Krupina (german: Karpfen, hu, Korpona) is a town in southern 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 part of 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 ...
and has approximately 8,000 inhabitants.
Etymology
The name is probably derived from
Slavic root ''krup''.
Proto-Slavic
Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium B.C. through the 6th ...
: ''krǫpъ'', ''krǫpъjь'' – solid, strong. The root is present also in ''krupa'' (''krǫpa'') – a smaller fortress, a fortified settlement, ''-ina'' is a frequent suffix. Another theory is based on the meaning "coarse". The settlement could be named after the nearby river, as the river had a rough and rocky bottom.
History
The territory of modern-day Krupina was inhabited since the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
, based on archaeological findings from the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
. The first written reference to the towns river dates back to 1135. The first people to inhabit it were the Slavs. Between the 12th and 13th century the Germans arrived in Krupina, later between the 17th and 18th centuries the Magyars (Hungarians). Along with
Trnava
Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' ( Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' ( T ...
, Krupina is the oldest town in Slovakia, having received town privileges in 1238. The settlement lay on a route known as the "via magna", connecting the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
with the
Adriatic. After the
Mongol invasion of 1241/1242, when the town was sacked, it was rebuilt and received its town privileges again in 1244 and became a "free royal town".
The "Krupina law", based on the
Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...
, was the basis for many towns in central and northern Slovakia. The deposits of gold and silver ran out in the 14th century and thereafter the town's economy was based on handicraft and agriculture. In the first half of the 15th century the town was threatened by the remains of the
Hussites
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 ...
led by John Giskra. As the Turks advanced into the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
, the town built its town walls and sentry tower, and the Turks couldn't capture the town until 1682. It was also besieged in 1582, 1647 and 1678 and was ravaged in 1626 by Turks. Turks held it until 1686. Later, Krupina was involved in the
Kuruc
Kuruc (, plural ''kurucok''), also spelled kurutz, refers to a group of armed anti-Habsburg insurgents in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1671 and 1711.
Over time, the term kuruc has come to designate Hungarians who advocate strict national ind ...
uprisings at the beginning of the 18th century, burnt down in 1708 and suffered from a plague in 1710. The first schools were opened in the 18th century. After the break-up of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
in 1918, the town became part of
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, was briefly occupied by the
Slovak Soviet Republic
The Slovak Soviet Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika rád, hu, Szlovák Tanácsköztársaság, uk, Словацька Радянська Республіка, literally: 'Slovak Republic of Councils') was a short-lived Communist state in sout ...
in 1919, came back quickly into Czechoslovakia, and since 1993 has been a part of Slovakia.
Literature:
* Sliačan, J.: Krupina. Krupina, 1944.
* Zrebený, A.: Z feudálnych dejín Krupiny. Martin, 1974.
* Lukáč, M. et al.: Krupina - monografia mesta. Banská Bystrica, 2006 (with the English summary).
Geography
Krupina lies at an altitude of
above sea level and covers an area of .
It lies on the
Krupina Plain under the
Štiavnica Mountains
The Štiavnica Mountains (also Štiavnické Mountains; sk, Štiavnické vrchy, ) are a volcanic mountain range southern central Slovakia. They are part of Inner Western Carpathians and the Slovenské stredohorie Mountains. The area is protected ...
, halfway between
Zvolen
Zvolen (; hu, Zólyom; german: Altsohl) is a town in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers, close to Banská Bystrica. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the West ...
and
Šahy
Šahy ( hu, Ipolyság, rarely german: Eipelschlag) is a town in southern Slovakia, The town has an ethnic Hungarian majority and its population is 7,238 people (2018), with an average age of 42.5.
Geography
It is located at the eastern reaches o ...
. North of the town the
Mäsiarsky bok
Mäsiarsky bok is a nature reserve in the Slovak municipality of Krupina. It covers an area of 127.81 ha and has a protection level of 5 on national level. The national nature reserve is located at between 350 and 545 m above sea level ...
national nature reserve with cliffs and stone seas is located.
Demographics
According to the 2014
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 in ...
, the town had 8,010 inhabitants. In 2001 97.63% of the inhabitants were
Slovaks, 1.14%
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 ...
, 0.38%
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, ...
and 0.30%
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
.
The religious make-up was 70.32%
Roman Catholics, 17.91%
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 ...
and 9.27% people with no religious affiliation.
Twin towns — sister cities
Krupina is
twinned with:
*
Anykščiai
Anykščiai (; see other names) is a ski resort town in Lithuania, west of Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščiai has a resort status i ...
, Lithuania
*
Krapinske Toplice
Krapinske Toplice is a city and municipality in Krapina-Zagorje County in Croatia. According to the 2011 census, there are 5,367 inhabitants in the area, absolute majority of which are Croats.
The settlements in the municipality are:
* Čret, po ...
, Croatia
*
Nepomuk
Nepomuk (; german: Pomuk) is a town in Plzeň-South District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,700 inhabitants. It is known as the birthplace of Saint John of Nepomuk, who was born here around 1340 and whose statue can b ...
, Czech Republic
People
*
Andrej Sládkovič
Andrej Sládkovič (born as Andrej Braxatoris, pseudonyms Andrej Braxatoris-Sládkovič, Andrej Sládkovič, Ondřej Krasislav Sládkovič; 31 March 1820 – 20 April 1872) was a Slovak poet, critic, publicist, translator and Lutheran priest.
L ...
, poet
*
Jozef Fojtik, folk artist
*
Elena Maróthy-Šoltésová, writer and editor
References
''Part of the information is based on the
corresponding article on the German Wikipedia
External links
*
*
Town newspaper website (Krupinské noviny)
{{Authority control
Magdeburg rights
Cities and towns in Slovakia