Granica Mađarske i Hrvatske na starim kartama

For centuries Croatia has been in a political association with Hungary. The borderbetween these two states lies on the Drava and the Mura rivers and is actually one of the oldest in Middle Europe, although between 1102 and 1526 there was a common Croatian-Hungarian kingdom and between 1526 and 1918 Hapsburg Monarchy (between 1867 and 1918 Austria- Hungary). The changes of the state border caused by the changes of the Drava and Mura’s bed, political interventions in the area of Međimurje and Baranja, especially from 18th to the middle of  20th century (1945) can be traced on the old maps, and these cartographic presentations represent a valuable historical source. The issue of border changes between Croatia and Hungary can be analyzed from two aspects: 1. macro analysis – i.e. bigger territory changes of the border between Croatia and Hungary 2. microanalysis – i.e. determining the border on the troubled rivers of the Drava and the Mura The macro plan includes the border changes between Croatia and Hungary where the most important issue is the borders in border areas of Međumurje, Prekodravlje and Baranje. For centuries there were arguments about the border in Prekodravlje. This part of Croatia, in Koprivnica area, has been populated by the Croats in the middle Ages, and in 16th and 17th century it was destroyed by Turks. At the beginning of 19th century Prekodravlje was again populated by Croats, two parishes, Gola and Ždala, were founded and they belonged to Zagreb bishopric (in 1854 it became archbishopric). Baranja was a part of the Hungarian district the longest of all border areas and beside Hungarians and Germans it was also populated by Croats and Serbs. It was annexed to Kingdom SHS (i.e. Republic of Croatia) by Trianon peace treaty in 1920. The old maps are very interesting because they document the microanalysis of the Croatian-Hungarian border, especially the border on the troubled Drava river. In this area the Drava is already a typical lowland-river, and in some Holocene sand and pebbles accumulation it meandered and changed its bed. For this reason it was necessary to determine the borderline which won’t change and will not depend on the river. Military land surveys conducted from 1781 to 1785 determined the borderline in the former Drava bed which was later verified by Trianon peace treaty.