Levoča

Levoča ( pronunciation / i;? Leutschau German, Hungarian Lőcse, latin Leutsovia ) is a city in northern Slovakia. It is located in the Zips and has 14,796 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2011). Because of the center well preserved the city was made ​​a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009.

Geography

The city is located on the northern edge of the boiler Hornádska kotlina at the foot of northern Levočské mountains. To the west of the city center flows the brook Levočský creek, a left tributary of Hornád. The city center lies at an altitude of 573 m nm and is 90 km from Košice and 368 km from Bratislava.

Administratively, the city is divided into the districts of Levoča ( both cadastral, German Leutschau ), Levočská Dolina ( German [ Levočské ] Valley ), Levočské Lúky ( German firing range ) and Závada ( cadastral, incorporated in 1976; German Tscherneblod ). After the abolition of the Military District Javorina the beginning of 2011 the city became part of a part of it, which the congregation area of ​​64 km ² increased to almost 115 km ² and includes the cadastral Dvorce ( German Buergerhof ).

The following information refers to the air line to the nearest town, and the distances are rounded to the nearest half kilometers. Cities are highlighted in bold.

History

The first permanent settlement of the town there was in the early Stone Age. The Slavs settled in the area in the 9th to 11th centuries. In the way to Ves there was the so-called " Old Levoča " where archaeologists accounted for a settlement to the foundations of the old church of St. Nicholas; at today's Kaschauer gate was yet another settlement with the Romanesque Heilig- Geist-Kirche, a church rotunda. With the German settlements that have created the invited colonists after the Mongol invasion in 1241 the newly founded, was the contemporary city.

The city was of 1249 for the first time in a document of King Béla IV as Leucha in writing, in a legal act of giving land is treated the Zipser provost. With the continuing German settlement Leutschau became the most important city of the County of Zips and in 1271 declared the capital of the province of the Saxons. Like other Zipser cities enjoyed Leutschau various rights, including their own self-government, jurisdiction, Erzförderungsrecht, right of use of forests, right to trade and warehouse law. In 1317 the city was raised by the king Charles Robert of Anjou to the free royal city. Trade blossomed, not least because of its location: the city was located at a crossroads of trade routes (Baltic - Balkan and East-West ). Through constant privileges, such as exemption from bearing right other cities by 1402 and exemption from paying the thirtieth of duty in the Kingdom of Hungary from 1419, the city was very rich. Beginning of the 15th century, the federal government stepped Leutschau Pentapolitana at. However, regional stepped on a centuries- long dispute over the leadership position with the city Käsmark. After a Hussite attack in 1431, the city was burned down. Nevertheless, the 15th and 16th centuries were the culmination of urban development. During this time flourished the copper trade, with which the family Thurzos has become famous, and the citizens negotiated with Krakow, Hanseatic cities and Venice. Neither the fire of 1550, in which the majority of Gothic architecture disappeared, nor the fire of 1599 slowed down the development. The rich city supported education and culture. Famous personalities of this era are the sculptor Paul of Leutschau, the English poet Leonard Cox and the humanist Johann Henkel. A large part of the population was in the more than 40 guilds ( Gerber, leather workers, locksmiths ) or in various crafts ( goldsmiths, sculptors, masons, painters ) operates.

But the heyday was the late 16th and throughout the 17th century past, mainly by Hungarian uprisings stands by Stephan Botchkay, Gabriel Bethlen, Francis I Rákóczi Francis II Rákóczi and. From this period two legends that have become the subject of the novels of the Hungarian writer Kálmán Mikszáth and Mór Jókai later (see literature). 1624 the first printing press was purchased in the city, the city was a center of the Reformation in Northern Hungary. In the 19th century Leutschau to the smaller center of the Slovak national movement, particularly by the Protestant Lyceum and the associated Institute of the Czecho-Slovak language and literature. Especially famous is the episode of 1844, when the students of the Lyceum Pressburger came as a protest against the dismissal of Ľudovít Štúr there in the city to continue their studies.

The economic significance of the city decreased further in the 19th century, as the newly built Košice- Berger railway in 1871, the town 10 km south bypassed and the city Zipser Neudorf (now Ves ) served. But in 1898 a branch line from there not been established yet. Nevertheless, the city was little more than administrative center of the county Zips.

After the collapse of Austria - Hungary in 1918 came Leutschau for newly created Czechoslovakia ( by the Treaty of Trianon international law confirmed ). During the Second World War, the local Jewish community was almost completely deported to German death camps. In 1950, the old town was declared an urban conservation area. After the independence of Slovakia in 1993, the city was the seat of a Okres again in 1996. On 3 July 1995, the Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass on the mountain Mariánska hora in the presence of 650,000 pilgrims.

2009, the old town and the works of Paul of Leutschau were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Name

Subsequent a record of the name since the first written mention. The names listed here were used not only at the specified time and close are not mutually exclusive.

Population

According to the 2011 census lived in Levoča 14,830 inhabitants, of which 12,343 Slovaks, 822 Roma, 78 Rusyns, 39 Czechs, 14 Hungarians, Ukrainians, nine, six German and Poland, two Russians and one each Bulgarian, Jew, Croat and Moravians; 22 other residents were not listed in the statistics ethnicity. 1,485 inhabitants did not know. 10,445 inhabitants belonged to the Jehovah's Roman Catholic Church, 537 inhabitants of the Greek Catholic Church, 208 inhabitants to the Evangelical Church AC, 96 inhabitants to the witness, 75 inhabitants to the Orthodox Church, 29 inhabitants for evangelistic church, 16 inhabitants to the Reformed Church; all other denominations had less than ten creditors and 92 other residents were not listed in the statistics denomination. 1,286 inhabitants were non-denominational and 2,010 inhabitants, the denomination has not been determined.

Excerpt from the results of the Census 2001 (14.366 inhabitants):

After Ethnicity:

  • 87.07 % Slovaks
  • 11.20% Roma
  • 0.33% Czechs
  • 0.30% Ruthenians
  • 0.10% Magyars

After Religion:

  • 79.54 % Roman Catholic
  • 9.01% no religious affiliation
  • 4.52 % no answer
  • 3.87% Greek Catholic
  • 1.61% Evangelical

Attractions

The city has a historic downtown still fully intact. The best-known monuments are located on the Market Square with the Town Hall, the pillory, the Thurzos House and St. Jacob Church. This church has the world's highest with 18.62 m Gothic altar. It was made by Paul of Leutschau, a contemporary of Tilman Riemenschneider and Veit Stoss. Levoča is also a famous pilgrimage site. Pilgrimages rich already back to the 13th century. From this time the first written records of Marian devotion come.

  • Church of St. James, built in the 14th century, houses the 18.60 m high wooden altar by Paul of Leutschau
  • The Renaissance town hall
  • Town houses on the main square
  • Classical Protestant church
  • Parts of the city wall with two gates ( Kassa and Polish )
  • The Protestant Cemetery
  • Pilgrimage Mariánska hora ( German Marienberg, 781 m nm ) above the city

Traffic

The city is situated on the state road 18 (E 50), with connections to Poprad and Presov and along Route 533 by Ves. In the future, to the south of the city extend the D1 motorway (Bratislava - Košice ), which in two stages in June 2014 ( Jánovce - Levoča, 9 km) and July 2015 ( Levoča - Jablonov 9.5 miles) to be opened to traffic.

In the city the branch line from Ves, which, however, since 2003, with the exception of the pilgrimage each weekend in early July, has no regular passenger more ends. The Company SAD Poprad as operates two bus lines and several bus connections to regional goals (as of 2012).

The nearest international airport is Poprad - Tatry in 34 km distance.

Twinning

  • Poland Kalwaria (Poland )
  • Hungary Keszthely (Hungary )
  • Łańcut Poland (Poland )
  • Litomyšl Czech Republic (Czech Republic)
  • Stary Sacz Poland (Poland )

Personalities

  • Janos Thurzó (1437-1508) Trade Mr. and mining entrepreneurs
  • Kaspar Hain 17th century chronicler of Leutscha
  • Karl Joseph of Hadik Futak (1756-1800) Austrian general
  • Károly Markó the Elder (1791-1860) Hungarian painter
  • Erika from Thellmann (1902-1988) Actress
  • Moritz Csáky (* 1936), Austrian historian
  • Libor Hudacek (* 1990) Ice Hockey Players
Kraj List of tourism regions of Slovakia Vehicle registration plates of Slovakia Obec Levoča Mountains Dvorce (Slovakia) As the crow flies Mongol invasion of Europe Szepes County Thurzó family Master Paul of Levoča Protestant Reformation Lists of World Heritage Sites in Europe Romani people in Slovakia Hungarians in Slovakia Croats in Slovakia Slovak Greek Catholic Church Poprad-Tatry Airport Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Radio Slovakia International Dravce Bardejov Wooden churches of the Slovak Carpathians Domica
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