Pieštany
Encyclopedia
Piešťany is a town in Slovakia
. It is located in the western part of the country within the Trnava Region
and is the seat of its own district
. It is the biggest and best known spa town
in Slovakia and has around 30,000 inhabitants.
The first human settlement in the area is dated to the prehistoric
times, about 80,000 years ago. People were attracted to the site by abundance of game in the vicinity of the thermal springs that did not freeze in winter.
A small female statue called Venus of Moravany
was found in the nearby village Moravany nad Váhom
. It is made of mammoth
ivory and is dated to 22,800 BC. It currently resides in the Bratislava Castle
museum. In another nearby village, Krakovany-Stráže
, a treasure consisting of luxury items made of glass, bronze, silver, and gold was discovered in three graves from 200 - 300 AD. The surroundings of Piešťany also include the Great Moravia
n castle of Ducové
.
Piešťany was first mentioned in written records in 1113 (under the name Pescan). At that time it consisted of several smaller settlements. The medicinal springs were already popular in the Middle Ages
. They were visited by the Hungarian
king Matthias Corvinus
. The first book mentioning the Piešťany springs was De admirandis Hungariae aquis hypomnemation (About the Miraculous Waters of the Hungarian Monarchy) by Georgius Wernher, published in 1549 in Basel
. In the 16th century, the Piešťany spa was also mentioned by two prominent physicians, Johann Crato de Crafheim (who served to several Holy Roman Emperors) and Andrea Baccius Elpidianus (a personal surgeon of the Pope). The first monography (Schediasma de Thermis Postheinsibus by Ján Justus Torkoš) was published in 1745. But in the 16th and 17th centuries, Piešťany also suffered from Turkish raids
and anti-Habsburg uprisings.
Throughout the centuries Piešťany was owned by several noble families; the last of them, the Erdődys, owned the area from 1720 to 1848, and the spa until 1940. The Erdődy family built the first spa buildings in 1778. They were damaged by a destructive flood in 1813. In 1820 the spa buildings were expanded and remodeled in neo-classical style
and named Napoleon spa. The Erdődy family also established the Spa park in this period. In the years 1889 to 1940 the Winter family rented the spa from the Erdődys and brought it to international fame. The Winters improved spa treatment as well as accommodation and entertainment for visitors. They built several spa buildings and hotels.
The spa attracted many aristocratic visitors, including Ludwig van Beethoven
. In 1917, three monarchs (Wilhelm II
of Germany
, Karl I
of Austria-Hungary
, and Ferdinand I of Bulgaria
) orchestrated their war strategy during the negotiations in the Thermia Palace hotel.
In 1945 Piešťany received the official status of a town. In 1959, Sĺňava water reservoir was built south of the town. In the late 1960s and 1970s more spa buildings were built. In 1973 the village of Banka
, located on the left bank of the Váh river, was amalgamated with Piešťany, but it regained independence after a referendum in 1995. In 1996 the town became the seat of a district
.
On January 4, 1987, at the final match in the World Junior Championships of ice hockey
between Canada and the Soviet Union there was a bench-clearing brawl
, now famously known as the Punch-up in Piešťany
. Both teams were disqualified from competition as a result.
On July 5, 2001 three members of the Real Irish Republican Army
were arrested in Piešťany. They were lured into a trap by agents of the British Security Service MI5
who were posing as arms dealers from Iraq.
river, at an elevation of 162 m (531.5 ft). The Považský Inovec
mountains form the eastern boundary of this part of the Váh valley. The highest hill of these mountains, Inovec 1042 m (3,418.64 ft), is about 25 km (16 mi) north of the town. The hills immediately east of the town (10 km (6 mi) away) reach a height of about 700 m (2,296.59 ft). On the western side, the valley boundary is formed by the Little Carpathians
, which are somewhat lower and further away from the town. The valley is open to the south, and thus has a warm and sunny temperate climate.
Most of the town is located on the right bank of the river. South of the town is the Sĺňava water reservoir created by a dam on the Váh river. The artificial canal Biskupický kanál and the main river branch join in the town. Another short branch of the river (Obtokové rameno) creates the Spa Island.
The hills of Považský Inovec are mostly covered with deciduous
forests. These consist of oak
and hornbeam
in the lower elevations, and beech
in the higher elevations. The Váh valley is used for agriculture. The main products are cereals, sugar beet, animal feed, and pork.
Piešťany is located 75 km north-east of Bratislava
, the capital of Slovakia, and 30 km north-east of the local regional seat Trnava
. Upstream from Piešťany on the Váh river are the towns Nové Mesto nad Váhom
(19 km north of Piešťany) and Trenčín
(40 km north-east); 17 km downstream is Hlohovec.
Piešťany is located on the route of the D1 motorway from Bratislava
to Žilina
with connections to Vienna
and Brno
. The main railway route from Bratislava to Žilina and Košice
also goes through the town. The town has an airport
, mostly used for international charter flights for spa clients (10,000 passengers in 2007). The municipality operates a local public transport system with 11 bus routes (as of 2008).
bridge, constructed by Emil Belluš in 1930-33, is a preeminent functionalist
construction with many precious art objects.
The Piešťany spa has a capacity of two thousand beds (as of 2004) and treats over forty thousand patients a year. More than 60% of the clients are foreigners (mostly from Germany, the Czech Republic, Israel, Arab countries, and Austria). The spa specializes in treatment of chronic rheumatic
and arthritic
diseases and post-accident lesions of joints and bones.
The spa is located on the Spa Island between two branches of the Váh river, at the site of several hot spring
s with temperatures of 67–69 °C (152.6–156.2 F). The water originates in a tectonic break
at 2,000 meters depth. The sulfate
–carbonate
water from the springs is used in pools and tubs. Sulfurous mud extracted from the bed of a side channel of the river is also used for treatment in the form of thermal mud pools with temperature 39 °C (102 °F) and for partial and full body packs. Spring water and mud therapy is complemented by electrotherapy
, exercise, massage, medication, and diet.
The spa is operated by the company Slovenské liečebné kúpele. The company was purchased in 2002 by Danubius Hotels Group. A small share is owned by the town. Danubius Hotels Group also owns hotels in Hungary
, Mariánské Lázně
spa in Czech Republic
and Sovata
spa in Romania
.
, the town had 30,306 inhabitants. 96.30% of inhabitants were Slovaks
, 1.69% Czechs
and 0.27% Hungarians. The religious makeup was 72.65% Roman Catholics, 16.71% people with no religious affiliation and 5.96% Lutherans.
, a former subsidiary of Motorola
http://www.onsemi.com/PowerSolutions/content.do?id=16189. However, the company plans to close down its Pieštany manufacturing unit by the end of 2009 and move the production to Belgium http://english.etrend.sk/news-summaries/when-the-best-are-packing-suitcases/169334.htmlhttp://www.edb.sk/sk/spravy/piestany-vyrobca-cipov-on-semiconductor-v-piestanoch-skonci-v-roku-2009-a830.html, while keeping a customer support centre in the town. Delipro, s.r.o., manufacturer of quartz crystals founded in 1993, is another company building on the legacy of electronics manufacturing in the region http://www.delipro.sk/index.php?id=history.
Other important employers in the town include Slovak headquarters of financial services company Home Credit Slovakia http://www.homecredit.sk/sk/tlacove_centrum/tlacove_spravy/63.shtml, and cosmetics distributor Nachema Group http://www.nachema.sk/default.aspx?content=20016http://tvnoviny.sk/spravy/ekonomika/hromadne-prepustanie-o-pracu-pridu-stovky-ludi.html.
Technický skúšobný ústav Piešťany, š.p. is an independent certification,testing and inspection body for conformity assessment of machinery and construction products and consumer goods. http://www.tsu.eu Historically, Technický skúšobný ústav Piešťany, š.p belong to the oldest and the largest testing bodies in Slovak Republic within testing activity.
In the summer tourist season, the town hosts several cultural events. An annual summer music festival, established in 1955, takes place in the Piešťany arts centre. This venue, with a seating capacity
of 622, also offers other concerts and theatre shows. Country Lodenica is a festival of folk
and country music
established in 1999. It takes place south of the town, on the shores of Sĺňava water reservoir.
Between 1967 and 1993 the city was the site of an annual sculpture exhibition in the Spa Park http://www.piestany.sk/index.php?id=673. This tradition was renewed in 2005 and 2008.
Piešťany also has several museums. The Balneological Museum http://www.balneomuzeum.sk/eversion.htm focuses on archeology, history and ethnography of the region, as well as the history of Slovakia's spas in general. It was established in 1933 by the Winter family. Another small museum commemorates the life of the Slovak poet Ivan Krasko
, who lived in Piešťany from 1945 to 1958. Finally, a new museum at the airport exhibits a collection related to the Slovak military history.
with: Budapest
IX, Hungary Eilat, Israel
Hajdúnánás
, Hungary Heinola
, Finland Luhačovice
, Czech Republic
Montevago
, Italy Poděbrady
, Czech Republic
Ustroń
, Poland Varaždinske Toplice
, Croatia
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...
. It is located in the western part of the country within the Trnava Region
Trnava Region
The Trnava Region is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions.-Geography:It is located in the middlewest part of Slovakia and forms a territorial band between the Bratislava Region and the rest of Slovakia, between Austrian and Czech borders in the north and Hungarian border in the south...
and is the seat of its own district
Pieštany District
Piešťany District is a district inthe Trnava Region of western Slovakia, with the town of Piešťany being as its seat. Until 1918, the district was part of the Hungarian county of Nitra.- Geography :...
. It is the biggest and best known spa town
Spa town
A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...
in Slovakia and has around 30,000 inhabitants.
History
Prehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
times, about 80,000 years ago. People were attracted to the site by abundance of game in the vicinity of the thermal springs that did not freeze in winter.
A small female statue called Venus of Moravany
Venus of Moravany
Venus of Moravany is a small female figurine found by the village of Moravany nad Váhom, Slovakia, in 1938.It is made of mammoth ivory and is dated to 22,800 BC, which places it in the upper Paleolithic. It currently resides in the Bratislava Castle exposition of the Slovak National Museum....
was found in the nearby village Moravany nad Váhom
Moravany nad Váhom
Moravany nad Váhom is a village and municipality in Piešťany District in the Trnava Region of western Slovakia.- History :In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1348....
. It is made of mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
ivory and is dated to 22,800 BC. It currently resides in the Bratislava Castle
Bratislava Castle
Bratislava Castle is the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on a quite isolated rocky hill of the Little Carpathians directly above the Danube river in the middle of Bratislava...
museum. In another nearby village, Krakovany-Stráže
Krakovany
Krakovany may refer to:* Krakovany, a village in the Piešťany District of Slovakia* Krakovany, a village near Kolín in the Czech Republic...
, a treasure consisting of luxury items made of glass, bronze, silver, and gold was discovered in three graves from 200 - 300 AD. The surroundings of Piešťany also include the Great Moravia
Great Moravia
Great Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...
n castle of Ducové
Ducové
Ducové is a municipality situated in western Slovakia, near the spa town of Piešťany. It was part of the municipality Moravany nad Váhom from 1976 to 1992...
.
Piešťany was first mentioned in written records in 1113 (under the name Pescan). At that time it consisted of several smaller settlements. The medicinal springs were already popular in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. They were visited by the Hungarian
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...
king Matthias Corvinus
Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
Matthias Corvinus , also called the Just in folk tales, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458, at the age of 14 until his death...
. The first book mentioning the Piešťany springs was De admirandis Hungariae aquis hypomnemation (About the Miraculous Waters of the Hungarian Monarchy) by Georgius Wernher, published in 1549 in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
. In the 16th century, the Piešťany spa was also mentioned by two prominent physicians, Johann Crato de Crafheim (who served to several Holy Roman Emperors) and Andrea Baccius Elpidianus (a personal surgeon of the Pope). The first monography (Schediasma de Thermis Postheinsibus by Ján Justus Torkoš) was published in 1745. But in the 16th and 17th centuries, Piešťany also suffered from Turkish raids
Ottoman wars in Europe
The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe are also sometimes referred to as the Ottoman Wars or as Turkish Wars, particularly in older, European texts.- Rise :...
and anti-Habsburg uprisings.
Throughout the centuries Piešťany was owned by several noble families; the last of them, the Erdődys, owned the area from 1720 to 1848, and the spa until 1940. The Erdődy family built the first spa buildings in 1778. They were damaged by a destructive flood in 1813. In 1820 the spa buildings were expanded and remodeled in neo-classical style
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
and named Napoleon spa. The Erdődy family also established the Spa park in this period. In the years 1889 to 1940 the Winter family rented the spa from the Erdődys and brought it to international fame. The Winters improved spa treatment as well as accommodation and entertainment for visitors. They built several spa buildings and hotels.
The spa attracted many aristocratic visitors, including Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
. In 1917, three monarchs (Wilhelm II
William II, German Emperor
Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...
of Germany
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, Karl I
Karl I of Austria
Charles I of Austria or Charles IV of Hungary was the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was the last Emperor of Austria, the last King of Hungary, the last King of Bohemia and Croatia and the last King of Galicia and Lodomeria and the last monarch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine...
of 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...
, and Ferdinand I of Bulgaria
Ferdinand I of Bulgaria
Ferdinand , born Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, was the ruler of Bulgaria from 1887 to 1918, first as knyaz and later as tsar...
) orchestrated their war strategy during the negotiations in the Thermia Palace hotel.
In 1945 Piešťany received the official status of a town. In 1959, Sĺňava water reservoir was built south of the town. In the late 1960s and 1970s more spa buildings were built. In 1973 the village of Banka
Banka
Banka may refer to:* Banka, Bihar, a town in Bihar, India* Banka district, Bihar, India* Bankə, Azerbaijan*Banka, Cameroon* the Banka Gold Mining Project operated by Mwana Africa plc, in Ghana...
, located on the left bank of the Váh river, was amalgamated with Piešťany, but it regained independence after a referendum in 1995. In 1996 the town became the seat of a district
Districts of Slovakia
An okres is an administrative unit in Slovakia. It is inferior to a Region and superior to a municipality.-Characteristics:Several districts form a "Region"...
.
On January 4, 1987, at the final match in the World Junior Championships of ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
between Canada and the Soviet Union there was a bench-clearing brawl
Bench-clearing brawl
A bench-clearing brawl, sometimes known as a basebrawl or a rhubarb, is a form of ritualistic fighting that occurs in sports, most notably baseball and ice hockey, in which every player on both teams leave their dugouts, bullpens, or benches and charge the playing area in order to fight one...
, now famously known as the Punch-up in Piešťany
Punch-up in Piestany
The Punch-up in Piestany was an infamous bench-clearing brawl between Canada and the Soviet Union during the final game of the 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Piešťany, Czechoslovakia on January 4, 1987...
. Both teams were disqualified from competition as a result.
On July 5, 2001 three members of the Real Irish Republican Army
Real Irish Republican Army
The Real Irish Republican Army, otherwise known as the Real IRA , and styling itself as Óglaigh na hÉireann , is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation which aims to bring about a united Ireland...
were arrested in Piešťany. They were lured into a trap by agents of the British Security Service MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
who were posing as arms dealers from Iraq.
Geography
Piešťany is situated in the western part of Slovakia, in the valley of the VáhVáh
The Váh is the longest river in entire Slovakia. A left tributary of the Danube river, the Váh is 406 km long, including its Čierny Váh branch...
river, at an elevation of 162 m (531.5 ft). The Považský Inovec
Považský Inovec
Považský Inovec is a mountain range in western Slovakia, named after the Váh river. It is 48 km long and 15-25 km wide mountain range...
mountains form the eastern boundary of this part of the Váh valley. The highest hill of these mountains, Inovec 1042 m (3,418.64 ft), is about 25 km (16 mi) north of the town. The hills immediately east of the town (10 km (6 mi) away) reach a height of about 700 m (2,296.59 ft). On the western side, the valley boundary is formed by the Little Carpathians
Little Carpathians
The Little Carpathians are a low, about 100 km long, mountain range, part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slovakia, covering the area from Bratislava to Nové Mesto nad Váhom, a very small part called Hundsheimer Berge is situated south of Devín Gate in...
, which are somewhat lower and further away from the town. The valley is open to the south, and thus has a warm and sunny temperate climate.
Most of the town is located on the right bank of the river. South of the town is the Sĺňava water reservoir created by a dam on the Váh river. The artificial canal Biskupický kanál and the main river branch join in the town. Another short branch of the river (Obtokové rameno) creates the Spa Island.
The hills of Považský Inovec are mostly covered with deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
forests. These consist of oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and hornbeam
Hornbeam
Hornbeams are relatively small hardwood trees in the genus Carpinus . Though some botanists grouped them with the hazels and hop-hornbeams in a segregate family, Corylaceae, modern botanists place the hornbeams in the birch subfamily Coryloideae...
in the lower elevations, and beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
in the higher elevations. The Váh valley is used for agriculture. The main products are cereals, sugar beet, animal feed, and pork.
Piešťany is located 75 km north-east of Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
, the capital of Slovakia, and 30 km north-east of the local regional seat Trnava
Trnava
Trnava is a city in western Slovakia, 47 km to the north-east of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a kraj and of an okres . It was the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishopric . The city has a historic center...
. Upstream from Piešťany on the Váh river are the towns Nové Mesto nad Váhom
Nové Mesto nad Váhom
Nové Mesto nad Váhom is a town in the Trenčín Region of Slovakia.- Geography :District town located at the northern edge of the Danubian Hills at the foothills of the northern end of the White Carpathians, on the Váh river. Other mountains nearby are the White Carpathians and the Považský Inovec...
(19 km north of Piešťany) and Trenčín
Trencín
Trenčín is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 56,000, which makes it the ninth largest municipality of the country and is the seat of the Trenčín Region and the Trenčín District...
(40 km north-east); 17 km downstream is Hlohovec.
Piešťany is located on the route of the D1 motorway from Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
to Žilina
Žilina
Žilina is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Slovakia with a population of approximately 85,000, an important industrial center, the largest city on the Váh river, and the seat of a...
with connections to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
. The main railway route from Bratislava to Žilina and Košice
Košice
Košice is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary...
also goes through the town. The town has an airport
Pieštany Airport
Piešťany Airport is an airport serving spa town of Piešťany, Slovakia.-Airlines and destinations:As of 2008 no regular flights, but occasional charter flights and GAT flights are not uncommon.-External links:*...
, mostly used for international charter flights for spa clients (10,000 passengers in 2007). The municipality operates a local public transport system with 11 bus routes (as of 2008).
Main sights
Because of frequent floods in the past, most buildings are dated to the 19th and 20th century. The most notable exception are the ruins of a medieval monastery from the 13th century. The Napoleon Spa is a complex of Neoclassicist spa buildings built between 1822 and 1862. The Kolonádový mostKolonádový most (Pieštany)
Kolonádový most is a bridge over the Váh river in Piešťany and it connects the town to the Spa Island....
bridge, constructed by Emil Belluš in 1930-33, is a preeminent functionalist
Functionalism (architecture)
Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern...
construction with many precious art objects.
Spa
Rheumatology
Rheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...
and arthritic
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
diseases and post-accident lesions of joints and bones.
The spa is located on the Spa Island between two branches of the Váh river, at the site of several hot spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
s with temperatures of 67–69 °C (152.6–156.2 F). The water originates in a tectonic break
Geologic fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement along the fractures as a result of earth movement. Large faults within the Earth's crust result from the action of tectonic forces...
at 2,000 meters depth. The sulfate
Sulfate
In inorganic chemistry, a sulfate is a salt of sulfuric acid.-Chemical properties:...
–carbonate
Carbonate
In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, . The name may also mean an ester of carbonic acid, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C2....
water from the springs is used in pools and tubs. Sulfurous mud extracted from the bed of a side channel of the river is also used for treatment in the form of thermal mud pools with temperature 39 °C (102 °F) and for partial and full body packs. Spring water and mud therapy is complemented by electrotherapy
Electrotherapy
Electrotherapy is the use of electrical energy as a medical treatment In medicine, the term electrotherapy can apply to a variety of treatments, including the use of electrical devices such as deep brain stimulators for neurological disease. The term has also been applied specifically to the use of...
, exercise, massage, medication, and diet.
The spa is operated by the company Slovenské liečebné kúpele. The company was purchased in 2002 by Danubius Hotels Group. A small share is owned by the town. Danubius Hotels Group also owns hotels in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Mariánské Lázně
Mariánské Lázne
Mariánské Lázně is a spa town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. The town, surrounded by green mountains, is a mosaic of parks and noble houses...
spa in Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and Sovata
Sovata
-History:It formed part of the Székely Land region of the historical Transylvania province. The first data about Sovata are from 1578. By 1583 it already was a village....
spa in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
.
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 30,306 inhabitants. 96.30% 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...
, 1.69% 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...
and 0.27% Hungarians. The religious makeup was 72.65% Roman Catholics, 16.71% people with no religious affiliation and 5.96% Lutherans.
Economy
One of important employers in the city during the communist era was electronics maker Tesla Piešťany. It closed down in 1991 and in 1998 its factories were acquired by ON SemiconductorON Semiconductor
ON Semiconductor , is a semiconductors supplier company. Products include power and signal management, logic, discrete and custom devices for automotive, communications, computing, consumer, industrial, LED lighting, medical, military/aerospace and power applications...
, a former subsidiary of Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
http://www.onsemi.com/PowerSolutions/content.do?id=16189. However, the company plans to close down its Pieštany manufacturing unit by the end of 2009 and move the production to Belgium http://english.etrend.sk/news-summaries/when-the-best-are-packing-suitcases/169334.htmlhttp://www.edb.sk/sk/spravy/piestany-vyrobca-cipov-on-semiconductor-v-piestanoch-skonci-v-roku-2009-a830.html, while keeping a customer support centre in the town. Delipro, s.r.o., manufacturer of quartz crystals founded in 1993, is another company building on the legacy of electronics manufacturing in the region http://www.delipro.sk/index.php?id=history.
Other important employers in the town include Slovak headquarters of financial services company Home Credit Slovakia http://www.homecredit.sk/sk/tlacove_centrum/tlacove_spravy/63.shtml, and cosmetics distributor Nachema Group http://www.nachema.sk/default.aspx?content=20016http://tvnoviny.sk/spravy/ekonomika/hromadne-prepustanie-o-pracu-pridu-stovky-ludi.html.
Technický skúšobný ústav Piešťany, š.p. is an independent certification,testing and inspection body for conformity assessment of machinery and construction products and consumer goods. http://www.tsu.eu Historically, Technický skúšobný ústav Piešťany, š.p belong to the oldest and the largest testing bodies in Slovak Republic within testing activity.
Culture
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 622, also offers other concerts and theatre shows. Country Lodenica is a festival of folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
established in 1999. It takes place south of the town, on the shores of Sĺňava water reservoir.
Between 1967 and 1993 the city was the site of an annual sculpture exhibition in the Spa Park http://www.piestany.sk/index.php?id=673. This tradition was renewed in 2005 and 2008.
Piešťany also has several museums. The Balneological Museum http://www.balneomuzeum.sk/eversion.htm focuses on archeology, history and ethnography of the region, as well as the history of Slovakia's spas in general. It was established in 1933 by the Winter family. Another small museum commemorates the life of the Slovak poet Ivan Krasko
Ivan Krasko
Ivan Krasko was a Slovak poet, translator and representative of modernism in Slovakia....
, who lived in Piešťany from 1945 to 1958. Finally, a new museum at the airport exhibits a collection related to the Slovak military history.
Notable residents
- An art colonyArt colonyright|300px|thumb|Artist houses in [[Montsalvat]] near [[Melbourne, Australia]].An art colony or artists' colony is a place where creative practitioners live and interact with one another. Artists are often invited or selected through a formal process, for a residency from a few weeks to over a year...
established by several Slovak artists, including Janko AlexyJanko AlexyJanko Alexy was a famous painter, writer, and publicist of Slovak origin. He is generally recognized as one of key personalities in the beginning of Modern Slovak Art.He studied at the Academy of Visual Arts in Prague by Vlaho Bukovac, Maximilian Pirner and Max Švabinský...
, Martin BenkaMartin BenkaMartin Benka was a Slovak painter and illustrator. He is regarded as the founder of Modernist 20th century Slovak painting...
, Alexander Miloš Bazovský, and Zolo Palugay, existed in Piešťany in 1932–1937 - Ivan KraskoIvan KraskoIvan Krasko was a Slovak poet, translator and representative of modernism in Slovakia....
, Slovak poet lived in Piešťany in 1945-1958 (his former apartment houses a small museum) - Charles KorvinCharles KorvinCharles Korvin was a film and television actor. The Piešťany, Hungary-born actor moved to the United States in 1940 after studying at the Sorbonne. Korvin made his stage debut on Broadway in 1943 using the name Geza Korvin...
Hungarian-American actor, born Kárpáthy - Ivan StodolaIvan StodolaIvan Stodola was Slovak dramatist and writer.-Biography:He was born in Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš into a family of professional tanners and teachers. He was educated in his hometown, Prešov and Kežmarok, and later, he studied medicine at college in Budapest and Berlin, earning a degree in 1912...
, writer, playwright, and physician lived in Piešťany in 1953–1977 - Irena BelohorskáIrena BelohorskáIrena Belohorská is a Slovak politician and former Member of the European Parliament with the Ludova strana - Hnutie za demokraticke Slovensko, and is therefore a Non-Inscrit in the European Parliament....
, politician, former member of European Parliament, born in Piešťany in 1948 - Ľudmila CervanováLudmila CervanováĽudmila Cervanová is a professional female tennis player from Slovakia. She turned professional in 1997.Cervanová was born in Piešťany and currently still lives in her birthplace....
, professional tennis player was born in Piešťany in 1979 - Róbert ErbanRóbert ErbanRóbert Erban is a Czechoslovak-Slovak sprint canoer who competed from the early 1990s to the mid 2000s. He won four medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with a gold , two silvers , and a bronze .Erban also competed in...
, world champion in the kayak K4 was born in Piešťany in 1972 - Slavomír KňazovickýSlavomír KnazovickýSlavomír Kňazovický is a Czechoslovak-Slovak sprint canoer who competed from the early 1990s to the early 2000s. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won a silver in the C-1 500 m event at Atlanta in 1996....
, flatwater canoer was born in Piešťany in 1969 - Martina MoravcováMartina MoravcováMartina Moravcová is a medley, butterfly and freestyle swimmer from Slovakia. She made her international swimming debut in 1991 for Czechoslovakia, and has gone on to compete in five consecutive Summer Olympics...
, swimmer with 2 silver Olympic medals was born in Piešťany in 1976 and grew up in the town - Branko RadivojevičBranko RadivojevicBranko Radivojevič is a Slovak professional ice hockey forward currently playing for Spartak Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League...
, ice hockey player was born in Piešťany in 1980 - Shmuel Dovid UngarShmuel Dovid UngarRabbi Shmuel Dovid Ungar , also known as Rabbi Samuel David Ungar, was the rabbi of the Slovakian town of Nitra and dean of the last surviving yeshiva in occupied Europe during World War II...
, rosh yeshivaRosh yeshivaRosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
of the Nitra Yeshiva, born in Piešťany in 1886 - Victor VasarelyVictor VasarelyVictor Vasarely was a Hungarian French artist whose work is generally seen aligned with Op-art.His work entitled Zebra, created by Vasarely in the 1930s, is considered by some to be one of the earliest examples of Op-art...
, Hungarian artist, father of op-art, grew up in Piešťany - Dominika CibulkováDominika CibulkováDominika Cibulková is a Slovak professional tennis player. She is also a former World Junior No. 3, achieving that ranking in May 2005. Her career-high ranking of World No. 12 was achieved on 6 July 2009...
, professional tennis player, born in 1989, grew up in Piešťany - Filip HološkoFilip HološkoFilip Hološko is a Slovak football striker who currently plays for the Süper Lig team Beşiktaş and the Slovakia national football team.-International career:...
, professional footballer - Ernö RubikErno Rubik (aircraft designer)Ernő Rubik was a Hungarian aircraft designer and father of Ernő Rubik, the architect who became famous for his mechanical puzzles....
, Hungarian aircraft designer - Lukáš LackoLukáš LackoLukáš Lacko is a professional Slovak tennis player. His highest ATP singles ranking was 60, which he reached on February 22, 2010. His career high doubles ranking was 213 on November 30, 2009.- Tennis career :...
, Tennis player - Patrik 'Rytmus' Vrbovský, Slovak rapperRappingRapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
- Michal 'Ego' Straka, Slovak rapperRappingRapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
Twin towns — Sister cities
Piešťany 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: Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
IX, Hungary Eilat, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
Hajdúnánás
Hajdúnánás
Hajdúnánás is a town in Hajdú-Bihar county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 17,498 people .-Twin towns — Sister cities:Hajdúnánás is twinned with: Ustroń, Poland...
, Hungary Heinola
Heinola
Heinola is a town and a municipality of inhabitants located in the Province of Southern Finland. Heinola is perhaps best known for its summer activities such as the Sauna-sitting World Championships.-History:...
, Finland Luhačovice
Luhacovice
Luhačovice is a spa town in the Zlín Region, Moravia, Czech Republic.It occupies a valley, whose elevation is a minimum of 250 m above sea level...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
Montevago
Montevago
Montevago is a comune in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about 60 km southwest of Palermo and about 70 km northwest of Agrigento....
, Italy Poděbrady
Podebrady
Poděbrady is a historical spa town in the Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It lies on the river Labe 50 km east of Prague on the D11 highway. A historic milestone in the life of the town was the year 1905, when it was visited by the German estate owner Prince von Bülow...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
Ustroń
Ustron
Ustroń is a health resort town in Cieszyn Silesia, southern Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship , having previously been in Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship . It lies in the Silesian Beskids mountain range....
, Poland Varaždinske Toplice
Varaždinske Toplice
Varaždinske Toplice is a town in Croatia in the Varaždin County. The town is well known for its hot springs and medical center Aquae Iasae.In the 2011 census, the population of the municipality is 6,399, composed of the following settlements:...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...