Štítnik () is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

and

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

in the

Rožňava District Rožňava District (''okres Rožňava'') is a Districts of Slovakia, district in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia. Until 1918, the district was mostly part of the Administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Hungary, county of Kingdom of Hun ...

in the

Košice Region The Košice Region (, ; ; ) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. The region was first established in 1923 and its present borders were established in 1996. It consists of 11 districts ( okresy) and 440 municipalities, 17 of which ...

of middle-eastern

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 ...

Geography

The village lies at an altitude of 345 metres and covers an area of 34.54 km². It has a population of about 1485 people. The village is situated in the historical region of Gemer. It is located about 14 kilometers from

Rožňava Rožňava (, , Latin: ''Rosnavia'') is a town in Slovakia, approximately by road from Košice in the Košice Region, and has a population of 19,182. The town is an economic and tourist centre of the Gemer. Rožňava is now a popular tourist attr ...

. The village has a public

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

, high school and a

football pitch A football pitch or soccer field is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is ty ...

. It also has a

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...

History

Historical discoveries prove that the origin of this settlement dates from the earlier part of the Middle Ages, from the 12th century. The name is Slovak and is derived from Slovak word ''štít'' meaning ''s''hield, and it could be related to the production of shields and weapons in village. It was mentioned for the first time in 1243 in a charter issued by Hungarian king Béla IV. for Dietrich and Filip from Akóš/ Bebek noble family. Štítnik became dominion of Bebek family. Later, it had split up into two branches known by the centre of their dominion. Branch of Bebek family, which had centre in Štítnik became known as Lords of Štítnik (''Štítnickí'' in Slovak, ''Csetneki'' in Hungarian). In 1328 Štítnik got town privileges. During the Middle Ages, it had developed into an important mining town. History of the town was also connected with production of weapons. In

16th century The 16th century began with the Julian calendar, Julian year 1501 (represented by the Roman numerals MDI) and ended with either the Julian or the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian year 1600 (MDC), depending on the reckoning used (the Gregorian calend ...

Štítnik under influence of German miners converted to the

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

. Already in the 16th century, first Latin school in the region was opened in Štítnik. In the same century, Štítnik was occupied by

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

. Before the establishment of independent

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in 1918, Štítnik was part of

Gömör and Kishont County Gömör-Kishont (, , ) was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its capital was Rimaszombat (present-day Rimavská Sobota). Most of its territory is now part of Slovakia, while a smaller ...

within the

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 ...

. From 1939 to 1945, it was part of the

Slovak Republic 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 ...

Historic buildings

Lutheran church

Three-nave Gothic basilica with a polygonal end of the presbytery and a tower was built in the 14th century. It stands on the site of an older Romanesque building from the 13th century. It is a representative family church of the local noble family of Lords from Štítnik (Štítnickí/Csetneki). Large areas of interior walls are covered with medieval frescoes, the oldest are from the last third of the 14th century, the younger from the late 15th and early 16th century. This is the largest collection of medieval murals in Slovakia. Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles are represented in this church. The baptistery is Gothic, made from bronze in 1454. Altar is in Renaissance style, with a mannerist painting of the birth of Christ from 1636 (the authorship of the altar paintings is attributed to Hans von Aachen, the court painter of Emperor Rudolf II.). Next to the altar is a Gothic carved stallum from the early 16th century. There are two organs in the church, a smaller Renaissance one from 1639 is located on the upper matroneum and it was donated to the church by the local landowner Gabriel Bakoš, a larger lower Baroque organ is from 1776. There are also numerous funeral monuments, gothic stone tombstones and medieval epitaphs and Renaissance mortuaries. The facades of the church are divided by supporting pillars and windows with a curved arch and linings. The corners have stone squaring. On the south facade is a fresco depicting St. Christopher. Lutheran church in Štítnik is part of touristic route Gotická cesta (Gothic Route). File:Štítnik.jpg, Gothic Lutheran church in Štítnik File:Štítnik (3).jpg, Tower of fothic Lutheran church in Štítnik File:Štítnik kostolík 02.jpg, Side nave of Gothic Lutheran church in Štítnik File:Štítnik11.jpg, Interior of the Gothic Lutheran church in Štítnik File:Štítnik22.jpg, Gothic vaults of the Lutheran church in Štítnik File:Štítnik (6).jpg, Gothic vaults of the Lutheran church in Štítnik File:Stitnik Ev. av. kostol 04.jpg, Interior of the Gothic Lutheran church in Štítnik with Gothic frescoes File:Štítnik (4).jpg, Gothic frescoes File:Štítnik25.jpg, Gothic frescoes in side nave File:Štítnik24.jpg, Unique furniture of the church File:Štítnik17.jpg, Baroque

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

File:Stitnik bubekovci.jpg,

Coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

Bebek family The Bebek family (also Bubek) was an ancient Hungarian noble family. The history of this family is connected with the areas in present-day Slovakia, notably in Gemer region, where they had their dominion. History The first mention of this fa ...

on gothic fresco

Roman Catholic Church of Saint Jude the Apostle

Baroque building with a segmental end of the presbytery and a tower was built in years 1749 to 1753. The church was built on behalf of Maria Theresa in a purely evangelical town. It underwent modifications in 1896. The facades of the church are divided by pilasters and semicircular windows with arches. The tower grows from the gable façade with niches, terminated by a crown ledge with and a bell-shaped shingled helmet with a lantern. A baroque plaque column was built next to the church. File:Štítnik SR5.jpg, Roman Catholic Church of Saint Juda the Apostle File:Štítnik 3SR5.jpg, Roman Catholic Church of Saint Juda the Apostle File:Štítnik 2SR5.jpg, Baroque plaque column

Water Castle

Complex of medieval castle, from which two bastions of fortifications from the 16th century have been preserved. It was founded around 1432. The castle belonged to the family of Lords from Štítnik. At the beginning of the 19th century, a classicist manor house was built inside of area, a one-storey two-wing block building. File:Štítnik vodný hrad 07.jpg, Entrance to the castle File:Štítnik vodný hrad 03.jpg, Preserved medieval part of water castle in Štítnik File:Štítnik vodný hrad 06.jpg, Preserved medieval part of water castle in Štítnik File:Štítnik vodný hrad 01.jpg, Mansion in the area of water castle in Štítnik File:Štítnik vodný hrad 02.jpg, Mansion in the area of water castle in Štítnik

Other historical buildings

Several other historical buildings are preserved in village. These include

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

town hall,

rococo style Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

Šebek's mansion and late

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Sontág's mansion. File:Štítnik - Meštiansky dom.JPG, Renaissance town hall File:Štítnik, meštiansky dom, 437.jpg, Late baroque Sontág's mansion File:Csetnek kúria.JPG, Rococo style Šebek's mansion File:Štítnik7.jpg, View of the square in the middle of village File:Štítnik výhľad.jpg, Overview of the southern part of village from the church tower

References

External links

Profile of gothic evangelical church, Gotická cesta
*http://www.statistics.sk/mosmis/eng/run.html
Štítnik
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stitnik Villages and municipalities in Rožňava District Gemer (region)