Poltár is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Poltár District Poltár District (''okres Poltár'') is a district in the south of the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country i ...

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 ...

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 ...

Geography

The town is located in the Southern Slovak basin near the river

Ipeľ The Ipeľ ( Slovak; ) or Ipoly ( Hungarian) (German: ''Eipel'', archaic Slovak: ''Jupoľ'', Latin: ''Bolia'') is a long river in Slovakia and Hungary, a tributary of the Danube River. Its source is in central Slovakia in the Slovak Ore Mountain ...

, south of the Revúcka Hills, which is part of the

Slovak Ore Mountains The Slovak Ore Mountains ( sk, Slovenské rudohorie , hu, Gömör–Szepesi-érchegység, german: Slowakisches Erzgebirge or Zips-Gemer-Erzgebirge) are an extensive mountain range within the Carpathian Mountains, located mostly in Slovakia's S ...

, around from

Lučenec Lučenec (; german: Lizenz; hu, Losonc; yi, לאשאנץ; la, Lutetia HungarorumLelkes György (1992), Magyar helységnév-azonosító szótár, Balassi Kiadó, Budapest, 508 p.) is a town in the Banská Bystrica Region of south-central Slovaki ...

. It is home to a small production bespoke crystal maker called Slovglass Poltar that currently supplies

Debenhams plc Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish ...

department stores in the UK and Ireland.

History

There were historical slavic remains of ancient housing, probably from the 7th century. After that remains of small medieval castle are part of Poltár's history, found in the general area and in the town part of Kostolisko (Literally meaning "Place of Church") there are remains of romancatholic church. Poltár was first mentioned in 1246 as ''silva Polta''. Some other names are ''Nagpolthar, Felsupolthar, Kyspoltar, Varalyapolthar'' (1409) and ''Polthar'' (1439). In the 16th century the town was divided into ''Horný Poltár'' and ''Dolný Poltár''. In the same general time, it was occupied by the Ottomans (between 1554-93). In the year 1828 there were only mere 83 houses and 56 citizens. In the same timeframe, the town of Poltár was very agricultural, which sadly wasn't profitable for the town. From 1869 and onwards, the factory of Barratt-Dragon was built, with it's primary focus being the creation of bricks and tiles. From 1922, a steam sawmill was built, sadly burning down fourteen years later in 1936. The citizens of Poltár were also very active in the Slovak National Uprising ( SNP). In the year 1966 Poltár joins the towns of Slaná lehota and Zelené, receiving the city privileges.

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 6,099 inhabitants. 97.49% 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 ...

, 0.95%

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 ...

, 0.51%

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 ...

and 0.41%

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 50.14%

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 ...

, 22.89% people with no religious affiliation and 20.79%

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 ...

People

Ivan Gašparovič Ivan Gašparovič (; born 27 March 1941) is a Slovak politician and lawyer who was third president of Slovakia from 2004 to 2014. He was also the first and currently the only Slovak president to be re-elected. Biography Ivan Gašparovič was ...

, the former President of Slovakia was born here.

References

External links

* *
Municipal website
Cities and towns in Slovakia Villages and municipalities in Poltár District {{BanskáBystrica-geo-stub