Bystré ( hu, Tapolybeszterce, until 1899: ) is a village and municipality in

Vranov nad Topľou District Vranov nad Topľou District ( sk, okres Vranov nad Topľou) is a district in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia. Until 1918, the district was mostly part of the county of Kingdom of Hungary of Zemplén, apart from an area around Hanušo ...

in the

Prešov Region The Prešov Region, also Priashiv Region ( sk, Prešovský kraj, ; hu, Eperjesi kerület; uk, Пряшівський край) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions and consists of 13 districts (okresy) and 666 municipalities, 23 o ...

of eastern Slovakia.

History

In historical records, the village was first mentioned in 1312. Bystré is also the birthplace of writer, poet and

dramaturge A dramaturge or dramaturg is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and printed programmes (or helps others with these tasks), consults auth ...

Albert Marenčin.

Geography

The municipality lies at an altitude of 175 metres and covers an area of 13.211 km².

Population

According to the 2011 census, the municipality had 2,669 inhabitants. 2,313 of inhabitants were

Slovaks The Slovaks ( sk, Slováci, singular: ''Slovák'', feminine: ''Slovenka'', plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovak. In Slovakia, 4.4 mi ...

, 305

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

and 51 others and unspecified.

Jewish community

Historically, the town was once home to between 80 and 110 Jews. In 1828, there were 100 Jews living there. The community had a synagogue, cemetery,

mikveh Mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. Most forms of ritual impurity can be purif ...

, cheder, and employed a religious teacher/ ritual slaughterer who also served several neighbouring communities. By the latter half of the 19th century, the number of Jews in the village was diminishing, as young people moved to larger cities. At the beginning of the 20th century, about 100 Jews still remained in the village, and by 1940, only 70 remained. In 1942, most of the remaining Jews were sent to extermination camps. After liberation, no Jews returned to settle in the village.

References

Genealogical resources

The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Presov, Slovakia" * Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1853-1910 (parish B) * Greek Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1803-1942 (parish B)

External links

* *
Data the Slovak republic
Villages and municipalities in Vranov nad Topľou District Šariš Historic Jewish communities in Slovakia {{Prešov-geo-stub