Stará Ľubovňa

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Coordinates: 49°18′34″N 20°40′44″E / 49.30944, 20.67889
Stará Ľubovňa
Town
none Stará Ľubovňa Castle and an open air folk museum
Stará Ľubovňa Castle and an open air folk museum
Country Flag of Slovakia Slovakia
Region Prešov
District Stará Ľubovňa
Tourism region Spiš
River Poprad
Elevation 545 m (1,788 ft)
Coordinates 49°18′34″N 20°40′44″E / 49.30944, 20.67889
Area 30.79 km² (11.89 sq mi)
Population 16,363 (31 December 2005)
Density 531 /km² (1,375 /sq mi)
First mentioned 1292
Mayor Valent Jaržembovský
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 064 01
Area code +421-52
Car plate SL
Location of Stará Ľubovňa in Slovakia
Location of Stará Ľubovňa in Slovakia
Location of Stará Ľubovňa in Slovakia
Location of Stará Ľubovňa in the Prešov Region
Location of Stará Ľubovňa in the Prešov Region
Location of Stará Ľubovňa in the Prešov Region
Wikimedia Commons: Stará Ľubovňa
Statistics: MOŠ/MIS
Website: www.staralubovna.sk

Stará Ľubovňa (German: Altlublau; Hungarian: Ólubló; Latin: Lublovia; Polish: Stara Lubowla) is a town with approximately 16,000 inhabitants in northeastern Slovakia. The town consists of the districts Podsadek and Stará Ľubovňa.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Stará Ľubovňa is situated on the Poprad River 15 km south of the Polish border east of the High Tatras. It is one of the oldest towns in the Spiš, an historic administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary, and is today the administrative capital of the district of Stará Ľubovňa in the Prešov Region.

[edit] History

The main square
The main square

In 1292 Stará Ľubovňa is first mentioned as Libenow. Until it became a free royal town in 1364 the town fell under the jurisdiction of the castle.

In 1412 it belonged to the 16 Spiš towns given by the Hungarian King Sigismund of Luxemburg as a deposit to King Władysław II of Poland. The pledge was part of the Treaty of Lubowla and was thought to be only for a short time, but it finally lasted for 360 years. Only in the course of the first Partition of Poland in 1772 during the reign of Maria Theresa of Austria the territory came back to the Kingdom of Hungary. The pledge was actually an advantage for the towns concerned because they did not have to submit themselves to the comitatus or nobility and had a neutral position in turmoils between Poland and Hungary.

[edit] Sights

From a hill over the city the castle of Ľubovňa dominates the city. The castle is under reconstruction and houses a museum about its history. From its already reconstructed tower there are good views over the surroundings. Next to the castle there is an open-air museum, Ľubovňansky skanzen, showing the folk architecture of the region. The most interesting exhibit is the wooden Greek-Catholic church from Matysová, built in 1833.

The old town consists mainly of the rectangular St. Nicolas Square which is surrounded by burgher’s houses of the 17th century. In the centre there is the gothic Roman-Catholic Church of St. Nicolas built in 1280.

Another building of interest is the new Greek-Catholic church of the Mother of Eternal Help in the south of the city. It was consecrated by Pope John Paul II on 22 April 1990 and is constructed in the shape of a royal crown.

[edit] Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the town had 16,227 inhabitants. 89.5% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 5.97% Roma, 1.48% Rusyn, 1.00% Ukrainian and 0.64% Czechs.[1] The religious make-up was 67.65% Roman Catholics, 22.20% Greek Catholics, 5.01% people with no religious affiliation, 1.61% Orthodox and 0.81% Lutherans and.[1]

[edit] Famous residents

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Municipal Statistics. Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Retrieved on 2007-12-28.

[edit] External links

Castle from above
Castle from above

[edit] Sources

  • Okresný národný výbor: Okres Stara Ľubovňa
  • Turistický sprievodca: Slovenské kráľovské mestá Bardejov, Kežmarok, Levoča, Stará Ľubovňa