Zlaté Moravce
Encyclopedia
Zlaté Moravce is a town in south-western 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...

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Basic data

It is the capital and the biggest town of Zlaté Moravce District
Zlaté Moravce District
Zlaté Moravce District is a district inthe Nitra Region of western Slovakia.Until 1918, the district formed mostly part of the Hungarian county of Tekov, apart from a small area in the west around Kostoľany pod Tribečom which formed part of the county of Nitra.- Municipalities...

. It is approximately 120 km from the Slovak capital 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...

 and 32 km from 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...

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History

The town is situated on the banks of the river Žitava
Žitava River
The Žitava River is a 99.3 km long river in southern Slovakia. It is the right tributary of the Nitra river.-See also:* Peace of Zsitvatorok...

, in the northern part of the Podunajská Heights. Nowadays, it also includes the area of formerly separate boroughs Chyzerovce and Prílepy. Thanks to its favourable location on the natural terrace of the river Žitava
Žitava River
The Žitava River is a 99.3 km long river in southern Slovakia. It is the right tributary of the Nitra river.-See also:* Peace of Zsitvatorok...

, the traces of the continuous settlement of this area go back to the Paleolithic Age. The rich archeological findings in the town area also prove intensive Great Moravian settlement in the 9th-10th century. A unique finding – a golden pectoral cross – is associated with this settlement.

The origin of the oldest name of the borough "Morowa" in the Charter of Zobor of 1113 is related to that time as well. This charter is the oldest written proof of the existence of Moravce as Zobor Monastery’s property. The borough that was situated on the important route to Tekov was already in the 13th century dominated by a small Roman church surrounded by a cemetery, which was located on the site of today’s square.

The first written mentions of the town are from 12th century
Century
A century is one hundred consecutive years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages .-Start and end in the Gregorian Calendar:...

 A.D.
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....

 (1113 Morowa, 1284 Marouth). "Moravce" [pronounced app. Moravtseh], a word in plural, was a frequent settlement name in Slovakia and means "settlement of (the tribe) Moravians
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...

". The attribute "zlaté", meaning "golden", was added only later in order to distinguish the settlement's name from all the other "Moravce"s. She was occupied by Ottomans between 1530-1634.

Rivers (Žitava
Žitava River
The Žitava River is a 99.3 km long river in southern Slovakia. It is the right tributary of the Nitra river.-See also:* Peace of Zsitvatorok...

, Zlatnanka) in the surrounding areas were known in the past for gold washing. Note the name of the second river. In the Slavic languages Zlato means gold.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census
Census
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 15,618 inhabitants. 97.09% 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...

, 0.60% 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 0.29% Hungarians. The religious makeup was 82.52% Roman Catholics, 10.59% people with no religious affiliation and 1.48% Lutherans. An active Jewish community had existed here until the Holocaust.

Industry

The town is known for the production of kitchen technologies and building materials - bricks.

External links

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