Krahule (german: Blaufuss; hu, Kékellő, until 1890: ) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

Žiar nad Hronom District Žiar nad Hronom District ( sk, okres Žiar nad Hronom) is a district in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia. Until 1918, the district was part of the county of Tekov. Municipalities The names in bold represent towns. * Bartošova ...

in the

Banská Bystrica Region The Banská Bystrica Region ( sk, Banskobystrický kraj, ; hu, Besztercebányai kerület, ) is one of the eight regions of Slovakia. It is the largest region by area, and has a lower population density than any other region. The Banská Bystric ...

of 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 ...

. It is the only municipality in Slovakia that officially uses

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 **Ge ...

along with Slovak.

History

The town was first mentioned in writing in 1331 as ''Blaufuß'' (literally "blue" + "foot") and was created by

miners as a '' Weiler''. Throughout its history, most of the area legally belonged to the Crown and the village was administered by a local judge. In 1601 there were 39 houses in the village. A 1640-year decree appointed Paul König as Judge, after the death of James König. The first chapel and the first school were built in 1788. In 1806 the Baroque-Classical style

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

St. John Nepomuk Church was dedicated. In 1828 there were 635 inhabitants, entirely

speakers, mostly local miners and farmers, in 57 houses. From 1895 there was a state funded Bobbin lace making school. Over 1944 and 1945 many

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 ...

fled the advancing

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

army and never returned. The Communist regime then renamed the town "Krahule" in 1948 and brought in Slovak settlers. From 1980 to 1992 the town was a part of the Kremnica municipality. In the 2001 census 35 of the then 144 residents indicated that they were Carpathian Germans (''Karpatendeutsche''). The Krahule municipality therefore adopted

as the second official language in addition to Slovak. In the same census 89 people gave their religion as

. One person described himself as a

Hussite The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...

, 21 residents reported to be without confession and 21

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. Today the town is a popular winter sports and hiking venue. Krahule is located directly above Kremnica on a high terrace about 880 feet in the ''Kremnické vrchy'' (Kremnitzer Bergen) mountains. The current Mayor, or ''starosta'', is Miroslav Schwarz.

Genealogical resources

The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia" * Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1848-1945 (parish A) * Lutheran church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1666-1895 (parish B)

History

Genealogical resources

See also