Vrútky (; german: Ruttek (rare); hu, Ruttka) 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 northern
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 ...
, close to the city of
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
. It lies in the historic
Turiec
Turiec is a region in central Slovakia, one of the 21 official tourism regions. The region is not an administrative division today, but between the late 11th century and 1920 it was the Turóc County in the Kingdom of Hungary.
Etymology
The reg ...
region.
Geography
The town lies at the confluence of
Váh
The Váh (; german: Waag, ; hu, Vág; pl, WagWag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów ...
and the
Turiec
Turiec is a region in central Slovakia, one of the 21 official tourism regions. The region is not an administrative division today, but between the late 11th century and 1920 it was the Turóc County in the Kingdom of Hungary.
Etymology
The reg ...
, in the Turčianska kotlina, near the
Malá Fatra
Malá Fatra (; also Little Fatra or Lesser Fatra, pl, Mała Fatra, hu, Kis-Fátra) is a mountain range in the Western Carpathians in the north-west of Central Slovakia. In the geomorphological system, it is a part of the Fatra-Tatra Area.Craig S ...
mountain range. It is located north of the city of Martin, with which it shares a public transport system, and from
Žilina
Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Sl ...
.
Etymology
The name is derived from a plural form of
Proto-Slavic
Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the Attested language, unattested, linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately ...
''*vьrǫ tъkъ > vrútok'' meaning "a hot spring".
History
The town was first mentioned in 1255 as ''villa Vrutk''. However, a settlement had previously existed, and had the old Slavic name ''vrutok''.
[http://www.vrutky.sk/drupal-5.2/?q=node/15 (Slovak)] By the end of the 13th century, the settlement had been divided into Dolné Vrútky and Horné Vrútky. By 1332, the settlement gained independence and in 1809, the town had almost 300 inhabitants. The construction of the
Košice-Bohumín Railway in 1870 and the
Salgótarján
Salgótarján (; sk, Šalgotarján) is city with county rights in Hungary, the capital of Nógrád county, north-eastern Hungary, making it the third smallest county capital based on population. The nearby Salgó castle is a well-known tourist ...
in 1872, brought economic development and Vrútky gained the status of being a key railway junction.
This new status was also reflected in the increased number of inhabitants, which rose from 915 in 1869, to 1,944 in 1880 and 4,345 in 1900. Between the years 1949-1954 and 1971-1990 the town was amalgamated with Martin under the name Martin-Vrútky.
Vrútky regained independence in the year 1990, when it separated from
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
.
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 has 7,298 inhabitants; 96.01% of inhabitants are
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 ...
, 1.33%
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 ...
0.47%
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 ...
and 0.33
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 ...
.
This same census shows that
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 ...
account for 50.34%, people with no religious affiliation account for 24.86% and
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 ...
account for 19.01% of the total town population.
Twin towns — sister cities
Vrútky is
twinned with:
*
Bebra
Bebra () is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany.
Geography Location
Bebra lies some south of Kassel on the Fulda. The town is easy to find on most maps thanks to its prominent location on the ''Fuldaknie'' ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
*
Fulnek
Fulnek () is a town in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,500 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
Administrative pa ...
,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
*
Łaziska Górne
Łaziska Górne (german: Ober Lazisk, szl, Gōrne Łaziska) is a town in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Borders on the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – metropolis with the population of 2 million. Located in the Silesian Highland ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
*
Nymburk
Nymburk (; german: Nimburg, Neuenburg an der Elbe) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the Elbe River. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...
,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
Notable people
*
Ján Bodenek
Ján is a Slovak form of the name John.
Famous people named Ján
* Ján Bahýľ, inventor
* Ján Čapkovič, football player
* Ján Čarnogurský, former Prime Minister of Slovakia
* Ján Cikker, composer
* Ján Ďurica, football player
* Ján ...
– writer, translator
*
Emanuel Böhm – politician, writer
*
Radoslav Brzobohatý
Radoslav Brzobohatý (; 13 September 1932 – 12 September 2012) was a Czech film and television actor.
Brzobohatý was born in Vrútky, Czechoslovakia. He appeared in many Czech TV shows, including '' 30 Cases of Major Zeman'', ''Ulice'' and ...
– film and television actor
*
John D. Hertz
John Daniel Hertz, Sr. (April 10, 1879October 8, 1961) was an American businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder, and philanthropist.
Biography
Born Sándor Herz to a Jewish family in Szklabinya, Austria-Hungary (today Sklabiňa, a ...
– founded the
Yellow Cab Company
The Yellow Cab Company was a taxicab company in Chicago which was founded in 1907 by John D. Hertz.
In 1920 the Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company was formed to manufacture taxicabs.
During the 1910s and 1920s the company was involved in cons ...
*
Zora Mintalová – Zubercová – ethnographer, historian and museologist
*
Hana Zelinová – prose writer and dramatist
*
František Zvarík
František Zvarík (; 17 July 1921 – 17 August 2008) was an accomplished theater actor (over 50 years in Slovak National Theatre) and movie character actor. He has appeared in about two dozen Slovak films since the 1940s. Among his accom ...
- film and theater actor
*
Tomáš Galis
Tomáš Galis (born 22 December 1950 in Selice) is the current bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Žilina.
Tomáš Galis was born, the first of five children to Stephen Galis and Christine Šprláková. In 1966 he completed the basic nine-y ...
– Bishop of Zilina
See also
*
Gymnázium Vrútky
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vrutky
Cities and towns in Slovakia