Baranya (county)

Baranya County Baranya megye
Counties of Hungary
Descending, from top: Hills in the county, near Mecseknádasd, Vineyards of Kistótfalu, and Széchenyi square in Pécs
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 46°04′06″N 18°12′19″E / 46.06833°N 18.20528°E / 46.06833; 18.20528Coordinates: 46°04′06″N 18°12′19″E / 46.06833°N 18.20528°E / 46.06833; 18.20528
Country	Hungary
Region	Southern Transdanubia
County seat	Pécs
Government
• President of the General Assembly	Csaba Nagy (Fidesz-KDNP)
Area
• Total	4,429.59 km2 (1,710.27 sq mi)
Area rank	10th in Hungary
Population (2011 census)
• Total	386,441
• Rank	10th in Hungary
• Density	87/km2 (230/sq mi)
Postal code	73xx, 75xx – 79xx
Area code(s)	(+36) 69, 72, 73
ISO 3166 code	HU-BA
Website	baranya.hu

Baranya (Hungarian: Baranya megye, Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈbɒrɒɲɒ]); is the name of an administrative county (comitatus or megye) in Hungary, in the Baranya region, and also in the former Kingdom of Hungary (see: Baranya (former county)).

The county lies in southern Hungary, on the border with Croatia. The River Drava forms part of its southern border, and the River Danube its eastern border. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Somogy, Tolna, and Bács-Kiskun. The capital of Baranya county is Pécs.

In German, it is known as Komitat Branau, and in Croatian as Baranjska županija (Baranja).

The county is name after the Slavic word 'bara', which means 'marsh', 'bog', thus the name of Baranya means 'marshland'. Even today large parts of the region are swamps, such as the natural reservation Kopački Rit in its southeast. Another theory states that the name of the region come from the Slavic and Hungarian word 'bárány', which means 'lamb'.

This county has a total area of 4,430 km² (1,710 sq mi) – 4,76% of Hungary.

The northern part of the county is a mountain area with large forests, the Mecsek Mountains. The central areas are shared between the Baranya Hills and Villány Mountains. The very eastern and southern parts are flat.