So many new villages and towns; so many bridges. So many rivers. It's easy to tell when the land flattens out, as the rivers begin to braid and small swampy areas appear all round. The density of the area explains how this region was able to hold back the Ottomans, who were overextended from their political centre. The map above is our last farewell to the empire for awhile at least, before we meet back with it again in Anatolia.
I'm glad that the population density drops rapidly as I move northeast from here.
The region itself is a mix of numerous ethnicities and cultures, jammed together in the last century as refugees from the widescale European war against the Turk. Included are Hungarians, Slovaks, Germans, Jews, Moravians, Roma, Croatians, Serbians and many others. The division between Protestant and Catholic sentiments, combined with the potential for plunder, AND the potential for playing off one people against another, made this region a free-for-all during the 30 Years War ... so "ravaged" would be a very light word to use for the whole area shown.
Onto the western edge of Upper Hungary with the next map.
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