Levice

For the "comune" in Italy, see Levice, Piedmont.
Levice
Town
Town hall of Levice
Country Slovakia
Region Nitriansky kraj
District Levice
River Hron
Elevation 163 m (535 ft)
Coordinates SK 48°12′59″N 18°36′29″E / 48.21639°N 18.60806°E / 48.21639; 18.60806Coordinates: SK 48°12′59″N 18°36′29″E / 48.21639°N 18.60806°E / 48.21639; 18.60806
Area 60.996 km2 (24 sq mi)
Population 35,980 (31 December 2006)
Density 590/km2 (1,528/sq mi)
First mentioned 1156
Mayor Štefan Mišák
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 934 01
Phone prefix 421-36
Car plate LV
Location of Levice within Slovakia
Wikimedia Commons: Levice
Statistics: MOŠ/MIS
Website: http://www.levice.sk

Levice (Slovak pronunciation: [lɛvit͡sɛ]; Hungarian: Léva, Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈleːvɒ]; German: Lewenz; Turkish: Leva, literally lionesses) is a town in western Slovakia. The town lies on the left bank of the lower Hron river. The Old Slavic name of the town was Leva, which means "the Left One".

The town is located in the north-eastern corner of the Danubian Lowland (Podunajská nížina), 110 kilometres (68 miles) east of Bratislava, 40 kilometres (25 miles) south-east of Nitra, 32 kilometres (20 miles) south-west of Banská Štiavnica, 55 kilometres (34 miles) south-west of Zvolen and 25 kilometres (16 miles) from the border with Hungary.

It is the capital of the Levice District, which is the largest district in Slovakia at 1,551 square kilometres (599 square miles). The town's heraldic animal is lion (in Slovak lev), and the town's colours are green and yellow.

History

Levice Castle

Levice is first mentioned as Leua, one of the villages belonging to the parish of St. Martin's Church in Bratka (Hungarian: Baratka) in 1165. It was part of the comitatus Tekov (Bars).

First attacked by the Turks in 1544, the town was set on fire while the castle was left unharmed. Between 1581 and 1589, the settlement was the seat of the Captaincy of Lower Hungary. The town was held by the Turks for two decades from 1663 to 1685. Under the Ottoman administration Leva was the center of a sandjak, which was part of the Uyvar eyalet.

Ottoman rule came to an end in the summer of 1685, when the Austrian Imperial Army led by General de Souches claimed an important victory at the Battle of Levice, which took place beneath the town's castle.

Austrian map, 1672

During the anti-Habsburg revolution of 1709, the fort was blown up by kuruces. After the break-up of Austria-Hungary, the town became a part of Czechoslovakia (confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920). As part of the breakup of Czechoslovakia under the Munich Agreement in World War II, the town again belonged to Hungary from 1938 to 1945. At the end of the Second World War it was returned to the restored Czechoslovakia, 75% of the town's Hungarian population was deported and replaced by Slovaks,thus the ratio of Hungarians fell from 89% to 12%. In 1993 it became part of present-day Slovakia.

It was the hometown of Eugene Fodor (1905–1991), the founder of Fodor's travel book company.

Demographics

Census 2011: 34.844 inhabitants (100%)

Ethnicity

Religious makeup

Roman Catholic (majority), Reformed Protestant (Calvinist), Moravian Brethren (the biggest congregation in Slovakia), Lutheran, Baptist, Old Catholic Church, Adventist of the 7th Day, Modrý kríž (Blue Cross), several Charismatic and Pentecostal communities, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslim community (non-practising), Jewish community (non-practising), atheists

Economy

Production

Main square – 1938

Textiles, cosmetics, furniture, products from locally obtained Golden Onyx, machinery and construction components, cereals, meat, eggs, dairy products, soft drinks, malt, wine (Levická frankovka is a trademark for locally produced red-wine). One of Slovakia's two nuclear power plants is in Mochovce, 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) north-west of Levice.

Education

There are 8 elementary schools (7 secular including 1 Hungarian, and 1 Roman Catholic school), a general High School, a Hungarian Calvinist High School (Lyceum), a Business Academy, a Pedagogical and Social Academy, a Secondary Technical School, a Secondary Agricultural School and various apprentice schools.

Main sights

Levice castle, Slovakia, castle, aerial photography
Levice castle, Slovakia, castle, aerial photography

Places of worship

Church St.Michal

Other sights

Functionalist architectures

Nearby places of interest

Notable people

Levice is the birthplace of geographer Kálmán Kittenberger (1881–1958). Levice is the birthplace of Anita Sikapa.

References

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