Michalovce
Encyclopedia
Michalovce is a town on the Laborec river in eastern Slovakia
, with a population around 40,000. It is the biggest town of the Michalovce District
(okres
) in the Košice Region
.
, in the Eastern Slovak Lowland
on the Laborec river, historically belonging to the Zemplén county. The town is about 60 km east of Košice
and 35 km west of Uzhhorod
, Ukraine
. Geographical features nearby include the Vihorlat Mountains
and the Zemplínska šírava
lake.
. The Slavs
arrived in the area in the fifth century. The area was part of the Great Moravia
n empire in the ninth century. From the tenth century onwards, the region had been part of Hungary
. After the Ottoman
conquest in south central Hungary in the sixteenth century, Hungary was divided, and present-day Michalovce became part of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom
, and later Royal Hungary
. The town grew significantly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and since the Austrian-Hungarian Ausgleich
of 1867, it achieved a status of a large community and shortly afterward became seat of one of the districts of Zemplén County.
After World War I
, in 1918 (confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon
in 1920), Michalovce, along with some other parts of Zemplén County, became part of the then formed Czechoslovakia
. In 1944, 3500 Jewish inhabitants were deported from Michalovce. Since 1993, the breakup of Czechoslovakia, Michalovce is part of Slovakia. In 1996 it was made the seat of the Michalovce District.
According to the 2001 census
, the town had 39,948 inhabitants. 94.57% of inhabitants were Slovaks
, 2.24% Roma, 0.73% Czechs and 0.47% Ukrainian
. The religious makeup was 53.92% Roman Catholics
, 19.65% Greek Catholics
, 9.73% people with no religious affiliation and 5.19% Orthodox
.
with:
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...
, with a population around 40,000. It is the biggest town of the Michalovce District
Michalovce District
Michalovce District is a district inthe Košice Region of eastern Slovakia.Until 1918, the district was split between the Hungarian counties of Zemplín and Uh .-Municipalities:* Bajany...
(okres
Okres
Okres refers to administrative entities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia...
) 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...
.
Geography
The town lies in the Košice RegionKošice 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...
, in the Eastern Slovak Lowland
Eastern Slovak Lowland
The East Slovak Lowland is the name of the part of Great Hungarian Plain situated in Slovakia....
on the Laborec river, historically belonging to the Zemplén county. The town is about 60 km east of 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...
and 35 km west of Uzhhorod
Uzhhorod
Uzhhorod or Uzhgorod is a city located in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. It is the administrative center of the Zakarpattia Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Uzhhorodskyi Raion within the oblast...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Geographical features nearby include the Vihorlat Mountains
Vihorlat Mountains
Vihorlat Mountains or colloquially Vihorlat is a volcanic mountain range in eastern Slovakia and western Ukraine. A part of the range is listed as a World Heritage Site.-Vihorlat Mountains in Slovakia:...
and the Zemplínska šírava
Zemplínska šírava
Zemplínska šírava is a dam and lake in eastern Slovakia, near the town of Michalovce, wholly belonging to the Michalovce District. The name recalls the historical Zemplín region. The dam was built in 1961–1965, covers an area of , has an average depth of , with a maximum depth of...
lake.
History
The first known settlers in the area around Michalovce were in 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...
. The Slavs
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...
arrived in the area in the fifth century. The area was part of 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 empire in the ninth century. From the tenth century onwards, the region had been part 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...
. After the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
conquest in south central Hungary in the sixteenth century, Hungary was divided, and present-day Michalovce became part of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom
Eastern Hungarian Kingdom
The Eastern Hungarian Kingdom was the name of the area under the rule of King John I of Hungary. John I of Hungary was the former voivode of Transylvania and the wealthiest and the most powerful landlord after Mohács, secured the eastern part of the kingdom with the help of the Ottomans...
, and later Royal Hungary
Royal Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary between 1538 and 1867 was part of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, while outside the Holy Roman Empire.After Battle of Mohács, the country was ruled by two crowned kings . They divided the kingdom in 1538...
. The town grew significantly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and since the Austrian-Hungarian Ausgleich
Ausgleich
The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise re-established the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hungary, separate from and no longer subject to the Austrian Empire...
of 1867, it achieved a status of a large community and shortly afterward became seat of one of the districts of Zemplén County.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, in 1918 (confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon was the peace agreement signed in 1920, at the end of World War I, between the Allies of World War I and Hungary . The treaty greatly redefined and reduced Hungary's borders. From its borders before World War I, it lost 72% of its territory, which was reduced from to...
in 1920), Michalovce, along with some other parts of Zemplén County, became part of the then formed Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. In 1944, 3500 Jewish inhabitants were deported from Michalovce. Since 1993, the breakup of Czechoslovakia, Michalovce is part of Slovakia. In 1996 it was made the seat of the Michalovce District.
Demographics
In 1910, Michalovce had 6120 residents, which number contains 3792 Hungarian, 1586 Slovak and 542 German inhabitants. The religious make-up was 38.6% Roman Catholic, 32.3% Jewish and 23.2% Greek Catholic.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 39,948 inhabitants. 94.57% 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...
, 2.24% Roma, 0.73% Czechs and 0.47% Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
. The religious makeup was 53.92% Roman Catholics
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, 19.65% Greek Catholics
Greek Catholic Church
The Greek Catholic Church consists of the Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine liturgical tradition and are thus in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope.-List of Greek Catholic Churches:...
, 9.73% people with no religious affiliation and 5.19% Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
.
Twin towns - sister cities
Michalovce 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:
| Vyškov Vyškov Vyškov is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,300 inhabitants.- History :By the middle of the 14th century, pest epidemics and starvation had virtually depopulated the entire area. The Catholic Church, the owners of the lands, administrated their properties... 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.... Villarreal in Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
Jarosław in 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... (since 1998) Sátoraljaújhely Sátoraljaújhely Sátoraljaújhely or אוהעלי ) is a town located in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county in northern Hungary near the Slovak border. It is east from the county capital Miskolc.- History :... 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... |
People
- Presian II of BulgariaPresian II of BulgariaPresian II was emperor of Bulgaria for a short time in 1018. The year of his birth may have been 996/997; he may have died in exile in 1060/1061...
(gravestone of certain "Prince Presian" was found in Michalovce) - Aurél DessewffyAurél DessewffyCount Aurél Dessewffy de Csernek et Tarkeő , Hungarian journalist and politician, eldest son of Count József Dessewffy and Eleonóra Sztáray, was born at Nagymihály, county Zemplén, Austria-Hungarian Empire....
- Emília Sičáková-BeblaváEmília Sicáková-BeblaváEmília Sičáková-Beblavá, also known as Emilia Sicakova, PhD. is head of , a chapter of Transparency International, a global non-governmental organization devoted to fighting corruption. She is one of the foremost anticorruption activists and policy analysts in Slovakia.Sičáková-Beblavá graduated...
- Volodymyr SichynskyiVolodymyr SichynskyiVolodymyr Sichynskyi was a Ukrainian émigré architect, graphic artist, and art historian.Volodymyr Sichynskyi was born to the family of Ievtym Sitsinskyi in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Podolia guberniya,...