The Černová massacre (or Černová tragedy, , or Csernova Affair) was a shooting that took place in Csernova,

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

(today Černová, part of

Ružomberok Ružomberok (; ; ; ) is a town in northern Slovakia, in the historical Liptov region. It has a population of approximately 27,000. Etymology The name of the initial settlement located on today's Makovický street was ''Revúca'' ( Slovak "roaring ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

) on 27 October 1907 in which 15 people were killed and many were wounded after

gendarmes A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...

fired into a crowd of people gathering for the consecration of the local Catholic church. The shootings sparked protests in European and American press and turned the world's attention to the treatment of minorities in the Hungarian part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

Outline of the events

Pretext

On the initiative of

Andrej Hlinka Andrej Hlinka (born 27 September 1864 – 16 August 1938) was a Slovak Roman Catholic priest, journalist, banker, politician, and one of the most important Slovak public activists in Czechoslovakia before World War II. He was the leader of the ...

, the Slovak parish priest of nearby

(Rózsahegy) and a native of Černová, people of the city decided to raise money for the construction of a new church. The locals raised 80,000 crowns, and minor donations were received from

Slovak Americans Slovak Americans (also known as Slovakian Americans) are Americans of Slovak descent. In the 1990 Census, Slovak Americans made up the third-largest portion of Slavic ethnic groups. There are currently about 790,000 people of Slovak descent l ...

as well. The construction started in April 1907 and by the autumn, the church was ready for consecration. The locals wanted the church to be consecrated by Hlinka, however, he was at the time suspended by bishop Sándor Párvy and sentenced to two years of imprisonment due to his pan-Slavic agitation during the election campaign of 1906 and the subsequent conviction of

incitement In criminal law, incitement is the encouragement of another person to commit a crime. Depending on the jurisdiction, some or all types of incitement may be illegal. Where illegal, it is known as an inchoate offense, where harm is intended but ma ...

. Hlinka vaiwed the consecration, had no knowledge of this. The people of Černová thus demanded the consecration to be postponed until Hlinka would be able to perform the ceremony. The bishopric denied their request and two Hungarian-speaking priests were appointed in his stead: first, Canon Anton Kurimsky, and after his refusal, Dean Martin Pazurik of Likavka. The ceremony was to take place on 27 October 1907. The official procession arrived at the village accompanied by a squad of 15 gendarmes. It was protested against by the locals, who attempted to block its way to the church to prevent Pazurik from consecrating. The demonstration was peaceful in nature although some accounts report stone-throwing at a member of the gendarme escort. Outnumbered and in panic the gendarme leader

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

Ján Ladiczky, an ethnic Slovak, ordered his squad to open fire into the crowd without prior warning killing 15 of the protesting villagers, seriously wounding 12 and lightly injuring 40. The majority of the members of the Hungarian gendarmes involved in the shooting were of Slovak origin (five persons from the total seven), and they performed the shootings not because of any ethnic reason, but they were obligated to do so according to the rules of their service.Roman Holec szerint egyes politikusok régi mítoszokat próbálnak újraéleszteni
Interview with Roman Holec, historian

Consequences

Hlinka's appeal against his 1906 verdict was rejected, thus, on 30 November 1907 Hlinka started to serve his jail term in the Csillagbörtön (''Star Prison''),

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

. On the other hand, Hlinka appealed with success his suspension to the Holy See, so it was cancelled on 8 April 1909. When Hlinka left the prison, Bishop Párvy appointed him again to his Ružomberok parish, and Hlinka consecrated the church in Černová with Párvy's consent. The tragedy sparked protests in the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an and US press and it turned the world's attention to the attitude to the minorities in Hungary.

References

External links

Anniversary overshadowed by Černová tragedy
{{Authority control 1907 in Slovakia 1907 in Austria-Hungary Massacres in 1907 October 1907 in Europe Mass shootings in Slovakia Ružomberok Massacres in Slovakia 20th-century mass murder in Europe 20th-century murders in Slovakia

Outline of the events

Pretext

Consequences

See also

References

External links