Hauerland (also called ''Kremnitz-Deutschprobener Sprachinsel'') is the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

name for a region presently located in central

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 ...

once inhabited by

Carpathian Germans Carpathian Germans (german: Karpatendeutsche, Mantaken, hu, kárpátnémetek or ''felvidéki németek'', sk, karpatskí Nemci) are a group of ethnic Germans. The term was coined by the historian Raimund Friedrich Kaindl (1866–1930), originall ...

. Arisen from medieval ''

Ostsiedlung (, literally "East-settling") is the term for the Early Medieval and High Medieval migration-period when ethnic Germans moved into the territories in the eastern part of Francia, East Francia, and the Holy Roman Empire (that Germans had al ...

'' population movements, it belonged to three German

language island A language island (a calque of German ''Sprachinsel''; also language enclave, language pocket) is an enclave of a language that is surrounded by one or more different languages. The term was introduced in 1847. Peter Auer, Frans Hinskens, Paul Ker ...

s within a greater Slovakian-speaking area. The other two were situated in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

(''Pressburg'') and the

Spiš Spiš (Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

(''Zips'') region.

Geography

The area laid within the forested

Western Carpathians The Western Carpathians are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland wi ...

mountain range around the towns of Kremnitz

Kremnica Kremnica (; german: Kremnitz, hu, Körmöcbánya) is a town in central Slovakia. It has around 5,300 inhabitants. The well-preserved medieval town built above important gold mines is the site of the oldest still-working mint in the world. Name ...

(''Kremnitz'') in the south and Nitrianske Pravno (''Deutschproben'') in the north. The term ''Hauerland'' was coined by German

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

s in the 1930s referring to several German placenames in the region bearing the

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...

''-hau'' ("hew (off)", i.e. to clear woodland). Most Hauerland villages are laid out as ''

Waldhufendorf The ''Waldhufendorf'' ("forest village"; plural: -''dörfer'') is a form of rural settlement established in areas of forest clearing with the farms arranged in a series along a road or stream, like beads on a chain.Dickinson, Robert E (1964). ''G ...

'' ("forest village") in areas of forest clearing with the farms arranged in a series along a road or stream.

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, the

Kremnica Mountains The Kremnica Mountains ( sk, Kremnické vrchy, hu, Körmöci-hegység, german: Kremnitzer Berge) are a volcanic mountain range in central Slovakia. They are part of the Western Carpathians and the Slovenské stredohorie Mts. The mountain range ...

were an important

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface ...

area within

Upper Hungary Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...

and directly subordinate to the Hungarian monarch. Numerous villages, mostly spread out in the mountainous and hilly areas, were agricultural and developed a special kind of German subculture. In 1328 King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

granted Kremnica

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

, followed by the foundation of Kunešov (''Kuneschhau'') in 1342, Sklené (''Glaserhau'') in 1360, Kremnické Bane (''Johannesberg'') in 1361,

Turček Turček (german: Turz; hu, Turcsek) is a village and municipality in Turčianske Teplice District in the Žilina Region of northern central Slovakia. History In historical records, the village was first mentioned in 1371. The village belonged to ...

(Dolný Turček, ''Unter-Turz'') in 1371,

Horná Štubňa Horná Štubňa (german: Oberstuben; hu, Felsőstubnya) is a village and municipality in Turčianske Teplice District in the Žilina Region of northern central Slovakia. History In history, historical records the village was first mentioned in 1 ...

(''Oberstuben'') in 1390,

Krahule Krahule (german: Blaufuss; hu, Kékellő, until 1890: ) is a village in Žiar nad Hronom District in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia. It is the only municipality in Slovakia that officially uses German along with Slovak. History ...

(''Blaufuß'') in 1422, and Janova Lehota (''Drexlerhau'') in 1487. The largest Hauerland municipality was

Handlová Handlová (german: Krickerhau, hu, Nyitrabánya, before 1913 ) is a town in the Prievidza District, Trenčín Region in the middle of Slovakia. It is made up of the three parts Handlová, Nová Lehota and Morovno. Geography It is located in the ...

(''Krickerhau''), established in 1367 within the

Bojnice Bojnice (german: Weinitz; hu, Bajmóc) is a historical town in central Slovakia located on the Nitra river, near the city of Prievidza. The town is situated just below the Bojnice Castle. It has a population of around 5,000. Bojnice is best know ...

(''Weinitz'') Castle estates, where in the 19th century, coal deposits were discovered. In the northern part, the town of Nitrianske Pravno was founded about 1337, followed by Malinová (''Zeche'') in 1339, Kľačno (''Gaidel''),

Tužina Tužina (german: Schmiedshau, hu, Kovácsplota) is a village and municipality in Prievidza District in the Trenčín Region of western Slovakia. History In history, historical records the village was first mentioned in 1393. Geography The munic ...

(''Schmiedshau'') about 1350, Vrícko (''Münnichwies'') in 1488, and Chvojnica (''Fundstollen'') in 1614 . Over the centuries, the German-speaking population diminished, decimated already in the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...

of the 1420s and 30s, in the 16th century

Ottoman–Habsburg wars The Ottoman–Habsburg wars were fought from the 16th through the 18th centuries between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy, which was at times supported by the Kingdom of Hungary, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Habsburg Spai ...

, and again by insurgent Hungarian troops under

Stephen Bocskay Stephen Bocskai or Bocskay ( hu, Bocskai István; 1 January 155729 December 1606) was Prince of Transylvania and Hungary from 1605 to 1606. He was born to a Hungarian noble family. His father's estates were located in the eastern regions of th ...

in 1605/06, succeeded by the forces of

Gabriel Bethlen Gabriel Bethlen ( hu, Bethlen Gábor; 15 November 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of th ...

and

George I Rákóczi George I Rákóczi (8 June 1593 – 11 October 1648) was Prince of Transylvania from 1630 until his death in 1648. Prior to that, he was a leader of the Protestant faction in Hungary and a faithful supporter of Gabriel Bethlen, his predecessor ...

Geography

History

See also