Spišská Nová Ves
Encyclopedia
Spišská Nová Ves
Spišská Nová Ves ' onMouseout='HidePop("44582")' href="/topics/Town">town
in the Košice Region
of Slovakia
. The town is located southeast of the High Tatras
in the Spiš
region, and lies on both banks of the Hornád
River. It is the biggest town of the Spišská Nová Ves District
(okres
). As of 2006 the population was 38,357.
Tourist attractions nearby include the mediaeval town of Levoča
, Spiš Castle
and the Slovak Paradise
National Park. A biennial music festival, Divertimento musicale, is held here, attracting amateur music ensembles from all over Slovakia.
age. There is evidence of a prosperous society that was familiar with copper mining and processing. When the Celts arrived they brought with them advanced iron technology. Celtic coins have been found in the region. During the 6th century, the period known as the Great Migration
, Slavic
tribes appeared in the Spiš
region. During the 10th century the structure of their settlements stabilized and important communication roads were established. The settlement was included within the state of Great Moravia
. By the 12th century at the latest a Slovak settlement had been established known as Iglov, situated between Mlynská street (Mill Street) and the Reduta, in the centre of the present town. The settlement suffered greatly from the invading Tartars in the 13th century. Saxon
(Carpathian German) colonists were settled here in the 13th century and their settlement became known as "Villa Nova” ("New Town" in Latin) or "Neudorf" ("New Town" in German), covering the area of the present town. Iglov and Neudorf were amalgamated into one town in the second half of the 13th century.
The town received market rights in the 14th century and grew to become an important market town. It became an official mining town in 1380 and had the largest street market in the Kingdom of Hungary
. Copper mining was an important activity. The metal was processed in furnaces, which were fuelled with wood from the surrounding forests. A Gothic bell foundry was established by Konrád Gaal who made a large hanging bell for Louis I of Hungary, and was consequently knighted in 1357. The bells made by Konrád Gaal are still hanging and form an important conlegacy of European Gothic
metal foundry.
In 1412 Spišská Nová Ves, along with several other Spiš towns, was pawned as loan security by the Hungarian king Sigmund
to the Polish king Vladislaus II Jagiełło. This pledge lasted for 360 years.
Blacksmiths were the first local craftsmen to unite into a guild
, which was given royal privileges in 1436. They smelted their own ore
, or built water-driven forge
s along the rivers Hornád
and Dubnica. Coppersmiths made kettles of a specifically defined weight because kettles were widely used as a means of payment. There were charcoal burners
and even resin
pickers who collected resin from trees to produce tar for greasing wagons. There were wheelwright
s, coopers
, weavers, joiner
s, gunsmith
s, basket-makers, baker
s, furriers, tanners, cook
s and miller
s, hunters, fishermen
and beekeeper
s.
There were many Germans
living in Spiš and through their influence the town became Lutheran in the 1540s. Between 1569 and 1674 Catholic
services were forbidden in the pawned towns. There were many contacts with Poland
and this helped to stimulate the national consciousness of the Slovak people. The pawned towns were returned to the Kingdom of Hungary in 1772. In 1778 Spišská Nová Ves became the capital of the "Province of 16 Szepes towns".
In the 19th century the manufacture of stoneware
was important in the town. The products all bore a trademark formed from the word “Iglo” with two crossed miners’ hammers. Other industrial activities included oil production and a weaving plant as well as agricultural machines. The railway provided an important means of communication from 1870. A power station was built in 1894 and living conditions improved. In July 1929 the Podtatranská výstava (Sub-Tatras Exhibition) showed results of economic growth and made the town famous in Slovakia.
. The core of the town is a lens-shaped square (a square with bulging sides), typical of medieval towns. It is a cultural, administrative and business centre of the Spiš region, and is rich in art and historical monuments.
Foremost is the three-naved Gothic church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
standing in the centre of the town. Its construction dates back to the 14th century and its architecture has been partly preserved. The bas-relief of the Virgin Mary's Coronation on the Gothic tympanum
on the south portal of the church is considered to be amongst the most beautiful in the Spiš region. It contains carvings by Master Paul of Levoča
. The side pillars are topped by Gothic pinnacle
s terminating in crossed rosettes. A rosette with tracery
crowns the entrance of the church. The tower is 87m high, the highest church tower in Slovakia. The neogothic
top of the tower dates from 1893 and was executed by the architect Imrich Steindl. The neogothic altar dates from the end of the 19th century. The church contains several liturgical treasures : a cross-shaped silver (and partly gilded) reliquary by the Sienese
court jeweller Nicolas Gallicus (first half of the 14th century - but the initials NC may also refer to a possible contributor Nicolaus Castellanus), a silver (partly gilded) crucifix
and monstrance
attributed to Antonio from Košice
(early 16th century), a chalice by Jan Kolbenhayer (1795) and a rare bronze baptismal font (second half 13th century). The Calvary
Group (1520) is another masterpiece from the workshop of the Master Paul of Levoča. The church vaulted ceiling contains early renaissance paintings with the Evangelists and four angels playing on musical instruments.
The Evangelical church, standing next to the town hall, was built in Classicist style between1790 and 1796. It has a cross-shaped ground plan. Inside one can see an altar piece of Christ on the Mount of Olives, painted by Danish painter Stunder. The water well is decorated with an alabaster relief of Christ with the Good Samaritan.
Another valuable architectural monument is the Province House, now housing the Spiš museum. It has a baroque
façade
, but the basement dates from the 13th century. This house was the town hall from the Middle Ages until 1777. The peace treaty between John Jiskra of Brandýs and the Hungarian king Vladislav was signed here in 1443. Its façade includes the underpass "Levoca gate" with in the middle of its arch the crest of the Province of XVI Spiš towns. The upper part of the façade is decorated with rococo stucco motives (rocaille) representing in Latin the moral qualities required of a town official : (from left to right) PONDERE SOLO (According to importance only), UTQUIS MERETUR (as one deserves), SUUM CUIQUE (give everyone his due), DIE NOCTUQUE (day and night), IN SOMNIS CUSTOS (guardian during sleep), HINC OCULOS NUSQUAM (not turning his eyes away).
The Town Hall was built between 1777-1779 in the Classical style
, and was reconstructed in the mid 1990s. The main façade faces south while the main entrance is on the north side. The south façade has three big arched windows situated between four semi-columns under a massive tympanum
. One can see within the tympanum the city's coat-of-arms between two griffin
s.The two inner columns have Ionic
capitals. The council chamber occupies two floors and is lavishly decorated with pilasters and sgraffito
with motifs of drapery alternating with the city coat-of-arms.
The theatre building "Reduta" was built in art-nouveau style between 1899 and 1902 by the Budapest architect Koloman Gerster. He divided its northern and southern part by a risalith ( a projection jutting out of the façade). He accentuated the corners of the building by four turrets. He prolongated the western part into a semicircular vestibule. The stage wall is decorated with murals by the local painter Jozef Hanula. Today the building combines a theatre, a richly decorated concert hall and a restaurant.
, the town had 39,193 inhabitants. 94.21% of inhabitants were Slovaks
, 1.93% Roma and 0.51% Czechs
. The religious makeup was 69.81% Roman Catholics, 16.95% people with no religious affiliation, 3.17% Lutherans and 3.05% Greek Catholics.
is a junction
between the Košice–Žilina railway, which is part of Slovakia's main east-west rail corridor, and a 12 km (7.5 mi) spur line to Levoča. Regular passenger services on the spur line have been suspended since 2003.
Spišská Nová Ves ' onMouseout='HidePop("44582")' href="/topics/Town">town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in the Košice Region
Košice Region
The Košice Region is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. It consists of 11 districts .-Geography:It is located in the southern part of eastern Slovakia and covers an area of 6,752 km²...
of 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...
. The town is located southeast of the High Tatras
High Tatras
High Tatras or High Tatra are a mountain range on the borders between Slovakia and Poland. They are a part of the Tatra Mountains...
in the Spiš
Spiš
Spiš is a region in north-eastern Slovakia, with a very small area in south-eastern Poland. Spiš is an informal designation of the territory , but it is also the name of one the 21 official tourism regions of Slovakia...
region, and lies on both banks of the Hornád
Hornád
Hornád or Hernád is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary.It is a tributary to the river Sajó, which is itself a tributary to the river Tisza. The source of the Hornád is in the Low Tatra mountains under the Kráľova hoľa hill, southwest of Poprad...
River. It is the biggest town of the Spišská Nová Ves District
Spišská Nová Ves District
Spišská Nová Ves District is a district in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia.Until 1918, the district was mostly part of the Hungarian county of Spiš, apart from a small area around the...
(okres
Okres
Okres refers to administrative entities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia...
). As of 2006 the population was 38,357.
Tourist attractions nearby include the mediaeval town of Levoča
Levoca
Levoča is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia with a population of 14,600. The town has a historic center with a well preserved town wall, a Renaissance church with the highest wooden altar in Europe, carved by Master Paul of Levoča, and many other Renaissance buildings.On 28 June 2009,...
, Spiš Castle
Spiš Castle
The ruins of Spiš Castle in eastern Slovakia form one of the largest castle sites in Central Europe. The castle is situated above the town of Spišské Podhradie and the village of Žehra, in the region known as Spiš...
and the Slovak Paradise
Slovak Paradise
Slovak Paradise is a mountain range in central Slovakia. It is a part of the Spiš-Gemer Karst, which in turn is a part of the Slovenské rudohorie Mountains, a major subdivision of the Western Carpathians....
National Park. A biennial music festival, Divertimento musicale, is held here, attracting amateur music ensembles from all over Slovakia.
History
Settlement in the town's region dates to the NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
age. There is evidence of a prosperous society that was familiar with copper mining and processing. When the Celts arrived they brought with them advanced iron technology. Celtic coins have been found in the region. During the 6th century, the period known as the Great Migration
Migration Period
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions , was a period of intensified human migration in Europe that occurred from c. 400 to 800 CE. This period marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
, 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...
tribes appeared in the Spiš
Spiš
Spiš is a region in north-eastern Slovakia, with a very small area in south-eastern Poland. Spiš is an informal designation of the territory , but it is also the name of one the 21 official tourism regions of Slovakia...
region. During the 10th century the structure of their settlements stabilized and important communication roads were established. The settlement was included within the state of 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...
. By the 12th century at the latest a Slovak settlement had been established known as Iglov, situated between Mlynská street (Mill Street) and the Reduta, in the centre of the present town. The settlement suffered greatly from the invading Tartars in the 13th century. Saxon
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
(Carpathian German) colonists were settled here in the 13th century and their settlement became known as "Villa Nova” ("New Town" in Latin) or "Neudorf" ("New Town" in German), covering the area of the present town. Iglov and Neudorf were amalgamated into one town in the second half of the 13th century.
The town received market rights in the 14th century and grew to become an important market town. It became an official mining town in 1380 and had the largest street market in 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...
. Copper mining was an important activity. The metal was processed in furnaces, which were fuelled with wood from the surrounding forests. A Gothic bell foundry was established by Konrád Gaal who made a large hanging bell for Louis I of Hungary, and was consequently knighted in 1357. The bells made by Konrád Gaal are still hanging and form an important conlegacy of European Gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
metal foundry.
In 1412 Spišská Nová Ves, along with several other Spiš towns, was pawned as loan security by the Hungarian king Sigmund
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
to the Polish king Vladislaus II Jagiełło. This pledge lasted for 360 years.
Blacksmiths were the first local craftsmen to unite into a guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
, which was given royal privileges in 1436. They smelted their own ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
, or built water-driven forge
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...
s along the rivers Hornád
Hornád
Hornád or Hernád is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary.It is a tributary to the river Sajó, which is itself a tributary to the river Tisza. The source of the Hornád is in the Low Tatra mountains under the Kráľova hoľa hill, southwest of Poprad...
and Dubnica. Coppersmiths made kettles of a specifically defined weight because kettles were widely used as a means of payment. There were charcoal burners
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
and even resin
Resin
Resin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...
pickers who collected resin from trees to produce tar for greasing wagons. There were wheelwright
Wheelwright
A wheelwright is a person who builds or repairs wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the archaic word "wright", which comes from the Old English word "wryhta", meaning a worker or maker...
s, coopers
Cooper (profession)
Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...
, weavers, joiner
Joiner
A joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
s, gunsmith
Gunsmith
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms. This occupation is different from an armorer. The armorer primarily maintains weapons and limited repairs involving parts replacement and possibly work involving accurization...
s, basket-makers, baker
Baker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
s, furriers, tanners, cook
Cook (profession)
A cook is a person who prepares food for consumption. In Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Canada this profession requires government approval ....
s and miller
Miller
A miller usually refers to a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a cereal crop to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents in other languages around the world...
s, hunters, fishermen
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
and beekeeper
Beekeeper
A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees for the purposes of securing commodities such as honey, beeswax, pollen, royal jelly; pollinating fruits and vegetables; raising queens and bees for sale to other farmers; and/or for purposes satisfying natural scientific curiosity...
s.
There were many Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
living in Spiš and through their influence the town became Lutheran in the 1540s. Between 1569 and 1674 Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
services were forbidden in the pawned towns. There were many contacts with 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 this helped to stimulate the national consciousness of the Slovak people. The pawned towns were returned to the Kingdom of Hungary in 1772. In 1778 Spišská Nová Ves became the capital of the "Province of 16 Szepes towns".
In the 19th century the manufacture of stoneware
Stoneware
Stoneware is a vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic ware with a fine texture. Stoneware is made from clay that is then fired in a kiln, whether by an artisan to make homeware, or in an industrial kiln for mass-produced or specialty products...
was important in the town. The products all bore a trademark formed from the word “Iglo” with two crossed miners’ hammers. Other industrial activities included oil production and a weaving plant as well as agricultural machines. The railway provided an important means of communication from 1870. A power station was built in 1894 and living conditions improved. In July 1929 the Podtatranská výstava (Sub-Tatras Exhibition) showed results of economic growth and made the town famous in Slovakia.
Spišská Nová Ves today
Spišská Nová Ves is a popular tourist attraction today, both because of the town itself and because of the unique natural beauty of the nearby Slovak Paradise mountainsSlovak Paradise
Slovak Paradise is a mountain range in central Slovakia. It is a part of the Spiš-Gemer Karst, which in turn is a part of the Slovenské rudohorie Mountains, a major subdivision of the Western Carpathians....
. The core of the town is a lens-shaped square (a square with bulging sides), typical of medieval towns. It is a cultural, administrative and business centre of the Spiš region, and is rich in art and historical monuments.
Foremost is the three-naved Gothic church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
Assumption of the Virgin Mary
Many significant works of art depict the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. They include:* Assumption of the Virgin by Francesco Botticini* Assumption of the Virgin by Titian* Assumption of the Virgin by Antonio da Correggio...
standing in the centre of the town. Its construction dates back to the 14th century and its architecture has been partly preserved. The bas-relief of the Virgin Mary's Coronation on the Gothic tympanum
Tympanum (architecture)
In architecture, a tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element....
on the south portal of the church is considered to be amongst the most beautiful in the Spiš region. It contains carvings by Master Paul of Levoča
Master Paul of Levoca
Master Paul of Levoča was a medieval carver and sculptor of the15th and 16th century, active mostly in the town of Levoča , in the Kingdom of Hungary, in what is today eastern Slovakia....
. The side pillars are topped by Gothic pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s terminating in crossed rosettes. A rosette with tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
crowns the entrance of the church. The tower is 87m high, the highest church tower in Slovakia. The neogothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
top of the tower dates from 1893 and was executed by the architect Imrich Steindl. The neogothic altar dates from the end of the 19th century. The church contains several liturgical treasures : a cross-shaped silver (and partly gilded) reliquary by the Sienese
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
court jeweller Nicolas Gallicus (first half of the 14th century - but the initials NC may also refer to a possible contributor Nicolaus Castellanus), a silver (partly gilded) crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
and monstrance
Monstrance
A monstrance is the vessel used in the Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, and Anglican churches to display the consecrated Eucharistic host, during Eucharistic adoration or Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Created in the medieval period for the public display of relics, the monstrance today is...
attributed to Antonio from 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...
(early 16th century), a chalice by Jan Kolbenhayer (1795) and a rare bronze baptismal font (second half 13th century). The Calvary
Calvary
Calvary or Golgotha was the site, outside of ancient Jerusalem’s early first century walls, at which the crucifixion of Jesus is said to have occurred. Calvary and Golgotha are the English names for the site used in Western Christianity...
Group (1520) is another masterpiece from the workshop of the Master Paul of Levoča. The church vaulted ceiling contains early renaissance paintings with the Evangelists and four angels playing on musical instruments.
The Evangelical church, standing next to the town hall, was built in Classicist style between1790 and 1796. It has a cross-shaped ground plan. Inside one can see an altar piece of Christ on the Mount of Olives, painted by Danish painter Stunder. The water well is decorated with an alabaster relief of Christ with the Good Samaritan.
Another valuable architectural monument is the Province House, now housing the Spiš museum. It has a baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
, but the basement dates from the 13th century. This house was the town hall from the Middle Ages until 1777. The peace treaty between John Jiskra of Brandýs and the Hungarian king Vladislav was signed here in 1443. Its façade includes the underpass "Levoca gate" with in the middle of its arch the crest of the Province of XVI Spiš towns. The upper part of the façade is decorated with rococo stucco motives (rocaille) representing in Latin the moral qualities required of a town official : (from left to right) PONDERE SOLO (According to importance only), UTQUIS MERETUR (as one deserves), SUUM CUIQUE (give everyone his due), DIE NOCTUQUE (day and night), IN SOMNIS CUSTOS (guardian during sleep), HINC OCULOS NUSQUAM (not turning his eyes away).
The Town Hall was built between 1777-1779 in the Classical style
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
, and was reconstructed in the mid 1990s. The main façade faces south while the main entrance is on the north side. The south façade has three big arched windows situated between four semi-columns under a massive tympanum
Tympanum
Tympanum may refer to:* Tympanum , an architectural element located within the arch or pediment* Tympanum , a hearing organ/gland in frogs and toads, a flat red oval on both sides of a frog's head* Tympanum, in biology, the eardrum...
. One can see within the tympanum the city's coat-of-arms between two griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
s.The two inner columns have Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
capitals. The council chamber occupies two floors and is lavishly decorated with pilasters and sgraffito
Sgraffito
Sgraffito is a technique either of wall decor, produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colors to a moistened surface, or in ceramics, by applying to an unfired ceramic body two successive layers of contrasting slip, and then in either case scratching so as to produce an...
with motifs of drapery alternating with the city coat-of-arms.
The theatre building "Reduta" was built in art-nouveau style between 1899 and 1902 by the Budapest architect Koloman Gerster. He divided its northern and southern part by a risalith ( a projection jutting out of the façade). He accentuated the corners of the building by four turrets. He prolongated the western part into a semicircular vestibule. The stage wall is decorated with murals by the local painter Jozef Hanula. Today the building combines a theatre, a richly decorated concert hall and a restaurant.
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 39,193 inhabitants. 94.21% 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...
, 1.93% Roma and 0.51% 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 69.81% Roman Catholics, 16.95% people with no religious affiliation, 3.17% Lutherans and 3.05% Greek Catholics.
Transport
Spišská Nová Ves railway stationSpišská Nová Ves railway station
Spišská Nová Ves railway station serves the town and municipality of Spišská Nová Ves, in the Košice Region, eastern Slovakia.Opened in 1871, the station is a junction between the Košice–Žilina railway, which is part of Slovakia's main east-west rail corridor, and a spur line to Levoča.The...
is a junction
Junction (rail)
A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , 'points' and signalling.one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a fairly simple layout of tracks suffices to...
between the Košice–Žilina railway, which is part of Slovakia's main east-west rail corridor, and a 12 km (7.5 mi) spur line to Levoča. Regular passenger services on the spur line have been suspended since 2003.
Partner towns
| Kisújszállás Kisújszállás Kisújszállás is a town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 12,869 people .-History:History of the city... , 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... Alsfeld Alsfeld Alsfeld is a town in the center of Hesse, somewhere in Germany. Large towns nearby are Bad Hersfeld about 33 km to the east, Fulda 36 km to the southeast, Gießen 47 km to the west and Marburg an der Lahn about 36 km to the northwest... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... Clausthal-Zellerfeld Clausthal-Zellerfeld Clausthal-Zellerfeld is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains. Its population is approximately 15,000, Clausthal-Zellerfeld is also the seat of the Samtgemeinde Oberharz.... , Germany Grójec Grójec Grójec is a town in Poland. Located in the Masovian Voivodeship, about 40 km south of Warsaw, it is the capital of Grójec County. It has about 14,875 inhabitants . Grójec surroundings are considered to be the biggest apple-growing area of Poland. It is said, that the region makes up also for... , 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... Havlíčkův Brod Havlíckuv Brod Havlíčkův Brod , Německý Brod until 1945 is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It is also the capital of the Havlíčkův Brod district. It is located on the Sázava River in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and has a population of 24,321 as of 2003... , 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.... |
Joinville Joinville Joinville is a city in Santa Catarina State, in the Southern Region of Brazil. Joinville is Santa Catarina's largest city. In 2010, its population has reached approximately 520,000, many of whom are of German descent.... , Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... L'Aigle L'Aigle L'Aigle is a commune in the Orne department in Basse-Normandie in north-western France.This commune used to be known as Laigle. According to Orderic Vitalis, the nest of an eagle was discovered during the construction of the castle.... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... Nitra Nitra Nitra is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. With a population of about 83,572, it is the fifth largest city in Slovakia. Nitra is also one of the oldest cities in Slovakia and the country's earliest political and cultural center... , Slovakia Preveza Preveza Preveza is a town in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epirus. An immersed tunnel, completed in 2002 which runs between Preveza and Actium, connects the town... , Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania... , USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |