gazetteer contains the places of the old Hungarian Kingdom as it existed prior to 1919. The gazetteer was published in 1851, so one must be aware that words presently spelled with "c" then spelled "cz", and would be found alphabetically in the "cz" part of the gazetteer.

How to find a place: Although all towns are listed alphabetically, towns with adjectives modifying the name of the town will be found under the name of the town instead of the adjective. For example, a town with Kis is not filed under "k", but under the name of the town itself. Other adjectives which appear commonly are: Nagy (large), 0 (old), Uj (new), Alsó (lower), Felső (upper). Exception: Town names using the word Szent (Saint) are alphabetized in the "s".

Special features or uses: The information given is very complete. Since the gazetteer is in journal form, the arrangement of information within an entry may vary. Basically the following information will be given: Nationality of the population, name of the county (as it existed in old Hungarian Kingdom), number of inhabitants, size and type of surrounding farmlands, nearest post office, how far from large towns, names of Landlords, and for largerr places a short history. Many of the towns described are no longer in Hungary because of numerous border changes.