Rožňava

Rožňava
Town
Town tower
Country Slovakia
Region Košice Region
District Rožňava District
Tourism region Gemer
River Slaná
Elevation 313 m (1,027 ft)
Coordinates
Area 45.614 km2 (18 sq mi)
Population 19,231 (31 December 2005)
Density 422 / km2 (1,093 / sq mi)
First mentioned 1291
Mayor Vladislav Laciak
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 048 01
Phone prefix 421-58
Car plate RV
Location of Rožňava in Slovakia
Location of Rožňava in the Košice Region
Wikimedia Commons: Rožňava
Statistics: MOŠ/MIS
Website: http://www.roznava.sk

Rožňava (Hungarian: Rozsnyó, German: Rosenau, Latin: Rosnavia) is a town in Slovakia, approximately 71 km by road from Košice in the Košice Region, and has a population of 19,120.

The town is an economic and tourist center of the Gemer. Rožňava is now a popular tourist attraction with a beautiful historic town centre. The town is an episcopal seat. It has above all food, textile and remnants of mining industries.

Contents

History

Archaeological finds show that the region was densely settled by miners as early as around 1200. The first written mention stems from 1291, the royal free town status from 1410. The Roman Catholic diocese of Rožňava was founded in 1776.

In the Middle Ages, Rožňava was a prosperous mining town for gold, silver, and iron. Mining activities stagnated from the 16th century (when territories to the south of the town were conquered by Ottoman Turks). Mining - this time mainly of iron ore - was renewed around 1800 and was present in the town throughout the 20th century.

The name of the town probably derives from the German and/or Hungarian word for rose (Rose and Rózsa).

On 13 September 2003, Rožňava was visited by Pope John Paul II.

Noteworthy buildings

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the town had 19,261 inhabitants. 69.27% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 26.80% Hungarians, 1.59% Roma and 0.69% Czechs.[1] The religious make-up was 41.08% Roman Catholics, 32.34% people with no religious affiliation, 12.03% Lutherans and 1.33% Greek Catholics.[1]

Notable citizens

A famous son of the town is Pavel Jozef Šafárik.

Parts of the town

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Rožňava is twinned with:

References

Notes
  1. ^ a b "Municipal Statistics". Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Archived from the original on 2007-12-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20071217080336/http://www.statistics.sk/mosmis/eng/run.html. Retrieved 2007-12-28. 

External links