Poprad
Encyclopedia
Poprad is a city
in northern Slovakia
at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains
famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. It is the biggest town of the Spiš
region and the tenth largest city in Slovakia with a population of approximately 55,000.
The Poprad-Tatry Airport
is an international airport located just outside the city. Poprad is also the starting point of the Tatra Electric Railway
(known in Slovak as Tatranská elektrická železnica), a set of special narrow-gauge trains (trams) connecting the resorts in the High Tatras
with each other and with Poprad. Main line trains link Poprad to other destinations in Slovakia and beyond; in particular, there are through trains running from Poprad to Prague
in the Czech Republic
.
since the 10th century and was probably originally inhabited by Slavic settlers. It was colonized in the 13th century by German
settlers and became the largely German town Deutschendorf meaning 'German village'. From 1412 to 1770, as one of the Szepes towns, Poprad was pawned by the Kingdom of Hungary
to the Kingdom of Poland, resulting in a strong Polish influence on the city's further development.
Poprad itself, the first written reference to which dates from 1256, was for 690 years (up until 1946) just one of several neighbouring settlements, which currently make up the modern city. The other parts of the current municipality are Matejovce (first reference 1251), Spišská Sobota (1256), Veľká (1268), and Stráže pod Tatrami (1276). The most significant of these original towns was Georgenberg (or Szepesszombat, now: Spišská Sobota), which preserved its dominant position in the area until the late 19th century.
In 1999, Poprad put in a bid to host the 2006 Winter Olympics, but lost to Turin
, Italy
.
and covers an area of 63 square kilometres (24.3 sq mi). It is located in northeastern Slovakia, about 110 kilometres (68 mi) from Košice
and 330 kilometres (205 mi) from Bratislava
(by road).
Poprad is situated on the Poprad River
in the Sub-Tatra Basin
, and is a gateway to the High Tatras
. Mountain ranges around the city include the Levoča Hills in the east, Kozie chrbty in the south, and the Low Tatras in the southwest. The drainage divide between the Black Sea
and Baltic Sea
lies a bit to the west, near the village of Štrba
.
and has a humid continental climate
(Köppen
Dfb) with four distinct seasons. It is characterized by a significant variation between warm summers and cold winters.
, 94.1% of inhabitants were Slovaks
, 2.1% Roma, 1% Czechs, 0.2% Hungarians, 0.2% Germans
, 0.1% Rusyns
, 0.1% Ukrainians
, and 0.1% Poles
. The religious make-up was 65.9% Roman Catholics, 16.8% people with no religious affiliation, and 7.3% Lutherans.
The historical centre is concentrated around the St. Egidius square (Námestie svätého Egídia), which is rimmed with houses predominantly from the 18th and 19th centuries. Churches in the city include the early-Gothic Catholic Church of St. Egidius from the late 13th century.
Another historical centre near Poprad is in Spišská Sobota, which was declared in 1953 to be a Town Monument Reserve. A significant landmark there is the Church of St. George, with five late-Gothic side altars and a main altar from the workshop of Master Paul of Levoča
.
Modern places of interest include a new water park
called AquaCity Poprad.
The local basketball club is ŽBK POPRAD.
mountain range, which is a popular tourist destination. The city lies on the main road (E 50) and railway connecting western and eastern Slovakia.
Poprad-Tatry railway station
links Poprad with other major destinations on Slovakia's standard gauge
rail network, and with the mountains via the metre gauge
Tatra Electric Railway
.
Poprad-Tatry Airport
offers scheduled flights to Bratislava
.
, Czech Republic
Zakopane
, Poland
Vysoké Tatry
, Slovakia
Szarvas
, Hungary
Zwijndrecht
, Netherlands
Omiš
, Croatia
Tai'an
, China
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in northern 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...
at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains
Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra , are a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland, and are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains...
famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. It is the biggest town of 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 the tenth largest city in Slovakia with a population of approximately 55,000.
The Poprad-Tatry Airport
Poprad-Tatry Airport
Poprad-Tatry Airport , is an airport in the Slovak ski resort town of Poprad.Poprad-Tatry Airport is the airport with highest elevation in Central Europe...
is an international airport located just outside the city. Poprad is also the starting point of the Tatra Electric Railway
Tatra Electric Railway
The Tatra Electric Railway , colloquially Tatra Railway, is an electrified single track narrow gauge railway in the Slovak part of the Tatra mountains...
(known in Slovak as Tatranská elektrická železnica), a set of special narrow-gauge trains (trams) connecting the resorts in 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...
with each other and with Poprad. Main line trains link Poprad to other destinations in Slovakia and beyond; in particular, there are through trains running from Poprad to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
in the 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....
.
History
The territory belonged to the Kingdom of HungaryKingdom 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...
since the 10th century and was probably originally inhabited by Slavic settlers. It was colonized in the 13th century by German
Carpathian Germans
Carpathian Germans , sometimes simply called Slovak Germans , are a group of German language speakers on the territory of present-day Slovakia...
settlers and became the largely German town Deutschendorf meaning 'German village'. From 1412 to 1770, as one of the Szepes towns, Poprad was pawned by 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...
to the Kingdom of Poland, resulting in a strong Polish influence on the city's further development.
Poprad itself, the first written reference to which dates from 1256, was for 690 years (up until 1946) just one of several neighbouring settlements, which currently make up the modern city. The other parts of the current municipality are Matejovce (first reference 1251), Spišská Sobota (1256), Veľká (1268), and Stráže pod Tatrami (1276). The most significant of these original towns was Georgenberg (or Szepesszombat, now: Spišská Sobota), which preserved its dominant position in the area until the late 19th century.
In 1999, Poprad put in a bid to host the 2006 Winter Olympics, but lost to Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Geography
Poprad lies at an altitude of 672 metres (2,205 ft) above sea levelAbove mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
and covers an area of 63 square kilometres (24.3 sq mi). It is located in northeastern Slovakia, about 110 kilometres (68 mi) 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...
and 330 kilometres (205 mi) from 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...
(by road).
Poprad is situated on the Poprad River
Poprad River
thumb|The Poprad by Spišská Belá in Kežmarok districtthumb|The Poprad forming the Polish-Slovakian borderThe Poprad is a river in northern Slovakia and southern Poland, and a tributary of the Dunajec River...
in the Sub-Tatra Basin
Podtatranská kotlina
The Podtatranská kotlina is a basin in northern Slovakia, part of the Fatra-Tatra Area, which belongs to the Inner Western Carpathians....
, and is a gateway to 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...
. Mountain ranges around the city include the Levoča Hills in the east, Kozie chrbty in the south, and the Low Tatras in the southwest. The drainage divide between the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
and Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
lies a bit to the west, near the village of Štrba
Štrba
Štrba is a village in the Poprad District, Prešov Region, northern Slovakia. It is situated in the Sub-Tatra Basin, which separates the High Tatras and Low Tatras at the European continental divide between the Baltic and the Black Sea. It is approximately 16 km west of the city of...
.
Climate
Poprad lies in the north temperate zoneTemperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
and has a humid continental climate
Humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
(Köppen
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfb) with four distinct seasons. It is characterized by a significant variation between warm summers and cold winters.
Demographics
Poprad has a population of 55,158 (as of December 31, 2005). 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...
, 94.1% 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...
, 2.1% Roma, 1% Czechs, 0.2% Hungarians, 0.2% 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....
, 0.1% Rusyns
Rusyns
Carpatho-Rusyns are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, or Ukrainian dialect, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century...
, 0.1% Ukrainians
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...
, and 0.1% Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
. The religious make-up was 65.9% Roman Catholics, 16.8% people with no religious affiliation, and 7.3% Lutherans.
Landmarks
Another historical centre near Poprad is in Spišská Sobota, which was declared in 1953 to be a Town Monument Reserve. A significant landmark there is the Church of St. George, with five late-Gothic side altars and a main altar from the workshop of 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....
.
Modern places of interest include a new water park
Water park
A waterpark is an amusement park that features waterplay areas, such as water slides, splash pads, spraygrounds , lazy rivers, or other recreational bathing, swimming, and barefooting environments...
called AquaCity Poprad.
Territorial division
The city is divided into six boroughs for the purpose of municipal administrative division:- Staré Mesto ["Old Town"]
- Spišská Sobota
- Stráže
- Veľká
- Matejovce
- Kvetnica
Sport
Poprad has hockey clubs HK ŠKP Poprad and HC LEV Poprad, the latter competing in the KHL since 2011. There is a number of former and current hockey players in NHL who were born Poprad.The local basketball club is ŽBK POPRAD.
Education
The city's system of primary education consists of 12 public schools, and one religious primary school, enrolling in total 5,464 pupils. Secondary education is represented by four gymnasia with 1,800 students, three specialized high schools with 1,566 students, and four vocational schools with 2,045 students (data as of 2007).Transport
Poprad is a gateway of the High TatraHigh 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...
mountain range, which is a popular tourist destination. The city lies on the main road (E 50) and railway connecting western and eastern Slovakia.
Poprad-Tatry railway station
Poprad-Tatry railway station
Poprad-Tatry railway station is a break-of-gauge junction station serving the city of Poprad, in the Prešov Region, northeastern Slovakia.Opened in 1871, the station forms part of the standard gauge Košice–Bohumín Railway, and is the junction between that line and the Poprad-Tatry–Plaveč railway,...
links Poprad with other major destinations on Slovakia's standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
rail network, and with the mountains via the metre gauge
Metre gauge
Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...
Tatra Electric Railway
Tatra Electric Railway
The Tatra Electric Railway , colloquially Tatra Railway, is an electrified single track narrow gauge railway in the Slovak part of the Tatra mountains...
.
Poprad-Tatry Airport
Poprad-Tatry Airport
Poprad-Tatry Airport , is an airport in the Slovak ski resort town of Poprad.Poprad-Tatry Airport is the airport with highest elevation in Central Europe...
offers scheduled flights to 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...
.
Personalities
- Daniela HantuchováDaniela HantuchováDaniela Hantuchová is a Slovak professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.She is currently coached by Larri Passos...
- professional grand slam winning tennis player (Mixed Doubles) (born April 23, 1983 in Poprad) - Károly AlexyKároly AlexyKároly Alexy was a Hungarian sculptor. His sculptural style integrated elements of classicism and romanticism....
- sculptor born in Poprad (1823) - Peter BondraPeter BondraPeter Bondra is a former Slovak professional ice hockey player. He was the general manager of the Slovak national team from 2007 to 2011...
- famous ice hockey player, more than 500 goals in NHL - Jan BrokoffJan BrokoffJan Brokoff, also known as Johann Brokoff, was a baroque-era sculptor and carver.Brokoff was of German origin, born in Spišská Sobota, today in Slovakia, then in Royal Hungary, and later working and living in Bohemia...
- Baroque-era sculptor and carver (born 1652 in Spišská Sobota - died 1718 in Prague) - Adolf BurgerAdolf BurgerAdolf Burger Adolf Burger Adolf Burger (born August 12, 1917, Kakaslomnic (aka Nagy-Lomnicz, , , Comitate of Szepes, Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire) is a Jewish Slovak typographer, memoir writer, and Holocaust survivor involved in Operation Bernhard...
- author of memoirs on Operation BernhardOperation BernhardOperation Bernhard was the codename of a secret Nazi plan devised during the Second World War by the RSHA and the SS to destabilise the British economy by flooding the country with forged Bank of England £5, £10, £20, and £50 notes...
filmed as the OscarAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language FilmThe Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
-winning The CounterfeitersThe Counterfeiters (film)The Counterfeiters is a 2007 Austrian-German film written and directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky. It fictionalizes Operation Bernhard, a secret plan by the Nazis during the Second World War to destabilize Great Britain by flooding its economy with forged Bank of England bank notes.The film centres on a...
, grew up and trained in Poprad - Peter IhnačákPeter IhnacakPeter Ihnačák is a former Slovak ice hockey centre.- Draft :He was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1982 NHL Entry draft as their 3rd choice, 25th overall.- Career :...
- Ice hockey player born in 1957 in Poprad - Leslie KishLeslie KishLeslie Kish was an American statistician and survey methodologist of Hungarian descent. He fought in the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War....
- world-stature statisticianStatisticianA statistician is someone who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...
, was born in Poprad - Miroslav LajčákMiroslav LajcákDr. Miroslav Lajčák is a Slovak diplomat.Lajčák is a law graduate from the Comenius University in Bratislava. He holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the State Institute of International Relations in Moscow and is also a graduate of the George C...
- diplomat, born in Poprad - Tibor SekeljTibor SekeljTibor Sekelj was an explorer, esperantist, writer and lawyer of Jewish descent. He was born in Spišská Sobota , former-day Austria-Hungary, present-day Slovakia, and died in Subotica, former Yugoslavia.Tibor made expeditions across the whole of South America, Asia and Africa...
- explorer, Esperantist, writer and lawyer born in Spišská Sobota in 1912 - Lucia Kupčíkova - Slovakian basketball player
- Anton Gavel - Slovakian basketball player
Twin towns – Sister cities
Ústí nad OrlicíÚstí nad Orlicí
Ústí nad Orlicí is a city in the Ústí nad Orlicí District, Pardubice Region in Eastern Bohemia in the Czech Republic. The town is in the Orlické Mountains where the Tichá Orlice and the Třebovka rivers meet....
, 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....
Zakopane
Zakopane
Zakopane , is a town in southern Poland. It lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998 it was in of Nowy Sącz Province, but since 1999 it has been in Lesser Poland Province. It had a population of about 28,000 as of 2004. Zakopane is a...
, 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...
Vysoké Tatry
Vysoké Tatry (town)
Vysoké Tatry , informally Mesto Vysoké Tatry , is a town at the feet of the Slovak part of High Tatras in Slovakia including all the major resorts in that region...
, 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...
Szarvas
Szarvas
----Szarvas is a town in Békés county in southeastern Hungary. The Hungarian placename Szarvas means 'deer' in English.- History :...
, 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...
Zwijndrecht
Zwijndrecht
Zwijndrecht may refer to:* Zwijndrecht, Belgium* Zwijndrecht, Netherlands...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Omiš
Omiš
Omiš is a town and port in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and is a municipality in the Split-Dalmatia County. The town is situated approximately south-east of Croatia's second largest city, Split. Its location is where the emerald-green Cetina River meets the Adriatic Sea...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
Tai'an
Tai'an
Tai'an is a prefecture-level city in western Shandong province, People's Republic of China.Centered around Mount Tai, the city borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Laiwu to the northeast, Zibo to the east, Linyi to the southeast, Liaocheng to the extreme west and Jining to the south...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
External links
Photos and videos
- 360º QTVR fullscreen panoramas of the Poprad city