Humenné
Encyclopedia
Humenné is a town in the Prešov Region
("kraj") in eastern Slovakia
and the second largest town of the historic Zemplín
region. It lies at the volcanic Vihorlat mountains and at the confluence of the Laborec and Cirocha
Rivers.
, though this field still requires an intensification of business activities and funding.
The most attractive places are the Vihorlat Mountains
boasting of their Morské oko lake, and the Poloniny (Wooden Carpathians
) at the border of Slovakia, Poland
, and Ukraine
, which are part of the National Park Poloniny. The surroundings of Humenné, with their romantic ruins of medieval castles and an open-air museum of architecture situated in the town park, are a source of knowledge and relaxation.
Castles and mansions in the surroundings of Humenné:
The Laborec river and the Carpathian mountains
predetermined the development of the town and its surroundings, a silent witness of which has been Vihorlat volcano, at 1075 m (3,526.9 ft) the highest peak of the Vihorlat mountains. Thanks to its advantageous location and pleasant climate, preconditioned by the neighboring mountains, the town has been an attractive place for people since the Stone Age
, which is evidenced by a number of archeological findings. The Slavic
forefathers of the Slovaks
gradually moved to the basin of Humenné during the great migration of peoples, starting in the 5th century.
An intensive and organized settlement of this area started as late as in the middle of the 13th century, after the Mongol raids. The first written document mentioning Humenné dates back to 1317. The history of Humenné is closely connected with the Drugeth
(Drugets, Drugetovci), a distinguished aristocratic family originally from Naples
, who, accompanying the king Charles Robert of Anjou, came to the Kingdom of Hungary
(Slovakia was part of the Kingdom of Hungary) at the beginning of the 14th century. The Drugeths made Humenné their seat and changed it into the centre of one of the largest feudal
dominions in Slovakia. King Matthias Corvinus conferred civic privileges (town status) on the town, which were validated by a seal with coat of arms. At that time, the town was crossed by an important trade route connecting the Kingdom of Hungary with the Kingdom of Poland. Humenné is mentioned among royal customs offices, and later on it received the right of storehousing and supposedly market rights, too. This was also the time of an ever increasing influence of shepherd colonization from Carpatho-Ukraine
by the so-called Walachians (Ruthenes, Poles, and Romanians
).
The most significant town monument, a Renaissance
castle, was built on the place of an original stone castle in about 1610. The castle came to be an indispensable characteristic feature of the town and serves for museum and cultural purposes at present.
In 1613, during the Counter Reformation, a Jesuit college
was established as the first secondary school in the history of Humenné.
In 1619, about 10.000 Polish riders - Lisowczycy
, led by Walenty Rogawski, defeated army of George I Rákóczi
in Battle of Humenné
. Rákóczi was insurgent against Habsburgs and ally of Gábor Bethlen, Duke of Transylvania.
The Drugeth line died out in 1684 and new feudal lords moved in, notably the Csakys and the Wandernats.
The abolition of some feudal duties and the reforms of Maria Theresa
promoted the development of crafts, and Humenné became the seat of the so-called "salt office". The town's population consisted of Slovaks
, Ruthenes, Hungarians and Jews. Latin
was used as the administrative language, which appeared to be a stabilizing factor in such a mixture of nationalities.
The Andrassy
family from Transylvania
started to influence the history of Humenné in the 19th century, a period characterized by economic growth. Moreover, many new buildings were erected at that time. The main fields of activities of town inhabitants were agriculture, crafts and trade. The first train appeared in Humenné in 1871, stimulating the development of trade and wood cutting. In 1899(?) the first business academy in Austria-Hungary
was established in Humenné. Toward the end of the 19th century, Humenné counted 4,000 inhabitants.
The 20th century brought along a cultural revival. Humenné was famous for its markets and fairs. This promising, though timid, development was interrupted by World War I. A short period of the existence of Czechoslovakia
between the two world wars proved to have positive effects upon the life of Humenné. As a corollary of World War II, however, all the effort had to start from the very beginning.
Until 1956 Humenné was an administrative rather than an economic centre. Then the construction of a plant for the production of textile polyamide
fibres, the present Chemlon company, triggered a real chain effect on the town's growth. Humenné was gradually becoming a centre of chemical, building, food and mechanical engineering industries. This had a positive impact on the development of technical colleges. The industrial development entailed large-scale housing projects, and the town area was completed by new housing estates. While there were 7,000 inhabitants living in Humenné in 1948, the population now amounts almost 40,000.
, the town had 35,157 inhabitants. However, along with the surrounding villages that make up the town-ring, Humenné has some 42 thousand inhabitants. 87.80% of inhabitants were Slovaks
, 4.84% Rusyns
(the number is underestimated, because many Rusyns are not aware of their origin), 3.27% Roma, 2.11% Ukrainian and 0.77% Czechs
. The religious makeup was 57.91% Roman Catholics, 23.00% Greek Catholics, 8.69% people with no religious affiliation, 5.91% Orthodox
and 0.98% Lutherans.
In 1910, 48.6% were Roman Catholic, 34.8% Jewish, 12.3% Greek Catholic, while 38.2% reported Hungarian as their primary language, 30.8% Slovak and 21.1% Yiddish or German.
with:
Prešov Region
The Prešov Region is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. It consists of 13 districts.-Geography:It is located in north-eastern Slovakia and has an area of 8,975 km². The region has diverse types of landscapes occurring in Slovakia, but mostly highlands and hilly lands dominate the...
("kraj") in eastern Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
and the second largest town of the historic Zemplín
Zemplín (region)
Zemplín is the name of an informal region located presently in eastern Slovakia. It includes Slovak part of the former Zemplén county, often including the Slovak part of the Ung county .-Geography:...
region. It lies at the volcanic Vihorlat mountains and at the confluence of the Laborec and Cirocha
Cirocha
Cirocha is a 56.6 km long river and tributary of Laborec in eastern Slovakia. It raises in the Bukovské vrchy mountains under the Ruské sedlo saddle at the Slovak-Polish border, flowing south and west after first few kilometres into the Starina reservoir, flowing further to the municipalities of...
Rivers.
Characteristics
Humenné is a center of one of the easternmost districts ("okres") in Slovakia. Its life is rich in cultural and sports events. The town is a starting point for tourism, because there are numerous opportunities in the picturesque countryside of the East CarpathiansCarpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
, though this field still requires an intensification of business activities and funding.
The most attractive places are the Vihorlat Mountains
Vihorlat Mountains
Vihorlat Mountains or colloquially Vihorlat is a volcanic mountain range in eastern Slovakia and western Ukraine. A part of the range is listed as a World Heritage Site.-Vihorlat Mountains in Slovakia:...
boasting of their Morské oko lake, and the Poloniny (Wooden Carpathians
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
) at the border of Slovakia, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, which are part of the National Park Poloniny. The surroundings of Humenné, with their romantic ruins of medieval castles and an open-air museum of architecture situated in the town park, are a source of knowledge and relaxation.
Castles and mansions in the surroundings of Humenné:
- BrekovBrekovBrekov is a village and municipality in the Humenné District in the Prešov Region of north-east Slovakia.-Geography:The municipality lies at an altitude of 145 metres and covers an area of 9.725 km².It has a population of about 1,265 people....
Castle (in ruins, 7 km to the southwest ) - JasenovJasenov, Humenné DistrictJasenov is a village and municipality in Humenné District in the Prešov Region of north-east Slovakia.-History:In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1279. Jasenov has a castle that dates from the mid 14th century, when it was owned by Phillip Drugeth...
Castle (in ruins, 3 km to the south) - ČičavaCicavaČičava is a village and municipality in Vranov nad Topľou District in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia.-Geography:The municipality lies at an altitude of 155 metres and covers an area of 5.284km². It has a population of about 978 people.-External links:*...
Castle (in ruins, 14 km to the southwest ) - Kamenica nad CirochouKamenica nad CirochouKamenica nad Cirochou is a village and municipality in Humenné District in the Prešov Region of north-east Slovakia.-Geography:The municipality lies at an altitude of 179 metres and covers an area of 17.573 km².It has a population of about 2340 people....
- Classicistic mansion from 1773 (at the moment closed for public, 7 km to the east)
History
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
predetermined the development of the town and its surroundings, a silent witness of which has been Vihorlat volcano, at 1075 m (3,526.9 ft) the highest peak of the Vihorlat mountains. Thanks to its advantageous location and pleasant climate, preconditioned by the neighboring mountains, the town has been an attractive place for people since the Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
, which is evidenced by a number of archeological findings. The Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
forefathers of the Slovaks
Slovaks
The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...
gradually moved to the basin of Humenné during the great migration of peoples, starting in the 5th century.
An intensive and organized settlement of this area started as late as in the middle of the 13th century, after the Mongol raids. The first written document mentioning Humenné dates back to 1317. The history of Humenné is closely connected with the Drugeth
Drugeth
The Drugeth was a noble family of the Kingdom of Hungary in the 14-17th centuries whose possessions were situated on the north-eastern parts of the kingdom. The ancestors of the family left Apulia for Hungary during the reign of King Charles I...
(Drugets, Drugetovci), a distinguished aristocratic family originally from Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, who, accompanying the king Charles Robert of Anjou, came to the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
(Slovakia was part of the Kingdom of Hungary) at the beginning of the 14th century. The Drugeths made Humenné their seat and changed it into the centre of one of the largest feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
dominions in Slovakia. King Matthias Corvinus conferred civic privileges (town status) on the town, which were validated by a seal with coat of arms. At that time, the town was crossed by an important trade route connecting the Kingdom of Hungary with the Kingdom of Poland. Humenné is mentioned among royal customs offices, and later on it received the right of storehousing and supposedly market rights, too. This was also the time of an ever increasing influence of shepherd colonization from Carpatho-Ukraine
Carpatho-Ukraine
Carpatho-Ukraine was an autonomous region within Czechoslovakia from late 1938 to March 15, 1939. It declared itself an independent republic on March 15, 1939, but was occupied by Hungary between March 15 and March 18, 1939, remaining under Hungarian control until the Nazi occupation of Hungary in...
by the so-called Walachians (Ruthenes, Poles, and Romanians
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
).
The most significant town monument, a Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
castle, was built on the place of an original stone castle in about 1610. The castle came to be an indispensable characteristic feature of the town and serves for museum and cultural purposes at present.
In 1613, during the Counter Reformation, a Jesuit college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
was established as the first secondary school in the history of Humenné.
In 1619, about 10.000 Polish riders - Lisowczycy
Lisowczycy
Lisowczycy or chorągiew elearska ; or in singular form: Lisowczyk or elear) - the name of an early 17th century irregular unit of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth light cavalry. The Lisowczycy took part in many battles across Europe and the historical accounts of the period characterized them as...
, led by Walenty Rogawski, defeated army of George I Rákóczi
George I Rákóczi
György Rákóczi I was elected Hungarian prince of Transylvania from 1630 until his death. During his influence Transylvania grew politically and economically stronger.-Biography:...
in Battle of Humenné
Battle of Humenné
The Battle of Humenné took place on November 23, 1619 near Humenné during the first period of the Thirty Years' War between the Transylvanian army and the Polish forces of Lisowczycy...
. Rákóczi was insurgent against Habsburgs and ally of Gábor Bethlen, Duke of Transylvania.
The Drugeth line died out in 1684 and new feudal lords moved in, notably the Csakys and the Wandernats.
The abolition of some feudal duties and the reforms of Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
promoted the development of crafts, and Humenné became the seat of the so-called "salt office". The town's population consisted of Slovaks
Slovaks
The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...
, Ruthenes, Hungarians and Jews. Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
was used as the administrative language, which appeared to be a stabilizing factor in such a mixture of nationalities.
The Andrassy
Andrássy
Andrássy is the name of an aristocratic family of very ancient lineage prominent in Hungarian history.The full family name is "Andrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka"; "Csíkszentkirály" is a town in modern-day Romania now called Sâncrăieni, while Krásna Hôrka is a castle in Slovakia.The...
family from Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
started to influence the history of Humenné in the 19th century, a period characterized by economic growth. Moreover, many new buildings were erected at that time. The main fields of activities of town inhabitants were agriculture, crafts and trade. The first train appeared in Humenné in 1871, stimulating the development of trade and wood cutting. In 1899(?) the first business academy in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
was established in Humenné. Toward the end of the 19th century, Humenné counted 4,000 inhabitants.
The 20th century brought along a cultural revival. Humenné was famous for its markets and fairs. This promising, though timid, development was interrupted by World War I. A short period of the existence of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
between the two world wars proved to have positive effects upon the life of Humenné. As a corollary of World War II, however, all the effort had to start from the very beginning.
Until 1956 Humenné was an administrative rather than an economic centre. Then the construction of a plant for the production of textile polyamide
Polyamide
A polyamide is a polymer containing monomers of amides joined by peptide bonds. They can occur both naturally and artificially, examples being proteins, such as wool and silk, and can be made artificially through step-growth polymerization or solid-phase synthesis, examples being nylons, aramids,...
fibres, the present Chemlon company, triggered a real chain effect on the town's growth. Humenné was gradually becoming a centre of chemical, building, food and mechanical engineering industries. This had a positive impact on the development of technical colleges. The industrial development entailed large-scale housing projects, and the town area was completed by new housing estates. While there were 7,000 inhabitants living in Humenné in 1948, the population now amounts almost 40,000.
Demographics
According to the 2001 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, the town had 35,157 inhabitants. However, along with the surrounding villages that make up the town-ring, Humenné has some 42 thousand inhabitants. 87.80% of inhabitants were Slovaks
Slovaks
The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...
, 4.84% Rusyns
Rusyns
Carpatho-Rusyns are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, or Ukrainian dialect, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century...
(the number is underestimated, because many Rusyns are not aware of their origin), 3.27% Roma, 2.11% Ukrainian and 0.77% Czechs
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
. The religious makeup was 57.91% Roman Catholics, 23.00% Greek Catholics, 8.69% people with no religious affiliation, 5.91% Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
and 0.98% Lutherans.
In 1910, 48.6% were Roman Catholic, 34.8% Jewish, 12.3% Greek Catholic, while 38.2% reported Hungarian as their primary language, 30.8% Slovak and 21.1% Yiddish or German.
Notable natives and residents
- Yuri DojcYuri DojcYuri Dojc is a Slovak-Canadian fine arts and commercial photographer whose works include black and white nude studies, portraits of Canadian World War II veterans and projects such as American Dreams, Marble Woman and his Last Folio exhibit....
, Artist and Photographer - Peter BreinerPeter BreinerPeter Breiner is a Slovak pianist, conductor, and composer.Breiner began to play and study the piano at age four. At age nine, he started to study at Conservatory in Košice, Slovakia...
, pianist, conductor, and composer - Michal KováčMichal KovácMichal Kováč was a Slovak politician in the early 1990s and the first President of Slovakia after the creation of that state from 1993 to 1998....
- first Slovak president in the modern era - Jozef Tomko, cardinal
- Joachim Jacob UngerJoachim Jacob UngerJoachim Jacob Unger was an Austrian rabbi.He studied at the University of Berlin , and was appointed rabbi of Jihlava, Moravia, in 1860...
, rabbi - Štefan BabjakŠtefan BabjakŠtefan Babjak was a Slovak classical baritone who had a lengthy career performing in operas, operettas, and musicals in his home country...
, opera singer - František KasaničFrantišek KasaničFrantišek Kasanič is a Slovak pro boxer.He won the Slovakian International Cruiserweight Title in 2007 after defeating Florin Chidici by TKO in the second round...
, professional boxer
Twin towns — Sister cities
Humenné is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
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