A Herman Ottó Múzeum Évkönyve 44. (2005)

Boros László: A csökkenő népességű Bodrogköz

1980 Adatok a Bodrogzug agrárföldrajzához. Szabolcs-Szatmári Szemle 2. 121132. Nyíregyháza 2000 Táj és ember. Viga Gyula (szerk.): Kisgéres, 11-40. Lilium Aurum. Dunaszerdahely Borsy Zoltán 1969 Bodrogköz. A Tiszai Alföld, 33-36. Budapest Frisnyák Sándor 1995 Tájak és tevékenységi formák. Észak- és Kelet-Magyarországi Földrajzi Évkönyv 2. Nyíregyháza Sipos Ildikó 1984 A mezőgazdasági termelés földrajzi potenciái a Bodrogközben. Nyíregyháza Statisztikai Evkönyvek 1960., 1980., 1990., 1997. Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén megye. KSH Tamás Edit 1999 A Bodrogköz népessége a XVIII-XX. században. Sárospatak Viga Gyula (szerk.) 2000 Kisgéres. Lilium Aurum. Dunaszerdahely 1996 Hármas határon. Tanulmányok a Bodrogköz változó népi kultúrájáról. Miskolc DECLINING POPULATION IN THE BODROGKÖZ REGION (NORTH-EASTERN HUNGARY) Lying in the north-eastern part of the Carpathian Basin, the Bodrogköz region is bounded by three rivers, the Tisza, the Bodrog and the Latorca. Before the large-scale river regulations and the tlood control projects begun in the mid-19th century, the greater part of this micro-region was a marshy area permanently or scasonally covered with water; only the smaller or larger sand ridges and the slopes of the one-time volcanoes in the Upper Bodrogköz area were suitable for humán settlemcnt. About 28 thousand hectares were permanently covered with water, and an additional 107 thousand hectares became submerged at times of floods. This is one of the reasons why settlements with a larger population did not evolve here. The fifty-two settlements in the Bodrogköz region evolved in so-called ancient settlement areas, where in addition to a floodplain economy (stake net fishing, hunting, and gathering), the population could alsó practice cultivation and stockbreeding. The regular population censuses provide information on population numbers. Following the Compromise of 1867, the amount of arable land increased as a result of river regulations and tlood control, and the average life-span grew owing to improving healthcare. The natural, high birthrates counterbalanced the emigration around the tum of the century. In 1900, the Bodrogköz region had a population of about 50 thousand. In accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Trianon, the Upper Bodrogköz region - which had thirty settlements and a population of about 25 thousand - was annexed to Slovakia. The highest population number in the Bodrogköz region was registered in 1960. The Lower Bodrogköz region (in Hungary) had a population of 41 thousand, while the Upper Bodrogköz (in Slovakia) one of 35 thousand. From the 1960s, a slow and then increasingly faster population decline can be noted in this region. In 2000, the region had a population of approximately 58 thousand (22 thousand in the Lower Bodrogköz region). The balance between natural birth-rates and migration away from this region became unfavourable. László Boros 400