Brezno

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Brezno (disambiguation).
Coordinates: 48°48′14″N 19°38′37″E / 48.80389°N 19.64361°E / 48.80389; 19.64361
Brezno, Slovakia
Town
Town center of Brezno
Coat of arms
Country Slovakia
Region Banská Bystrica
District Brezno
Tourism region Horehronie
River Hron
Elevation 498 m (1,634 ft)
Coordinates 48°48′14″N 19°38′37″E / 48.80389°N 19.64361°E / 48.80389; 19.64361
Highest point
 - elevation 2,043 m (6,703 ft)
Lowest point
 - elevation 486 m (1,594 ft)
Area 121.957 km2 (47.088 sq mi)
Population 22,221 (2006-12-31)
Density 182 / km2 (471 / sq mi)
First mentioned 1265
Mayor Jaroslav Demian
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 97701
Area code +421-48
Car plate BR
Location in Slovakia
Location in the Banská Bystrica Region
Wikimedia Commons: Brezno
Statistics: MOŠ/MIS
Website: www.brezno.sk

Brezno ( pronunciation (help·info); 1927 - 1948 Brezno nad Hronom, German: Bries(en)) is a town in central Slovakia, with a population of 22,279 (2005).

Geography

Brezno is located within the Horehronské podolie basin. Brezno lies between Low Tatras mountain range and the Slovak Ore Mountains. The river Hron flows through town. The city of Banská Bystrica is approximately 45 kilometres (28 miles) west. The local climate in the basin is rather cold, with an annual average of 6.6 °C (43.9 °F) and an annual precipitation of 700–750 mm (28–30 in).

History

The place has been inhabited since prehistoric times, but the current town arose from an old Slovak settlement, next to which newly arrived German miners erected a typical square market in the early 13th century. The first written evidence of the town's existence is dated 1265 when King Béla IV of Hungary issued a charter for the hunters from the area of Liptov allowing them to use woods around the settlement, known as Berezuno. The name is derived from the Slovak word "breza" for birch. In the nineteenth century Brezno was a typical almost purely Slovak town and was one of the centres of the Slovak national movement.

After the Second World War the town has developed into an industrial town with by far the largest share taken by a construction company: Mostaren Brezno which specialised itself with crane construction for whole Central Europe. In early '90s the construction company exited from business causing high unemployment in whole region. From late '90s Brezno built a large retail sector and promoted itself and whole region as a tourist destination where sports games and events such as Biathlon World cup or European golf cup are regularly held.

Sport

The town's three most successful sport clubs and with highest attendance are HC Brezno, FC Brezno and Biathlon Club Brezno. Other less successful however still popular clubs are Volleyball club Brezno, Cycle club Brezno and Swimming club Brezno.

HC Brezno is representing town as part of the 1st senior league from 2009/10 year. Therefore Brezno town council made decision and reconstructed its indoor stadium in year 2009, added new seats and renamed stadium to Brezno Arena. Total capacity is 2500 seats.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the town had 22,875 inhabitants. 92.85% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 4.63% Roma, 0.80% Czechs and 0.22% Hungarian.[1] The religious makeup was 66.89% Roman Catholics, 18.54% people with no religious affiliation, 8.57% Lutherans, and 0.98% Greek Catholics.[1]

Twin towns – Sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Ukraine

Brezno is twinned with:

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Slovakia

Buildings

Famous people

  • Ivan Bella, astronaut
  • Ján Chalupka, writer
  • Pavol Habera, singer
  • Ottó Herman, ornithologist
  • Karol Kuzmány, writer

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Municipal Statistics". Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Archived from the original on 2007-11-16. Retrieved 2007-12-14. 
  2. ↑ "Ciechanów Twin towns". Urząd Miasta Ciechanów. Archived from the original on 2013-07-29. Retrieved 2013-07-29. 
  3. ↑ "Ville de Meudon - Villes jumelles". Ville de Meudon. Archived from the original on 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2013-07-29. 

Genealogical resources

The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia"

  • Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1656-1904 (parish A)
  • Lutheran church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1784-1896 (parish A)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brezno.

Pictures

  • Courthouse

  • Modern architecture

  • Catholic church and town museum

Municipalities of Brezno District
Slovakia
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.