TOLNA - Geography and history
Ethnic variety
The county of Tolna is situated in southern Hungary on the western side of the Danube River, and is bordered by the Mecsek mountains, the Somogy highlands, and the Mezõföld plains. This small county, with an area of only 3 703 square kilometres, is easily accessible not only from Pécs, the largest city of Southern Transdanubia, but also from Budapest and the Lake Balaton area as well.
The region's favourable characteristics have attracted people from far and wide for centuries. The Romans established viniculture here and were followed by the Longobards and the Avars. Finally, despite the centuries-long struggle, Hungarians were able to get the most permanent foothold of all here. In the wake of the Ottoman period, Serbs and later, Germans settled here in the early part of the 18th century and helped in the reconstruction. After the Second World War, Tolna gave home to the refugees from northern Hungary and to the Bukovina Szeklers ousted from their homes. Thus, Tolna is one of the few Hungarian counties where there are significant ethnic minority populations.
Tolna is characterised by a village settlement structure in which there is not a single large city. With a population of 36 000, Szekszárd is Hungary's smallest county capital. The other important towns are Dombóvár, the transport junction at the point where the counties of Somogy, Tolna, and Baranya meet, and Paks, the "nuclear city". These, and the other four (2002) cities, were originally country towns providing services to their immediate surroundings. The population of the cities range from 5 000-21 000, while the majority of the villages are medium-sized settlements with populations between 500 and 2 000.
Low population density
Tolna is bordered by Fejér in the north, Baranya in the south, Somogy in the west, and its eastern border is the Danube, with Bács-Kiskun lying on the other side.
Geographically, the county can be divided into four distinctive parts: in the east the Mezõföld, characterised by its flat relief and the Sárköz-Danube flood plain; the central Völgység-Hegyhát extension of the Mecsek mountains; and in the west the Tolna highlands, an extension of the Somogy highlands. The climate is characterised by a kind of transition between the continental conditions of the Great Plain and the ocean effects coming from the lower Alps, with very little Mediterranean influence.
The county has 108 municipalities, 9 of which are classed as towns. The towns occupy 22% of the land area and have 54% of the population.
Favourable conditions for agriculture
Tolna is well-suited for agriculture, as is evident from the county's land use - fields, grasslands, pastures and forests. More than 80% of area is covered by forest (12.5%), arable land (57.8%), permanent crop (1.8%) and grassland (8.1%). The forests are most extensive in the southern tip of the county by the Danube (the Gemenc forest), and in the Gyulaj and Lengyel-Mucsi regions. All three forests are also popular hunting areas. There is also the Szekszárd historical wine region encompassing not only the county capital, but also the surrounding villages.
At the same time, however, the county is very poor in mineral resources. But there is plenty of river water (the rivers Danube, Sió, Kapos, Koppány and Sárvíz) that could be used in industrial production, and the Paks Nuclear Power Plant is Hungary's only nuclear power station.
Nuclear power and a good agricultural base
The county is known abroad mainly for hosting Hungary's only nuclear power plant. This plant is the region's biggest source of employment.
Tolna's terrain and climate is well-suited to agriculture, and the appropriate food processing plants have been established, although there is still potential for further development. Grapes grow on the gentle slopes of the Szekszárd Hills producing wines, which are well-known throughout the country. In 2002, Tolna region produced 4.9% of the total production of wine of Hungary.
Even though the county is rich in medicinal waters and health spas which attract tourists, the accommodation and restaurant services are rather modest, which limits the county's appeal to visitors. If these facilities were developed, more of the tourist traffic bound for Pécs and Lake Balaton could be attracted into the county.
Tolna is lacking in both foreign and domestic capital, making economic development extremely difficult. Thus, the county's labour force, despite good basic qualifications remains largely under-utilised, as does the reasonably good quality infrastructure. The bridge across the Danube at Dunaföldvár is not sufficient to offer good transport and communications links with the eastern part of the country. A new bridge with a much larger capacity would do a lot to improve the county's prospects.
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