Dobšiná

Dobšiná
Town
Town hall in Dobšiná
Country Slovakia
Region Košice
District Rožňava
Tourism region Gemer
Elevation 468 m (1,535 ft)
Coordinates SK 48°49′14″N 20°21′57″E / 48.82056°N 20.36583°E / 48.82056; 20.36583Coordinates: SK 48°49′14″N 20°21′57″E / 48.82056°N 20.36583°E / 48.82056; 20.36583
Area 82.727 km2 (32 sq mi)
Population 5,125 (31 December 2005)
Density 62/km2 (161/sq mi)
First mentioned 1326
Mayor Karol Horník
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 04925
Phone prefix 421-58
Car plate RV
Location of Dobšiná in Slovakia
Location of Dobšiná in the Košice Region
Wikimedia Commons: Dobšiná
Statistics: MOŠ/MIS
Website: http://www.dobsina.sk

Dobšiná (German: Dobschau; Hungarian: Dobsina; Latin: Dobsinium) is a town in the Slovenské rudohorie mountains (Slovak Ore Mountains) in Slovakia, on the Slaná River, north-west of Košice.

Geography

It is situated between Revúcka vrchovina and Volovské vrchy in the Carpathians, and lies to the south of the beautiful Stratená valley, watered by the river Hnilec, and enclosed on all sides by mountains. The well-known ice cave Dobšinská Ice Cave (discovered in 1870) can be found in that valley and belongs to the territory of the village.[1]

History

The first written reference to the settlement occurred in 1326; the text mentions that ethnic German mining experts had settled here.[1] It received a town charter in 1417, becoming a major town for the minority of Carpathian Germans. The town was a center of mining (gold, silver, nickel, later iron, cobalt, copper, mercury etc.) and iron processing in the past. In the vicinity are mines of various materials, some of them very ancient.

Until the 18th Century, Dobšiná was more or less a German enclave, but after strict Magyarization, the German community lost some of its clout but it was still the dominant ethnic group in the town. Oddly enough in 1927 there was a German (Buliner) Festival to celebrate the 600th anniversary and much of it was conducted in German, as the majority of the town still spoke it as well as Hungarian. The Church records from as early as the 1600s show that the town was overwhelmingly German. The residents referred to themselves as Dobschauer or Topschauer and spoke a dialect of German called Buliner.During World War II, Slovak forces forced the ethnic Germans to leave, and at the war's end when they were returning to their home, Slovak soldiers massacred most of them, thereby effectively destroying the German presence in the town. After the war Slovaks from other parts of Czechoslovakia were resettled in these homes.[2]

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the town had 4,896 inhabitants. 88.58% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 9.01% Roma, 0.63% Hungarians and 0.27% Czechs.If you look at the local telephone directory however there are still dozens of German names but these people were forced to assimilate after World War II.[3] The religious make-up was 35.23% Roman Catholics, 33.58% people with no religious affiliation, 25.25% Lutherans and 0.47% Greek Catholics.[3]

Twin towns — Sister cities

Dobšiná is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. 1 2  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dobsina". Encyclopædia Britannica. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 352.
  2. ↑ Chovan, Branislav (April 23, 2007) "Dobšiná: History Talks." The Slovak Spectator. (Retrieved 7-7-13.)
  3. 1 2 "Municipal Statistics". Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Archived from the original on 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

Genealogical resources

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

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