Kežmarok
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kežmarok | |
|---|---|
| Coat-of-arms N/A | |
| Region (kraj) | Prešov Region |
| District (okres) | Kežmarok District |
| Location | |
| Altitude | 626 m |
| Population | 17,383 |
| Area | 24.83 km² |
| Time Zone • Summer DST |
CET: UTC+1 CEST: UTC+2 |
| Telephone prefix | +421-52 |
| Postal code | 06001 |
| Car registration plate | KK |
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Kežmarok (German: Kesmark/Käsmark, Hungarian: Késmárk, Polish: Kieżmark, Latin: Kesmarkium) is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia (population 17,000), on the Poprad River.
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[edit] History
Settlement at Kežmarok dates back to the Upper Stone Age. In the 13th century the region contained a community of Saxons, a Slovak fishing village, a Hungarian border post and a Carpathian German settlement. Its Latin name was first mentioned in 1251 as Villa (Saxonum apud Ecclesiam) Sancte Elisabeth. In 1269 Kežmarok received its town charter. It also had the right to organize a cheese market (hence the German name Kesmark ("Käsemarkt" - "cheese market"). In 1433 the town was severely damaged by a Hussite raid. After 1440, the count of Spiš had a seat in Kežmarok. In the 15th century (and then once more in 1655), Kežmarok became a free royal town].
The town was a stronghold of the noble Thököly family. The Hungarian magnate and warrior Imre Thököly was born in the town in 1657. He died in exile in Turkey in 1705 but in the 19th century his body was returned to Kežmarok and he is buried in a noble mausoleum in the town's Lutheran Church.
The town's other monuments include a castle, many Renaissance merchant houses, and a museum of ancient books. In pride of place is the Protestant Church built in 1688 entirely of wood. The church also contains an organ of 1719 with wooden pipes.
Kežmarok had a large ethnic German minority until the end of World War II (see Carpathian Germans). It also had a large and active Jewish community. During World War II, under the auspices of the First Slovak Republic, nearly 3,000 of the town's Jews were deported to German death camps. The town's pre-war Jewish cemetery has now been restored.
Kezmarok is one of the centres of the Spis region, a region with a rich history and an amount of valuable historical monuments. It's a seat of district. The town lies under the High Tatras (Vysoke Tatry) mountains, 630 m above the sea level.
The town was founded in 1269 combining several Slavic and German settlements. In the 15th century it was granted the rights of a free royal town and received several privileges, e.g. the right of sword, right to use its own coat-of-arms or a problematic right of store, having engendered the so-called hundred - years war with the nearby town Levoca. The right of store was a great advantage - Kezmarok lied by an important shipping route that connected the Orient with the north of Europe. There were also many crafts working in Kezmarok (between the 15th and the 19th century there were almost 40) that contributed noteworthy to the development and a good image of the town.
Construction of the castle in 1463 was an important milestone in the history of the town. As an integral part of the town fortification, it was primarily intended to be a defending castle; its owners, however, have for centuries been striving to take possession of the free royal town and its inhabitants. The quarrels culminated after the arrival of the Thököly family – street fights, plunders and robberies were on daily order. After almost 250 years of problems (in 1702) the town, together with its inhabitants succeeded in gaining the castle into its possession.
[edit] Sights
Kežmarok has an amount of historical monuments – the evangelical Wooden articular church (1717), New evangelical church (1894), the Lyceum (1776 – 76) with one of the biggest school historical libraries in central Europe, catholic Holy Cross Basilica (with the oldest parts from the 13th century), originally gothic town hall (1461), Redoute (cultural centre of Kežmarok), the castle or the Paulinius church.
Rich history of the town and the region is being presented in town’s museums – the castle (with expositions of crafts, weapons, shooting association, Tatras…) and the House-furnishing museum with typical regional medieval furniture. The town gallery contributes to the cultural life with temporary exhibitions (more information in the monuments section).
Kežmarok redoute Main square with the town hall from the beginning of the 20th century
Nowadays the town Kežmarok counts almost 18 000 inhabitants and its geographical in the very middle of the Spis region predestined it to be an ideal centre of trips either to surrounding historical towns or to national parks Vysoke Tatry (High Tatras), Pieniny or Slovensky raj (Slovak paradise). We welcome all domestic and international visitors – come and enjoy our history.
[edit] Twin cities
Bochnia, Poland- Gliwice, Poland
Hajdúszoboszló, Hungary
Kupiškis, Lithuania
Lanškroun, Czech Republic
Lesneven, France- Nowy Targ, Poland
- Příbram, Czech Republic
Weilburg, Germany- Zgierz, Poland
[edit] Famous people
- Vojtech Alexander, radiologist
- Lubos Bartecko, ice hockey player
- Karl Sovanka, painter and sculptor
- Radoslav Suchy, ice hockey player
- Imre Thököly, Prince of Transylvania
[edit] External links
| edit | Municipalities of Kežmarok District |  |
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Kežmarok | Spišská Belá | Spišská Stará Ves |
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