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Župa - Western Slavs

Župa - Western Slavs: Encyclopedia II - Župa - Western Slavs

The župas were used in Great Moravia in the 9th and 10th century. When the Magyars arrived in the Pannonian plain in the 9th century, they adopted the term župan to ispán for the head of their counties. The Slovaks and the Croats used the terms župa, župan and/or županija for the counties in the Kingdom of Hungary. German language translation of the word for those counties was Komitat (from Latin Comitatus, 'countship') during the Middle Ages, but later it was Gespanschaft (picking up the span root th ...

Župa: Encyclopedia II - Župa - Western Slavs

Župa - Western Slavs

The župas were used in Great Moravia in the 9th and 10th century. When the Magyars arrived in the Pannonian plain in the 9th century, they adopted the term župan to ispán for the head of their counties.

The Slovaks and the Croats used the terms župa, župan and/or županija for the counties in the Kingdom of Hungary. German language translation of the word for those counties was Komitat (from Latin Comitatus, 'countship') during the Middle Ages, but later it was Gespanschaft (picking up the span root that previously came from župan).

The Slovaks have also preserved the term: it was used as the official name of administrative units of Slovakia within Czechoslovakia in 1918 - 1928 and then again in the Slovak Republic during WWII in 1940-1945. Today it is used semi-officially as an alternative name for the "Autonomous Regions" of Slovakia (whose territory is identical with that of the administrative Regions).