# Berehove

Berehove (Ukrainian: Берегове, IPA:; Hungarian: Beregszász, IPA:) is a city in Zakarpattia Oblast, western Ukraine. It is situated near the border with Hungary.
It is the cultural centre of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, and Hungarians constitute roughly half (a plurality) of its population.
The city serves as the administrative center of Berehove Raion. It has a population of 23,325 (2022 estimate).

## 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 Berehove 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 for, 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 was made a regional language in Berehove in September 2012; meaning it would 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.
As of December 2020, all decisions of Zakarpattia's local councils on the functioning of regional languages, including Hungarian in Berehove, were cancelled.

## Geography
### Climate

Berehove has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).
Climate data for Berehove :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −2.4 (27.7) | −0.2 (31.6) | 4.7 (40.5) | 10.7 (51.3) | 15.6 (60.1) | 18.5 (65.3) | 20.1 (68.2) | 19.7 (67.5) | 15.8 (60.4) | 10.4 (50.7) | 4.9 (40.8) | 0.3 (32.5) | 9.8 (49.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 45 (1.8) | 38 (1.5) | 39 (1.5) | 46 (1.8) | 69 (2.7) | 86 (3.4) | 74 (2.9) | 68 (2.7) | 48 (1.9) | 44 (1.7) | 51 (2.0) | 58 (2.3) | 666 (26.2) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org ||||||||||||||

## History

In 1824, Berehove received the right to hold fairs 12 times a year. With the abolition of serfdom, the industrial development of the city began. Enterprises appeared, banks, savings banks, and credit institutions were opened.
In 1910, out of 12,933 inhabitants 12,432 were Hungarians (96.1%), 221 Ukrainians (Ruthenians) and 140 Germans. On April 27, 1919, the city was occupied by Czechoslovak and Romanian troops. At the end of 1919, according to the Saint-Germain Peace Treaty, it became part of Czechoslovakia.
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.
The first Hungarian-language college in Ukraine is in Berehove, the II. Rákoczi Ferenc College.

## Demographics

As of the 2001 Ukrainian census, Berehove had a population of 26,554 inhabitants. Numbering roughly 12,800 people, Hungarians were the largest ethnic group in the city. The second largest ethnic group were Ukrainians (10,300), followed by Gypsies (1,700) and Russians (1,500). The remaining population consists of Germans, Poles, Slovaks, Armenians and Belarusians. The exact composition was as follows:
Ethnic groups in Berehove
percent
Hungarians
48.15%
Ukrainians
38.87%
Gypsies
6.38%
Russians
5.44%
Slovaks
0.24%
Belarusians
0.21%
Jews
0.14%
Poles
0.08%
Armenians
0.08%
Germans
0.06% :
In terms of languages, a slim majority speaks Hungarian as their native language. Ukrainian is spoken by a large minority, smaller groups speak Slovakian and Armenian. The exact composition was as follows:
Native languages in Berehove
percent
Hungarian
55.9%
Ukrainian
37.3%
Russian
6.4%
Slovakian
0.1%
Armenian
0.1%
others
0.1% :

## Notable people

* Rabbi Hugo Gryn (1930–1996) was born here on June 25, 1930, and became well known as a broadcaster in Britain.
* Julius Rebek (born April 11, 1944), American chemist and expert on molecular self-assembly was born here.
* Csaba Czébely (born December 3, 1975), the drummer of Hungarian heavy metal band Pokolgép.
* Géza Kalocsay (born May 30, 1913, died September 26, 2008), former Hungarian and Czechoslovak footballer, football manager e.g. Standard Liège, FK Partizan, Górnik Zabrze.
* Aranka Siegal (born June 10, 1930) is a writer, Holocaust survivor, and recipient of the Newbery Honor and Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, both awarded to her in 1982.
* Andrea Bocskor (born August 11, 1978), politician who in the 2014 European Parliament election in Hungary was elected into the European Parliament. Hence, Bocskor became the first elected Ukrainian citizen in the European Parliament.
* The parents of Nobel Prize–winning economist Milton Friedman lived there before emigrating to the United States.
* Michael Moskowitz (born December 22, 1951), Ukrainian-American analytical chemist and translator, survivor of the 2023 Bedford explosion.
* Sári Fedák (1879–1955), Hungarian actress and singer was born here.
* Nandor Fodor (1895–1964), parapsychologist, psychoanalyst, author and journalist.
* Alen Panov (1978), Ukrainian diplomat, lawyer and professor of Uzhhorod National University

## International relations
### Twin towns — Sister cities

Berehove is twinned with:
* Przeworsk, Poland
* Satu Mare, Romania
* Gödöllő, Hungary
* Maassluis, Netherlands
* Jewish mikve in Berehove (now a bank)
* The dam in Berehove Postcard 1900
* City limit sign, in three scripts, two languages
* Schönborn palace (Berehove)