Zala County

Zala was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary, bordered by the river Drave to the south. The territory of the former county is now divided between Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia. The capital of the county was Zalaegerszeg. Geography 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 Drava (Hungarian: Dráva) river formed its southern border, Lake Balaton its eastern border. The rivers Mura and Zala flowed through the county. Its area was 5974 km2 around 1910. History Zala county arose as one of the first (counties) of the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1850, shortly after the 1848 revolutions, the mostly Croatian-speaking area between the Mur and Drava rivers – the Međimurje region – was transferred to the Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia; it was returned to Zala in 1860.