Kežmarok

Kežmarok (German: Kesmark/Käsmark, Hungarian: Késmárk, Polish: Kieżmark, Latin: Kesmarkium) is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia (population 16,000), on the Poprad River.

Kežmarok
Town
Church in Kežmarok, Slovakia
Coat of arms
Etymology: "cheese market"
Kežmarok
Location of Kežmarok in Prešov Region
Kežmarok
Location of Kežmarok in Slovakia
Coordinates: 49°08′01″N 20°25′35″E
Country Slovakia
RegionPrešov
DistrictKežmarok
First mentioned1251
Government
 • MayorJán Ferenčák
Area
 • Total24.83 km2 (9.59 sq mi)
Elevation
626 m (2,054 ft)
Population
 (2018-12-31[1])
 • Total16,381
 • Density660/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
06001
Area code(s)+421-52
Car plateKK
Websitewww.kezmarok.sk
Sources:[2][3]

History

Settlement at Kežmarok dates back to the Upper Stone Age. In the 13th century the region contained a community of Saxons, a Slovak fishing village, a Hungarian border post and a Carpathian German settlement. Its Latin name was first mentioned in 1251 as Villa (Saxonum apud Ecclesiam) Sancte Elisabeth. In 1269 Kežmarok received its town charter. It also had the right to organize a cheese market (hence the German name Kesmark ("Käsemarkt" - "cheese market"). In 1433 the town was severely damaged by a Hussite raid. After 1440, the count of Spiš had a seat in Kežmarok. In the 15th century (and then once more in 1655), Kežmarok became a free royal town.

The town was a stronghold of the noble Thököly family. The Hungarian magnate and warrior Imre Thököly was born in the town in 1657. He died in exile in Turkey in 1705 but in the 20th century his body was returned to Kežmarok and he is buried in a noble mausoleum in the town's Lutheran church.

Coat of arms of the Thököly family.

The town's other monuments include a castle, many Renaissance merchant houses, and a museum of ancient books. In pride of place is the Protestant church built in 1688 entirely of wood. The church also contains an organ of 1719 with wooden pipes. The church has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.

Kežmarok had an ethnic German majority until around 1910, and Germans stayed a large minority until the end of World War II. It also had a large and active Jewish community. During World War II, under the auspices of the First Slovak Republic, nearly 3,000 of the town's Jews were deported to German death camps. The town's pre-war Jewish cemetery has now been restored.

Monuments

The town contians many historic monuments, including the Basilica of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and the Wooden articular church in Kežmarok.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the town had 17,383 inhabitants. 95.21% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 1.59% Roma, 0.83% Czechs and 0.43% Germans.[4] The religious makeup was 77.50% Roman Catholics, 10.98% people with no religious affiliation, 4.83% Lutherans and 2.63% Greek Catholics.[4]

Twin towns — sister cities
View from above
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Slovakia

Kežmarok is twinned with:[5]

Personalities
  • Town hall
  • Protestant church
  • Railway station building
  • Reduta, former city library
  • Houses at Starý trh (Old Market)
  • Wooden articular church

See also

References
Notes
  1. "Population and migration". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  2. The Town Kežmarok Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Mestská a obecná štatistika SR Archived October 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Municipal Statistics". Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Archived from the original on 2007-11-16. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
  5. "Partnerské mestá". kezmarok.sk (in Slovak). Kežmarok. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
  6. Szinney József, Magyar írók élete és munkái, Hornyánszky Budapest 1900

Genealogical resources

The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Levoca, Slovakia"

  • Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1674-1919 (parish A)
  • Greek Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1765-1925 (parish B)
  • Lutheran church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1601-1897 (parish A)
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