Modrý Kameň

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Coordinates: 48°14′24″N 19°19′59″E / 48.24, 19.33306
Modrý Kameň
Town
none Modrý Kameň Castle
Modrý Kameň Castle
Country Flag of Slovakia Slovakia
Region Banská Bystrica
District Veľký Krtíš
Tourism region Poiplie
River Krtíš
Elevation 240 m (787 ft)
Coordinates 48°14′24″N 19°19′59″E / 48.24, 19.33306
Area 19.646 km² (8 sq mi)
Population 1,457 (2005-12-31)
Density 74 /km² (192 /sq mi)
First mentioned 1290
Mayor Aladár Bariak
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 992 01
Phone prefix 421-47
Car plate VK
Location of Modrý Kameň within Slovakia
Location of Modrý Kameň within Slovakia
Location of Modrý Kameň within Slovakia
Location of Modrý Kameň in the Banská Bystrica Region
Location of Modrý Kameň in the Banská Bystrica Region
Location of Modrý Kameň in the Banská Bystrica Region
Statistics: MOŠ/MIS
Website: http://www.modrykamen.sk

Modrý Kameň (German: Blauenstein; Hungarian: Kékkő) is a town and municipality in the Veľký Krtíš District of the Banská Bystrica Region of southern Slovakia.

Contents

[edit] Geography

It is located in the Krupina Plain (Slovak: Krupinská planina) on the Krtíš and Riečka rivers. It is around 5 km from Veľký Krtíš and 50 km from Zvolen and is the smallest town in Slovakia.

[edit] History

The name of the town was first mentioned as Keykkw (Hungarian: Kékkő) in 1290. The name of the settlement means "Blue rock". Ruins of the castle Modrý Kameň stand on a rock pinnacle above the town. The castle was built in second half of 13th century by the ancestors of the Balassa noble family. They had to recapture the castle from sons of Casimir of the Hunt-Poznan clan by a siege in 1290. The castle was captured by Ottoman troops in 1576, because its guard fled when they heard the approaching Ottomans. The castle was given up and subsequently destroyed by Ottoman troops in 1593. It was restored between 1609 and 1612 by Sigismund Balassa. The castle was ravaged many times during 17th century, so it became ruined and abandoned. The Balassa family built a new Baroque mansion house on the side of castle hill in early 18th century; stones of the former castle were used in the mansion building operations. The last member of the Balassa noble family died in 1899. After the demise of the Balassa family, the Almásy noble family became the proprietors of castle Modrý Kameň. They sold the demesne to the Czechoslovakian state in 1923.

In 1910 the settlement had 1347 mostly Slovak inhabitants, though a significant Hungarian minority lived in Modrý Kameň (then Kékkő) too. Modrý Kameň belonged to Nógrád county until the end of World War I. The settlement was the center of district Modrý Kameň (Slovakian okres Modrý Kameň, Hungarian Kékkői járás) between 1912 and 1960. Electric network was built in 1943.

During World War II, an illegal antifascist communist organization operated in the settlement. During the Slovak National Uprising, Modrý Kameň was the center of the national revolutionary committee of the district, and partisan groups operated on the outskirts.

Modrý Kameň was pronounced a town in 1969.

[edit] Sights

  • Roman catholic church was built in 1879
  • Calvary was founded in the beginning of 18th century, its chapel was built in 1859
  • Modrý Kameň Castle Museum (Marionette and toy museum, Valentine Balassi poet’s life and work, Ethnographic exhibition of the region, A look at the history of dental technology and stomatology)

[edit] Demographics

Modrý Kameň Castle in the 17th century
Modrý Kameň Castle in the 17th century

According to the 2001 census, the town had 1,434 inhabitants. 92.82% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 2.79% Roma, 2.02% Hungarians and 0.35% Czechs.[1] The religious make-up was 79.22% Roman Catholics, 8.44% people with no religious affiliation and 7.60% Lutherans.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Municipal Statistics. Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Retrieved on 2007-12-15.

[edit] External links