Kopčany (german: Koptschan or ; hu, Kopcsány) is a village in western
Slovakia, near the border with the
Czech Republic.
History
The oldest historical records to mention Kopčany date from 1392. However, the village is much older. In the 9th century, Kopčany was part of the agglomeration of
Mikulčice
Mikulčice () is a municipality and village in Hodonín District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,000 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
The village of Těšice is an administrative part of Mikulčice. Mikulčice ...
, an important center and possibly the capital of
Great Moravia.
Kopčany is also the site of one of the oldest standing buildings for which a Great Moravian origin is postulated, the
Church of St Margaret of Antioch.
The father of
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first
President of Czechoslovakia, came from Kopčany. There is a claim that Masaryk himself was born here.
The
fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...
Izidor Kovárik
Izidor Kovárik (29 March 1917-11 July 1944) was a fighter pilot in the Czechoslovak Air Force (1938–39) and Slovak Air Force (1939–44) who became a flying ace on the Eastern Front in the Second World War. He became Slovakia's second-highe ...
(1922–44) was born in Kopčany. He was a high-scoring
SVZ flying ace who fought on the
Eastern Front.
Geography
The municipality has an
altitude of and an
area of .
[Municipal Statistics]
/ref> It is part of the Skalica District in the Trnava Region.
Demographics
Kopčany has a population of about 2,584 people.[
]
Notable people
* Dagmara Bollová, MP (2002-2006)
See also
* List of municipalities and towns in Slovakia
References
Genealogical resources
The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Bratislava, Slovakia"
* Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1678–1910 (parish A)
* Lutheran church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1786–1895 (parish B)
External links
Official website
Great Moravia
Villages and municipalities in Skalica District
{{Trnava-geo-stub