Berehove, Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine

🇺🇦 Berehove is a city located in Zakarpattia Oblast in western Ukraine, near the border with Hungary. It is the cultural centre of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. Serving as the administrative centre of Berehove Raion, the city itself is also designated as a city of oblast significance, with a status equal to a separate raion.

Name The city has many different variations of spelling its name: Romanian: Bereg, Rusyn: Берегово (translit. Berehovo), Russian: Берегово (translit. Beregovo), Belarusian: Берагава (Łacinka Bierahava), Czech and Slovak: Berehovo, Yiddish: בערעגסאז, Beregsaz, German: Bergsaß, Polish: Bereg Saski.

Residents of Berehovo voted on October 31, 2010, in a referendum on renaming the town to Beregszász, its Hungarian-language name. Voter turnout was less than 52%, with 4,688 voting for renaming, 4,358 against, and 1,016 invalid ballots.

Administrative division Part of the city is also a near adjacent village of Zatyshne of 504 people that has its representation in the city's council.

Hungarian has been made a regional language in Berehovo in September 2012; meaning it will now be used in the town's administrative office work and documents. This was made possible after new legislation on languages in Ukraine was passed in the summer of 2012.

History In 1910, out of 12,933 inhabitants 12,432 were Hungarians (96.1%), 221 Ukrainians (Ruthenians) and 140 Germans.

It was the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary's Bereg County until 1920 and between 1940 and 1945.

From 1920 until 1938 it was part of Czechoslovakia. Prior to World War II, the city had a significant Jewish population, estimated at 8,000 persons. Only four returned following the war.

A local newspaper has been published here since December 1945.

In January 1989 the population was 30,157 people.

In 2001, ethnic groups included: • 48.1% Hungarians 12.8 thousand • 38.9% Ukrainians 10.3 thousand • 6.4% Romani people 1.7 thousand • 5.4% Russians 1.5 thousand

The first Hungarian-language college in Ukraine is in Berehovo, the II. Rákoczi Ferenc College.