Vrbové (german: Vrbau (modernized: ''Werbau''); hu, Verbó) 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 ...

in the

Trnava Region The Trnava Region ( sk, Trnavský kraj, ; hu, Nagyszombati kerület; german: Tyrnauer Landschaftsverband) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. It was established in 1996, before which date most of its districts were parts of Brati ...

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 has a population of about 6,000. The town lies around northwest from

Piešťany Piešťany (; german: Pistyan, hu, Pöstyén, pl, Pieszczany , cs, Píšťany ) is a town in Slovakia. It is located in the western part of the country within the Trnava Region and is the seat of its own district. It is the biggest and best kno ...

Characteristics

The town features an originally Gothic church from 1397, an Evangelical Lutheran church from 1928-1929 (on the site of an older Protestant church of 1784), a baroque curia from the 17th century, an oriental-style synagogue from 1883, and a modern St. Gorazd Church. The Čerenec Dam (0.46 km²), situated to the northwest of the town, is a recreation area.

History

The present-day town is a very old settlement. The name of the town is

derived Derive may refer to: * Derive (computer algebra system), a commercial system made by Texas Instruments * ''Dérive'' (magazine), an Austrian science magazine on urbanism *Dérive, a psychogeographical concept See also * *Derivation (disambiguatio ...

from a Slavic word for ''willow''. The first written reference to the town stems from 1332. at that time it was part of the

Čachtice Castle Čachtice Castle (; sk, Čachtický hrad, hu, Csejte vára) is a castle ruin in Slovakia next to the village of Čachtice. It stands on a hill featuring rare plants, and has been declared a national nature reserve for this reason. The castle w ...

domain . Vrbové received its town charter in 1437, and was devastated by

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

troops in 1599. The town was famous for its grain markets, promoted mainly by Jews, who made up a large part of the town's population. In the late 20th century, the town was home to clothing (Trikota works), trading and wood-processing industries.

World War II

Vrbové is infamous for its past as a Jewish ghetto. During World War II, the entire town of Vrbové was a ghetto for the Jewish population of the Piešťany province of Slovakia. The ghetto was liquidated by the Slovak Nazis known as the

Hlinka Guard Hlinka (feminine Hlinková) is a Czech and Slovak surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrej Hlinka, Slovak politician and Catholic priest *Ivan Hlinka, Czech ice hockey player and coach *Jaroslav Hlinka, Czech ice hockey player *J ...

and the German SS; most of the Jewish people were deported to the death camp at Auschwitz. Most of Vrbove's Jewish population was gassed in Auschwitz's gas chambers.

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 6,249 inhabitants. 98.75% 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 ...

and 0.59%

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 75.48%

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 ...

, 10.80% people with no religious affiliation and 10.67%

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 ...

Twin towns — sister cities

Vrbové is twinned with: *

Vítkov Vítkov (; german: Wigstadtl, pl, Witków) is a town in Opava District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,700 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Jelenice, Klokočov, Nové Těchanovice, Podhradí, Pr ...

, Czech Republic

People

;Rabbis * Rabbi

David Zvi Hoffmann David Zvi Hoffmann (November 24, 1843, Verbó, Austrian Empire – November 20, 1921, Berlin) (Hebrew: דוד צבי הופמן), was an Orthodox Rabbi and Torah Scholar. He headed the Yeshiva in Berlin, and published research on the Pentat ...

was born there in 1843. * Vrbové is the birthplace of Rabbi

Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, also spelled Zonnenfeld (1 December 1848 – 26 February 1932), was the rabbi and co-founder of the Edah HaChareidis, a Haredi Jewish community in Jerusalem, during the years of the British Mandate of Palestine. He was ...

, the famed

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. * The Chief Rabbi of Vrbové, Rabbi Samuel Reich, son of the renowned Rabbi Koppel Reich, survived the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

and emigrated to Jerusalem, where he later died. Before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he founded a Commerce school which was later nationalized. * Vrbové's most famous Rabbi was Rabbi Yitschack Weiss, the author of many important works: ''Siach Yitschack, Elef Ksav, Avnei Beis Hayotser, Hagada Shel Pesach Siach Yitschack, Bina leitim'' and many more. He was killed in the Holocaust in 1942. His works were sponsored by the Werner family from Vrbové and published by Shem Olam in

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an are ...

. Vrbové also is the birthplace of: *

Móric Beňovský Count Maurice Benyovszky de Benyó et Urbanó ( hu, Benyovszky Máté Móric Mihály Ferenc Szerafin Ágost; pl, Maurycy Beniowski; sk, Móric Beňovský; 20 September 1746 – 24 May 1786) was a renowned military officer, adventurer, and writ ...

, the discoverer * Bishop Pavol Jantausch *

Jozef Adamec Jozef Adamec (26 February 1942 – 24 December 2018) was a Slovak football forward and manager. Adamec won seven Czechoslovak First League titles in his club career, winning two with Dukla Prague during his military service, followed by five ...

, Slovak football forward * Elo Šándor, the Slovak writer

References

External links

*
Virtual Tour of Vrbové
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vrbove Cities and towns in Slovakia