Tolna,megye (county), south-central Hungary, extending westward from the Danube and with an area of 1,429 sq mi (3,702 sq km). Near the Danube the landscape is flat, rising gently west to the Hegyhát (“Ridge of Hills”) and the northeastern . It lies in the southern part of Transdanubia and borders the counties of Fejér to the north, Bács-Kiskun to the east, Baranya to the south, and Somogy to the west. Szekszárd has been the county seat since 1779. Other important towns include Bonyhád, Tolna, Paks, Simontornya, Dombóvár, and Tamási.


In the Sárköz riverine lowland the Gemenc Forest is a wildlife sanctuary. Corn (maize), wheat, tobacco, and tomatoes are important crops; there is some canning of fruit, vegetables, and meat. Pigs, sheep, and cattle are raised, and leather is produced. In the Sárköz area the peasant costumes are known for the quality of their embroidery and weaving.

Principal towns are Szekszárd (q.v.), the megye seat, Paks, where Hungary’s first atomic power plant was constructed, and Dunaföldvár, where road and rail cross the Danube. Near Szekszárd is the Plant Research Institute, which concentrates on improving strains of hops, soybeans, and sunflowers. Pop. (1990 prelim.) 253,681Its rivers—the Kapos, Koppány, Sárvíz, Lajvér, and Donáét—flow into the Danube via the Sió River.



