Misplaced Pages

#707292

38-564: The Bodva flows on the eastern edge of a karstic rock system, therefore it has an unsymmetrical drainage pattern. Up to Medzev , where the river reaches the karst region , and on its left side the Bodva river has a typical treelike river system. This article related to a river in Slovakia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in Hungary

76-416: A dialect of Polish (or Slovak-Polish dialect continuum by some considered a language), especially elders. They consider themselves as Slovaks and, in present, speak mostly Slovak language. Official Slovak 2011's census reported only 3084 Poles living in Slovakia. In Spiš are the biggest and oldest churches such as a Roman Catholic Church and Evangelical Church of Augsburg Confession ( Lutherans ). In

114-655: A large German population (called Zipsers; see Carpathian Germans ) who spoke Zipser German ; now, the only Zipser-speaking town is Chmeľnica (Hopgarten) . Many smaller settlements were populated by settlers from Poland. In 1412, under the Treaty of Lubowla , 16 towns, two castles and a number of villages in Spiš were pawned to Poland by Sigismund of Luxembourg to finance his wars with the Republic of Venice in Dalmatia . Among

152-404: A long-running border dispute between Poland and Czechoslovakia . In 1923 Slovak Spiš was divided between the newly formed Sub-Tatra county ( Podtatranská župa ) and Košice county ( Коšická župa ). In 1928-1939 and 1945-1948 it was part of the newly created Slovak Land ( Slovenská krajina ). During World War II , when Czechoslovakia was divided, Spiš was part of independent Slovakia , and formed

190-685: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Medzev Medzev ( Hungarian : Mecenzéf , ( German : Metzenseifen ) is a town and large municipality in Košice-okolie District in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia . It is one of several towns in Bodva Valley . Other towns in Bodva Valley include: Jasov , Lucia Bania , Vyšný Medzev (Upper Metzenseifen) , and Stos . Historically, It belonged to one of

228-408: Is a region in north-eastern Slovakia , with a very small area in south-eastern Poland (more specifically encompassing 14 villages). Spiš is an informal designation of the territory, but it is also the name of one of the 21 official tourism regions of Slovakia . The region is not an administrative division in its own right, but between the late 11th century and 1920 it was an administrative county of

266-412: Is safe to assume that they had a good reason to leave home in present-day Germany and form this new settlement. The Feudal Age of the thirteenth century was less than satisfactory. It is known that certain privileges (e.g. freedom from servitude, etc.) were promised in order to persuade people to come to Slovakia (part of Upper Hungary ). Unfortunately, it is not yet known exactly where the origins of

304-755: Is situated between the High Tatras and the Dunajec River in the north, the springs of the Váh River in the west, the Slovenské rudohorie Mountains (Slovak Ore Mountains) and Hnilec River in the south, and a line running from the town of Stará Ľubovňa , via the Branisko mountain (under which lies the 4,822 m long Branisko Tunnel , currently the longest in Slovakia), to the town of Margecany in

342-462: Is supported also by the fact that almost all early Latin documents mention Spiš as silva Zepus (or with similar transcription) - the name of forest area. Another theory is a derivation from Hungarian szép – nice, beautiful → Szepes. However, according to Šimon Ondruš this etymology is linguistically impossible. The Slovak and the Polish name could not be derived from Hungarian Szepes because

380-819: The Carpathian mountain range , which is why they are also known as Karpatendeutsche(n) respectively Carpathian Germans in English (or Mantaken , alternatively, in German). In historical records the town was first mentioned in 1359. It was founded and settled by ethnic Germans. The modern town stems from the merging of Nižný Medzev (German: Untermetzenseifen/Nider Metzenseifen/Nider Metzenseiffen/Nieder Mäzenseuffen/Nieder Metzenseif/Unter Mäznsüffen/ Unnter Metzensyffen ) (Hungarian: Alsómeczenzéf) and Vyšný Medzev (German: Obermetzenseifen/Ober Metzenseuf; again independent since 1999) in 1960. The earliest known record of

418-768: The High Tatras and the Low Tatras , and areas such as the Slovak Paradise ( Slovenský raj ) in the south-west and the Pieniny National Park at the Slovak-Polish border. Other tourist destinations include the region's historical sites like Spiš Castle and nearby Spišské Podhradie , Spišská Kapitula , Žehra and the town of Levoča (all of which are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites ), Kežmarok , and Stará Ľubovňa Castle. The tourism industry has developed rapidly in Spiš, aided by

SECTION 10

#1732772481708

456-514: The Kingdom of Hungary (see separate article Szepes County in this regard). The name is probably related to the appellative spiška , špiška known from Slovak (Eastern Slovakia and Orava ) and Moravian dialects ( Haná ) - a (cut) stick, a piece of wood or sugar, etc. Old Slavic pьchjati , pichjati - to stab, to cut → prefixed form sъ-pich-jь → after palatalization and extinction of yers spiš . Spiš probably means "a cut forest". The theory

494-461: The Neanderthal era have been found in remains at Gánovce (Gánóc) and Bešeňová (Besenyőfalu). The territory of Spiš was later populated first by Celts . It belonged to the state of Great Moravia (Veľká Morava), and after its dissolution became part of Poland . The southern part of the territory was conquered by the Kingdom of Hungary at the end of the 11th century, when the border of

532-523: The "Mantak" dialect of German the Merzenseifers spoke is only spoken now by a few dozen people. In the past ten years, the number of Germans has increased by approximately 0.75%. The town lies at an elevation of 313 metres and covers an area of 31.861 km . It has a population of about 3,800. It is located at the foothills of the Slovak Karst (south) and Volovec Mountains (north) on

570-604: The 1930s between German and Slovakian speakers in the workplace. Before 1920 when Hungary was partitioned due to pressure by the Czechs and Slovaks, after forcing Hungary to sign the Treaty of Trianon, German was the official language of the town, and ethnically 95% German. After 1920, some Slovaks moved into the town but the town was still predominately German. Until the end of World War II, the German population significantly outnumbered

608-538: The Bodva River, around 35 km west of Košice . This village is primarily home to Slovaks, Germans, Hungarians, and Romani . Those people of Germanic origin refer to themselves as "Mantaks", although are more commonly recognized as Zipser Germans or Carpathian Germans. According to the 2001 census , the town had 3,667 inhabitants. 75.43% of inhabitants were Slovaks , 13.55% Germans , 6.65% Roma , 1.55% Hungarians and 0.44% Czechs . The religious make-up

646-550: The Counter-Reformation and eventually resulted in the rebuilding of the monastery under the supervision of Maria Theresia , the Habsburg Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Croatia. Over the course of the industrialization period, Medzev/Metzenseifen became an economic center (site of many well-paid blacksmiths [approximately 100], who created agricultural tools). This led to tension in

684-653: The German settlers originated. It was not common to register migrants in the 13th century. However, comparative research in dialectology may one day identify the origins. The Germans of Metzenseifen belong to the Zipser Germans or Zipsers (see Zipser German Party ), the Zipsers being named so after the Zips Mountains , called Spiš in Slovak . The Zips are a smaller group of mountains that are included in

722-524: The Kingdom ended near the modern town of Kežmarok . The royal county of Szepes ( comitatus Scepusiensis ) was created in the 2nd half of the 12th century. In the 1250s the border of the Kingdom of Hungary shifted to the north to Podolínec and in 1260 even further to the north (the Dunajec River). The northeastern region around Hniezdne and Stará Ľubovňa , the so-called "districtus Podoliensis",

760-550: The Slovakian population. After World War II, teaching German in the town was forbidden, some Germans were killed, others expelled, and those who remained have assimilated. Germans were looked down upon, their children were forcibly educated in Slovak and a town which has been German for over 700 years has now been mostly obliterated. Although "official" records state that over 20% of the population speaks German, it's closer to 10% and

798-521: The colonists would have entered upon arriving in the area called Metzenseifen. The timeline, as well as official documents and historical data were wiped out by the end of the Counter-Reformation. The monastery in Jasov and the neighboring townships could help us via documents, in which the name "Metzenseifen" was mentioned. The town was founded by ethnic Germans during the High Middle Ages . It

SECTION 20

#1732772481708

836-490: The combination "consonant-e-consonant-e-consonant" is valid and common in Slovak (but also in other Slavic languages) without any need for phonetic adaptation and similar changes are not documented. On the other hand, the assumed phonetic adaptation Slavic Spiš → Hungarian Szepes depends on well known changes in the Hungarian language like vowel insertion (i.e. Slepčany → Szelepcsény) and vowel harmonization. The region

874-458: The county became part of newly formed Czechoslovakia . A tiny part of the territory (situated in today's Poland below the Rysy ), amounting to 195 km after an internal border dispute had been confirmed to be part of Galicia (Central Europe) (at that time the western part of Austria-Hungary ) as early as 1902. After World War I northern Spiš was united with Poland and became the subject of

912-471: The east. The core of the Spiš region is formed by the basins of the rivers Hornád and Poprad , and the High Tatra Mountains . Throughout its history, the territory has been characterized by a large percentage of forests - in the late 19th century, as much as 42.2% of Spiš was forest. The history of the region until 1920 is given in more detail at Szepes County . Traces of settlement in

950-592: The eastern part of Tatra county ( Tatranská župa ) from 1940 to 1945. Slovakia joined the Axis, and the Polish part of Spiš (together with the Polish part of the county of Orava ) was transferred to Slovakia. During the war all the Jews of the area were deported or murdered. When Soviet forces approached from the east at the end of 1944, most of the ethnic Germans in Spiš fled westward, between mid-November 1944 and 21 January 1945 (see also Carpathian Germans ). Their property

988-473: The introduction of regular flights to Poprad Airport and improving rail and road connections. Spiš today is one of Slovakia's 21 tourist regions but, unlike its predecessor, is not an administrative region. Since 1996, Spiš has been divided between the modern Košice Region and Prešov Region and is covered approximately by the following six administrative districts: Poprad , Kežmarok , Stará Ľubovňa , Spišská Nová Ves , Levoča and Gelnica , except for

1026-435: The litigation of forestry rights between Vyšný Medzev / Upper Metzenseifen and Jasov . It could be extrapolated that Metzenseifen was founded sometime between 1241 and 1272. Until now, any documents that would have been submitted to Vienna or Budapest regarding Medzev's specific date of establishment have not been found. Therefore, we must draw information from reliable sources in the timeline like demarcation , into which

1064-485: The mid 1400s do not show any evidence of Slovak families in the town. Mining in the mountain continued to increase throughout and after the 14th century, as well as handcraft. After the 15th century, Medzev/Meztenseifen split between /Nižný/Unter-/Lower and Vyšný/Ober/Upper Medzev/Metzenseifen. During the Reformation, the monastery was closed and its governance discontinued. The struggle for power continued throughout

1102-491: The monastery in Jasov . As shown in the timeline, the departure of the Mongols in 1241 prompted King Béla IV to rebuild Hungary as quickly as possible. It is known that he invited Germans as part of his recolonization effort. Whether he directly invited the particular settlers of Metzenseifen remains unknown, but possible. The first official document from the Bodva Valley is that of a legal document from 1272, which describes

1140-496: The original mountain towns in the Lower Zips/Dolný Spis : Gelnica/Göllnitz , Smolník/Schmöllnitz , Nálepkovo/Wagendrüssel , Krompachy/Krompach , Mníšek nad Hnilcom/Einsiedel , Švedlár/Schwedler . Any official documents regarding the founding of Metzenseifen have yet to be found and were likely destroyed in the Counter-Reformation. Much of the historical records obtained regarding the history of Medzev come from

1178-426: The region, however, is much different. As mentioned above, many Jews and ethnic Germans were removed or left during World War II. Present-day Spiš has a number of Romani settlements and Romani are a substantial minority there. There are also 40,000-48,000 Gorals (Slovak: Gorali ; literally Highlanders). Although a negligible number in census terms, they are a distinctive minority with their own culture, and speak

Bodva - Misplaced Pages Continue

1216-620: The same name. From July 1960 it became part of the newly created Eastern Slovak region ( Východoslovenský kraj ), which ceased to exist in September 1990. In 1993, Czechoslovakia was split and Spiš became part of Slovakia . According to censuses carried out in the Kingdom of Hungary in 1869 (and later in 1900 and 1910) the population of Szepes county comprised the following nationalities: Slovaks 50.4%, (58.2%, 58%), Germans 35% (25%, 25%), Carpatho-Rusyns 13.8% (8.4%, 8%) and 0.7% (6%, 6%) Magyars (Hungarians). The current ethnic composition of

1254-579: The town Metzenseifen comes from 1359 Mechenseuph. There were most likely German and Slovakian miners living together at that time, although Hungarian records show that the area was mostly uninhabited before King Bela IV invited Germans into the area. After the Mongolian invasion, there was a strong surge of German families. The ownership ratio between the two ethnic groups was assigned by the Jasov Monastery. Church and town records from as far back as

1292-527: The towns that for 360 years belonged to Poland were: Stará Ľubovňa , Podolínec , Spišská Sobota , Poprad and Spišská Nová Ves . In 1772 all were annexed by the Habsburg monarchy . In 1868, 21 Spiš settlements sent their demands, the 'Spiš Petition', to the Diet of the Kingdom of Hungary, requesting special status for Slovaks within the Kingdom. In 1918 (and confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920),

1330-600: The year 1600 the biggest was church the Evangelical Church . Currently, the biggest church is the Roman Catholic Church . Historically, economic activity in the region has been based principally on agriculture and forestry (formerly mining, too), which explains why Spiš belongs to the relatively poor regions of Slovakia. Since the late 19th century, tourism has helped the local economy, and sanatoria and winter sports resorts have been built in

1368-586: Was 77.58% Roman Catholics , 12.95% people with no religious affiliation, 2.18% Greek Catholics and 0.79% Lutherans . According to the 2011 census, the town has 4261 inhabitants. Medzev is a member of the Charter of European Rural Communities , a town twinning association across the European Union . Zips (region) Spiš ( Polish : Spisz [ˈspiʂ] ; Hungarian : Szepesség or Szepes ; German : Zips [tsɪps] )

1406-400: Was confiscated after the war (see Beneš decrees ). After World War II the prewar borders of Spiš were restored, with most of the county going to Czechoslovakia, and a small part to Poland. In 1948, it became part of the newly created Košice Region ( Košický kraj ) and Prešov Region ( Prešovský kraj ), whose borders however were completely different from those of the present-day regions of

1444-456: Was incorporated only in the 1290s. The northern border of the county stabilized in the early 14th century. Around 1300, the royal county became a noble county. Many of the towns of Spiš developed from German colonization . The German settlers had been invited to the territory from the mid-12th century onwards. The settlements founded by them in southern Spiš were mainly mining settlements (later towns). Consequently, until World War II Spiš had

#707292