Heves County Heves vármegye
Counties of Hungary
Descending, from top: Bél Stone near Bélapátfalva, View of Kékes, and View from Castle of Eger
Flag Coat of arms
Heves County within Hungary
Country	Hungary
Region	Northern Hungary
County seat	Eger
Districts	7 districts Bélapátfalva District Eger District Füzesabony District Gyöngyös District Hatvan District Heves District Pétervására District
Government
• President of the General Assembly	Róbert Szabó (Fidesz-KDNP)
Area
• Total	3,637.21 km2 (1,404.33 sq mi)
• Rank	16th in Hungary
Population  (2018)
• Total	295,792[1]
• Rank	14th in Hungary
GDP [2]
• Total	HUF 776 billion €2.492 billion (2016)
Postal code	300x – 304x, 32xx – 33xx
Area code(s)	(+36) 36, 37
ISO 3166 code	HU-HE
Website	hevesmegye.hu

Heves county (Hungarian: Heves vármegye, pronounced [ˈhɛvɛʃ]) lies in northern Hungary, between the right bank of the river Tisza and the Mátra and Bükk mountains. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Pest, Nógrád, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok. Eger is the county seat.

Tourist sights

• Lake Tisza
• Bükk National Park
• Bélapátfalva, abbey
• Castle and City of Eger
• Erdőtelek Arboretum
• Feldebrő, 11th century Romanesque church
• Gyöngyös, Mátra Museum
• Hatvan, Grassalkovich mansion
• Kisnána castle
• Noszvaj, De la Motte mansion
• Parád
• Sirok castle
• Szilvásvárad, Szalajka Valley
• Szarvaskő, castle ruins

Geography

Heves county is a geographically diverse area; its northern part is mountainous (the Mátra and Bükk are the two highest mountain ranges in Hungary), while at south it includes a part of the Great Hungarian Plain. From south it is bordered by Lake Tisza, the largest artificial lake in Hungary. The average temperature is between 8 and 10 °C (higher on the southern parts of the county).

Rivers

• Zagyva
• Tarna
• Tisza
• Laskó

Highest point

• Kékestető, Mátra Mountains (1014 m; highest in Hungary)

Lowest point

• Kisköre (86 m.)

History

The county was a primary target for the Ottoman Empire during the Ottoman-Hungarian Wars where the Siege of Eger took place.

Demographics

In 2015, it had a population of 301,296 and the population density was 83/km².

Year	County population[3]	Change
1949	316,273	n/a
1960	347,856	9.99%
1970	340,146	-2.22%
1980	350,360 (record)	3.00%
1990	334,408	-4.55%
2001	325,727	-2.60%
2011	308,882	-5.17%
2015	301,296	-2.51%
2018	295,792	-1.86%

Ethnicity

Besides the Hungarian majority, the main minorities are the Roma (approx. 19,000), Germans (1,000) Slovaks (500) and Romanians (500).

Total population (2011 census): 308,882
Ethnic groups (2011 census):^[4] Identified themselves: 279,714 persons:

• Hungarians: 257,659 (92.12%)
• Gypsies: 19,312 (6.90%)
• Others and indefinable: 2,743 (0.98%)

Approx. 43,000 persons in Heves County did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.

Religion

Religious adherence in the county according to 2011 census:^[5]

• Catholic – 162,014 (Roman Catholic – 160,885; Greek Catholic – 1,098);
• Reformed – 14,729;
• Evangelical – 1,084;
• Other religions – 4,894;
• Non-religious – 43,193;
• Atheism – 3,298;
• Undeclared – 79,670.

Regional structure

Politics

County Assembly

The Heves County Council, elected at the 2019 local government elections, is made up of 15 counselors,^[6] with the following party composition:

Presidents of the General Assembly

Members of the National Assembly

The following members elected of the National Assembly during the 2022 parliamentary election:^[8]

Municipalities

Heves County has 1 urban county, 10 towns, 3 large villages and 107 villages.

City with county rights

(ordered by population, as of 2011 census)

• Eger (56,569) – county seat

Towns

Large villages

Villages

Gallery

• 
  Eger, the capital of the county
• 
  Autumn in the Bükk Mountains
• 
  Keglevich Mansion in Pétervására
• 
  Romanesque church in Bélapátfalva
• 
  Waterfall in the Szalajka Valley near Szilvásvárad
• 
  Grassalkovich Mansion in Hatvan
• 
  Lake Tisza is the 3rd largest lake of Hungary
• 
  Traditional residential house in Abasár

International relations

Heves County has a partnership relationship with:^[9][10]