Svätý Jur (; ; ; ; formerly ''Jur pri Bratislave'') is a small historical town northeast of
Bratislava
Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
, located in the
Bratislava Region
The Bratislava Region (, ; (until 1919); ) is one of the Regions of Slovakia, administrative regions of Slovakia. Its capital is Bratislava. The region was first established in 1923 and its present borders exist from 1996. It is the smallest of ...
. The city is situated on the slopes of
Little Carpathians
The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', ; ; ) are a low mountain range, about 100 km long, and part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slovakia, covering the area from Bratislava to Nové Mesto n ...
mountains and surrounded by typical terraced
vineyards
A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
with more than 700 years of
winemaking
Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...
tradition. In 1990, the intact city center was declared a protected city reservation. Cadastrially, Svätý Jur includes also the natural reserve
Šúr
Šúr is a national nature reserve in the Slovakia, Slovak municipalities of Svätý Jur and Chorvátsky Grob in the Pezinok District. The nature reserve covers an area of 655 ha and has a protective belt of 145 ha. It has a protection level ...
, established in 1952 to protect one of the last and largest remnants of a tall-stem
swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
alder
Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...
forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
in
Central Europe
Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
.
Today, Svätý Jur has a population of almost 6,000 citizens. The town is well connected with a major road between Pezinok and Bratislava passing through and the Svätý Jur railway station situated on the main Košice - Bratislava railway line. The city is bordered by the Little Carpathian mountains to the west, Bratislava to the south, natural reserve Šúr to the east and
Limbach and
Pezinok
Pezinok (; in the local dialect ''Pezinek''; ; ; ) is a town in southwestern Slovakia. It is roughly northeast of Bratislava and, as of December 2023, had a population of 24,443.
Pezinok lies near the Little Carpathians and thrives mainly on vi ...
to the north and northeast respectively.
Etymology
The city name translates literally as
Saint George
Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
, ''Jur'' being the archaic form of ''Juraj'' in the
Slovak. Between 1960 and 1990, the
Communist government
A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...
renamed the town to ''Jur pri Bratislave''.
Geography
Svätý Jur is situated in the
Pezinok District
Pezinok District (''okres Pezinok'') is a district in
the Bratislava Region of western Slovakia The district had been established in 1996, from 1923 was its area part of Modra District. It is situated on the foothills of Little Carpathians hills, ...
of the
Bratislava Region
The Bratislava Region (, ; (until 1919); ) is one of the Regions of Slovakia, administrative regions of Slovakia. Its capital is Bratislava. The region was first established in 1923 and its present borders exist from 1996. It is the smallest of ...
in southwestern Slovakia. The surrounding areas include large
vineyards
A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
in the nearby
Little Carpathians
The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', ; ; ) are a low mountain range, about 100 km long, and part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slovakia, covering the area from Bratislava to Nové Mesto n ...
and the unique
Šúr
Šúr is a national nature reserve in the Slovakia, Slovak municipalities of Svätý Jur and Chorvátsky Grob in the Pezinok District. The nature reserve covers an area of 655 ha and has a protective belt of 145 ha. It has a protection level ...
swamps, a
protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...
.
History
Archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
excavations date the original settlement to the
Hallstatt period
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallstatt C, Hallstatt D) from the 8th to ...
and the
Quadi
The Quadi were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people during the Roman era, who were prominent in Greek and Roman records from about 20 AD to about 400 AD. By about 20 AD they had a kingdom centred in the area of present-day western Slovakia, north ...
period.
In the 9th century, a
Great Moravia
Great Moravia (; , ''Meghálī Moravía''; ; ; , ), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, possibly including territories which are today part of the Czech Repub ...
n castle was built here. Svätý Jur was first mentioned in a written source in 1209 and received a town charter in 1299. It became a royal
free town
Free may refer to:
Concept
* Freedom, the ability to act or change without constraint or restriction
* Emancipate, attaining civil and political rights or equality
* Free (''gratis''), free of charge
* Gratis versus libre, the difference betw ...
in 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 ...
in 1647.
Defensive city walls were constructed between 1603 and 1664, but Svätý Jur was devastated by the
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...
in their invasion of 1663. The Ottoman troops also destroyed the White Castle (), which had been an important administrative center of the region until then.
In the 18th century, the Hungarian government recruited German farmers to repopulate the area. To encourage migration, it allowed the Germans to keep their language and religion in order to develop farmland for cultivation and produce. Through the 19th century and into the 20th century, the population of this area was largely ethnic
German, although by that time they spoke an archaic form of German. They were known as
Danube Swabians
The Danube Swabians ( ) is a collective term for the ethnic German-speaking population who lived in the Kingdom of Hungary in east-central Europe, especially in the Danube River valley, first in the 12th century, and in greater numbers in the 17 ...
. In part because Nazi Germany used the eastern ethnic German communities as an excuse for its wars of expansion in eastern Europe, after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, ethnic Germans were forcefully expelled to Germany and other Western countries.
In 1840, the first (horse) railway in the Kingdom of Hungary was built from Bratislava to Svätý Jur.
Landmarks
The most remarkable historical monument is the
Gothic church of
St. George
Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
, built in the 13th century. The sandstone altar from 1527 is an example of a transition between the Gothic and
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 ...
styles. The
stained glass
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
windows were designed by
Janko Alexy in 1950. The wooden
bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
from the 17th century protects a
bell
A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...
from 1400. The bell cracked due to a fire in 1802 and after repair in 1848 was damaged again. There is a fame that this bell was buried during the period of the Ottoman raids and was accidentally found by a rooting pig afterwards.
A Great Moravian castle was built in the 9th century and it was abandoned in the 14th century. 1,693 metres of the walls have been preserved, but their height is now lower than the original 10 metres.
Other places of interest include a
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 ...
manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
, a
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 ...
church of
Trinity
The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...
, a
Piarist monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
from 1720, a late 18th century
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
and the ruins of the city walls.
Svätý Jur is also well known for the largest raceway in Slovakia.
Biely Kameň Castle
The castle of
Biely Kameň was mentioned for the first time in 1217.
It was the seat of the counts of Svätý Jur until 1609, when they moved to a more comfortable manor house in the town. The castle was partially destroyed by an Ottoman raid in 1663.
The ruins are still visible.
Population
In 2006, Svätý Jur had a population of 5,186. According to the 2001
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
, 97.5% of inhabitants were
Slovaks
The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...
. The
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
is the most popular religion (72.5%), but there is also a significant number of atheists (15.9%) living in the village.
Sport
The town has an
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
team called
ŠK Svätý Jur.
Notable people
* Alojz Hudek (1887 – 1961),
SDB,
Roman Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...
end
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
(
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
,
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
)
*
Karl Samuel Grünhut (1844–1929), Austrian jurist
* Dr Imrich Sarkany FRCP, Consultant Dermatologist, Royal Free Hospital, London
Twin towns – sister cities
Svätý Jur is
twinned with:
*
Bělá pod Bezdězem
Bělá pod Bezdězem () is a town in Mladá Boleslav District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic) ...
, Czech Republic
References
External links
Official pageOfficial site of Svätý JurPhotos of Svätý JurShort description of Biely Kameň Castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Svaty Jur
Cities and towns in Slovakia
Villages and municipalities in Pezinok District
Castles in Slovakia
Great Moravia