Setting the Borders of Trianon 1921–1925

Abstract

The operation of the committees whose task was to set the border can be divided into two phases. One of them was the ‘delimitation’, which means to establish and work on site the political borderline described in the peace treaty. The other was the ‘demarcation’, which was setting
the border as a purely technical process. Points marked on the map had to be marked with real points on the spot, plus perpetuated by different border signs. After that the borderline could be measured, which actually means mapping the borderline and its surroundings in a particular lane. The activity and moving of the committees extended only to a narrow lane on both sides of the Trianon line, which showed that they were only prepared for local adjustment. The borderlines were divided into sections in order to share the setting, measuring and financial burden: the Czech borderline was divided into 27 sections marked with Roman numerals; the Hungarian-Romanian border into 11 sections, the Yugoslavian into 6 sections and the Austrian into 3 sections, all marked with the capital letters of the ABC.
The setting of the borderline was proceeded, but slowly and in more phases in most of the sections as the committee was voting. Nevertheless, by the end of 1922 it was completed, except for some minor parts. After that each border point was set up with different border signs according to their importance.
The mapping of the borderline was executed in a given lane. After signing the border documents the committees were disbanded as their task was finally carried out.