Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
with a population of 14,686. It is situated beneath the mountain
Poľana
Poľana is a small mountain range in central Slovakia. It lies in the north-eastern part of the Slovak Central Mountains. The highest hill is Poľana - an inactive stratovolcano - at 1,458 m (4,873 ft) ASL.
The mountain range is bordered by Sl ...
.
Etymology
The name means 'youth' in Slovak and was probably motivated by the majority of young people among the first settlers.
History
Detva was created as a village of bondage in a deep-forested area belonging to
Zvolenská Slatina
Zvolenská Slatina (german: Großslatina; hu, Nagyszalatna) is a village and municipality of the Zvolen District in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia.
History
In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1263.
Geograph ...
and
Očová
Očová ( hu, Nagyócsa, until 1899: ) is a village and municipality of the Zvolen District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia.
Official name
*1773, 1873–1902 Ocsova, 1786 Ocschowa, 1808 Ocsova, Očowá, 1863 Ocsová, 1907–1913 Nagyóc ...
upon instruction of the owner of the
Vígľaš
Vígľaš ( hu, Végles) is a village and municipality in Detva District, in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocke ...
dominion Ladislav Čáky resp. Ladislaus Csáky in 1636-1638. The first settlers were coal producers from
Ľubietová
Ľubietová (german: Libethen) is a village in central Slovakia. Originally an ancient mining town, it is known for precious minerals.
Geography
Ľubietová is part of the Banská Bystrica District in the Banská Bystrica Region. It is situated 25 ...
, followed by Walachian-type settlers from northern and eastern parts of Slovakia and immigrants from other surrounding villages. In 1787, Ján Vagač founded the first known
manufactory
A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...
producing
bryndza
Bryndza (from Romanian ''brânză'' cheese) is a sheep milk cheese made across much of East-Central Europe, primarily in or around the Carpathian Mountains of Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania and southern Poland. Bryndza cheese is creamy white in app ...
cheese. The settlement became an
oppidum
An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...
(market town) in 1811 and a town in 1965. In 1996 the town of Detva became the seat of new Detva district.
It was developed as a large newly cleared land and this character has been preserved up to present, despite the fact that a part of the newly cleared lands were separated from Detva -
Hriňová
Hriňová (german: Hrinau; hu, Herencsvölgy) is a town in the Detva District of central Slovakia.
Etymology
The name is derived from a dialect word for horseradish. sk, chren - a horseradish, dialect: ''hriň'' (noun), ''hriňová'' (fem. adje ...
(before 1863),
Detvianska Huta
Detvianska Huta (Mikulášova Huta, 1880 Mikulássowá; hu, Zólyommiklós) is a village and municipality in Detva District, in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia.
History
It arose in the late 18th century by a merge of villages ...
(in ?),
Korytárky
Korytárky ( hu, Teknős) is a village and municipality in Detva District, in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia.
Genealogical resources
The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Ban ...
(in 1955; part of Kriváň until 1993) and
Kriváň Kriváň can refer to:
* Kriváň (peak), peak in the High Tatras, Slovakia
* Veľký Kriváň, the highest peak in Malá Fatra, Slovakia
* Kriváň (village)
Kriváň ( hu, Krivány) is a village and municipality in Detva District, in the Bansk ...
(in 1955). Logging and
wood processing
Wood processing is an engineering discipline in the wood industry comprising the production of forest products, such as pulp and paper, construction materials, and tall oil. Paper engineering is a subfield of wood processing.
The major wood pro ...
, sheep breeding and peasantry had been the main source of bread and butter of the Detvans. Hard living conditions at distant isolated newly cleared lands and self-sufficiency in providing of basic living needs determined the formation of the original material and spiritual culture of local inhabitants and thanks to this Detva had become one of the symbols of the modern Slovak nation.
In 1955 Detva experienced a significant change. A factory for military machinery and strategic constructions was built in the town's woods for security purposes. This factory, called Podpolianske strojárne Detva (PPS) at that time, produced UNC machinery, aka "Universal" on Western European markets. Machinery such as front loaders and skid steer loaders used to reach an annual production of 4,000. The factory enlarged the population of Detva from 3,500 to over 12,000, employing over 70% of Detva's population. However, after the
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
, infamous illegal and non-transparent privatization, typical of then Central and Eastern European states, took place. Detva's PPS factory had to put its production on halt and to downsize its workforce from 8,000 in 1993 to 1,000 in 2005.
Demographics
According to the 2001
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
, the town had 15,122 inhabitants. 96.11% 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 ...
, 1.75%
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 0.75%
Czechs
The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, c ...
. The religious make-up was 78.03%
Roman Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, 13.11% people with no religious affiliation and 4.47%
Lutherans
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
Tuchów
Tuchów is a town in Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 6,476 (2004). It lies on the ''Biała'' river, at the height of above sea level. The distance to Kraków is , and to the border with Slovakia, approx ...
, Poland
Gallery
Detva, preĝejo de sankta Francisko el Asizo, fronto.jpg, Church of
Francis of Assisi
Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...
Preĝejo de sankta Francisko el Asizo (dorso), Detva.jpg, Church of Francis of Assisi
Detva, strato Vimperská, vintro.jpg, Detva in winter
Statuo de Johano Nepomuka en Detva.jpg, Statue of
John of Nepomuk
John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) ( cs, Jan Nepomucký; german: Johannes Nepomuk; la, Ioannes Nepomucenus) ( 1345 – 20 March 1393)
was the saint of Bohemia (Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus IV ...
Detva, Folklora festo 2011, akordeonisto.jpg, Accordionist during folklore festival
Detva, Folklora festo 2011, grupo sur eta scenejo.jpg, Folklore group during folklore festival
Detva, memortabulo de Karol A. Medvecký.jpg, Memorial plaque of Karol Anton Medvecký