Reca is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 in 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...

 in Senec District

Senec District

Senec District is a district inthe Bratislava Region of western Slovakia. Until 1918, the district was part of the Hungarian county of Pressburg.-Municipalities:*Bernolákovo*Blatné*Boldog*Čataj*Dunajská Lužná*Hamuliakovo...

 in the Bratislava Region

Bratislava Region

The Bratislava Region is one of the administrative regions of Slovakia. Its capital is Bratislava. It is the smallest of the eight regions of Slovakia.-Geography:...

.

History

Pagan tomb-mounds excavated in an around Reca confirm the presence of Magyar mounted border guards from the 10th century.Article from Ujszo

In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1256, and was part of the dominion of Matthias Csák, the magnate of Trencsén. Documents confirm that before Csak, during the reign of the early Árpád

Árpád

Árpád was the second Grand Prince of the Hungarians . Under his rule the Hungarian people settled in the Carpathian basin. The dynasty descending from him ruled the Hungarian tribes and later the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301...

 kings, the settlement was inhabited by castle warriors (jobagiones castri) and controlled by the Count of Pozsony. The castle warriors of Reca developed into landowning lower nobility and Reca was a characteristic curial village of Pozsony County until the mid-20th century.

During the Counter-Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries, Reca (or Rethe, as it was then known) became the shelter of Bohemian and Moravian Protestants after the Battle of the White Mountain, because the Reca gentry was not subject to Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

 religious laws. An estimated five-sixths of the Bohemian nobility went into exile soon after the Battle of White Mountain

Battle of White Mountain

The Battle of White Mountain, 8 November 1620 was an early battle in the Thirty Years' War in which an army of 30,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Anhalt were routed by 27,000 men of the combined armies of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor under Charles Bonaventure de Longueval,...

, and their properties were confiscated. This period has left a Unity of the Brethren

Unity of the Brethren

The Unity of the Brethren is a Christian denomination whose roots are in the pre-reformation work of priest and philosopher Jan Hus, who was martyred in 1415.-History in Bohemia:...

 Chapel in the village, containing pieces of rare ecclesiastical plate. After the city of Skalica

Skalica

Skalica is the largest city in Skalica District in western Slovakia in the Záhorie region. Located near the Czech border, Skalica has a population of 14,963 .-History:...

, Reca was one of the most significant locations in Royal Hungary for Czech exiles, with approximately 30 families settling there in the 17th century.

In 1878 Reca briefly became known as Nemes Réte, in line with some other curial villages (e.g. Nemes Dedina. It also adopted a peculiar coat of arms consisting of the Royal arms of 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...

).

The 1892 Directory of Hungarian Merchants (which covers roughly 10-15% of the working populace of the Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

) lists the heads of families in Reca engaged in trade. It mainly covers Jewish families living in Reca as craftsmen and shopkeepers, and heads of gentry families engaged in horse-breeding which they subsequently sold in nearby Senec

Senec, Slovakia

Senec is a town in the Bratislava Region of south-western Slovakia. It is a well known summer tourism and recreation center. The town is attractive not only because of the proximity of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, but also because of the healthy environment and summer resort "Slnečné...

, 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...

 or Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. The largest families in the list are the Doka (7 [and long-serving representatives of the noble commune of Reca]), Fadgyas (3), Karátsonyi (4),Klebercz (3), Pomichal (6), and Prikkel (3).

During the First Vienna Award

First Vienna Award

The First Vienna Award was the result of the First Vienna Arbitration, which took place at Vienna's Belvedere Palace on November 2, 1938. The Arbitration and Award were direct consequences of the Munich Agreement...

 in 1938, Reca once more became part of 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...

, during the fascist regime of Regent Admiral Horthy. In 1945 it was recovered by 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...

. A number of residents were affected by the Benes Decrees

Beneš decrees

Decrees of the President of the Republic , more commonly known as the Beneš decrees, were a series of laws that were drafted by the Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile in the absence of the Czechoslovak parliament during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II and issued by President...

 and a number of families were forced to move to Hungary in 1947 as part of the colonisation of Slovaks in the region.

Notable Figures

The first individual known to documented history is Petrus Magnus de Réthe, a descendant of the original castle warriors, recorded in 1256 as a castle warrior of Bratislava Castle

Bratislava Castle

Bratislava Castle is the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on a quite isolated rocky hill of the Little Carpathians directly above the Danube river in the middle of Bratislava...

.

A 1395 document records John and Peter of Reca as having been homini regi (or royal judges) during the reign of Louis I of Hungary (1326-1382).

In 1485, another John of Reca is recorded as judge (iuidex nobilium) of Pozsony County.

Nicholas of Reca was canon and vice-dean, and from 1489 to 1499 dean of the Chapter of Bratislava.

Between 1504 and 1540, Andreas de Rethe was viscount

Viscount

A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...

 (vice-comes) of Pozsony County (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...

).

In the 17th century Péter Réthey was a familiaris (a Hungarian type of vassalage) of the Báthory

Báthory

The Báthory were a Hungarian noble family of the Gutkeled clan. The family rose to significant influence in Central Europe during the late Middle Ages, holding high military, administrative and ecclesiastical positions in the Kingdom of Hungary...

 family, whose members were Kings of 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...

 and Princes of Transylvania

Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

 at the time. In 1620 he gained the manor of Füzérradvány

Füzérradvány

- External links :*...

 from Elisabeth Báthory and her husband Ferenc Nádasdy. Péter Réthey constructed a large fortified seat which today remains one of the largest in Hungary.

A notable 18th century historical figure of Reca was György Rethey, a former Imperial cavalry officer who fought for Francis II Rákóczi

Francis II Rákóczi

Francis II Rákóczi Hungarian aristocrat, he was the leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburgs in 1703-11 as the prince of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of Hungary. He was also Prince of Transylvania, an Imperial Prince, and a member of the Order of the Golden...

, Prince of Transylvania

Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

 and leader of the last major uprising of the Hungarian nobility against the Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

 dynasty (see Rákóczi's War for Independence

Rákóczi's War for Independence

Rákóczi's War for Independence was the first significant attempt to topple therule of Habsburg Austria over Hungary. The war was fought by a group of noblemen, wealthy and high-ranking progressives and was led by Francis II Rákóczi Rákóczi's War for Independence (1703–1711) was the first...

). Both György Rethey and his brother Janos defected from Imperial service and commanded hussar regiments under Rákóczi. In 1706, György Rethey led 3,000 men on an infamous attack on Styria, designed to plunder and pillage the local populace. 92 villages, two towns, and several castles were burned during the raid. He also commanded his regiment at the Battle of Trencsén in 1708.

Ferenc Réthey, another eminent supporter of Rákóczi, was, amongst other activities, captain of the medieval Szecseny

Szécsény

-History :The valley of the Ipoly and especially the area of that around Szécsény was inhabited even in the prehistoric age. Findings attest that the region was peopled from the Neolithic period. Teutons, Avars, and Slavs appeared here in the first millennium BC....

 castle (which was destroyed after the uprising), captain of Sirok

Sirok

Sirok is a historic village in Heves county in Hungary, situated near Eger in Mátra mountains. Today it is most known for its 13th century castle ruins....

 castle and, towards the end of his career, captain of Eger

Eger

Eger is the second largest city in Northern Hungary, the county seat of Heves, east of the Mátra Mountains. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, historic buildings , and red and white wines.- Name :...

 fortress and Heves

Heves

Heves is a small city in eastern Hungary. About 100 km east of Budapest, Heves lies at the northern extreme of the Great Hungarian Plain , just south of the Mátra and Bükk hills and west of the Tisza River. Heves shares its name with a Hungarian county . The city is the fourth largest city in...

 County. On 8 December 1710 Ferenc Réthey and Miklos Perényi capitulated Eger to the Habsburg field-marshal Count Johann Pálffy. It is unclear how closely Ferenc Réthey was related to György Réthey, as prior to the 19th century members of Reca nobility often used only their predicate of "Réthey" or "de Réthe" (meaning "of Reca") in correspondence and identification, and not their original family names which distinguish individual family lines.

László Dóka was Foszolgabiro (Chief Constable) of Pozsony County from 1837 and deputy Judex Curiae Regi (the Lord Chief Justice of Hungary) in the first half of the 19th century, and Sandor Dóka was acting Governor of Pozsony County at the beginning of the 20th.

Marián Réthei Prikkel (1871-1925), a cleric, compiled the first substantial collection of Hungarian folk dances. He also published one of the first monographs on the important early medieval Hungarian mansucript, the Pray Codex

Pray Codex

The Codex Pray, Pray Codex or The Hungarian Pray Manuscript is a collection of medieval manuscripts. In 1813 it was named after György Pray, who discovered it in 1770. It is the first known example of continuous prose text in Hungarian. The Codex is kept in the National Széchényi Library of...

.

Ferenc Réthey (1880-1952), a jurist and academic, was Count (Lord Lieutenant) of Moson

Moson

Moson was a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary in present-day eastern Austria and northwestern Hungary, on the right side of the Danube river...

 County.

Richárd Pomichal (1951-2010), was a well-known and popular Hungarian writer, teacher and biologist, who published widely on the ecology of the Csallóköz (Rye Island, Inselschutt) region, as well as writing on Hungarian history and the effects of the Trianon Treaty.

István Pomichal (1965, Reca), an agriculturalist, is a member of parliament and the autonomous Bratislava region for the Party of the Hungarian Coalition

Party of the Hungarian Coalition

The Party of the Hungarian Coalition, officially registered under the compound name Strana maďarskej koalície – Magyar Koalíció Pártja, is a political party in Slovakia, for the ethnic Hungarian minority...

, a party for the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. Pomichal's pedigree cattle, bred on an estate in Tomášov

Tomášov

Tomášov is a village and municipality in western Slovakia in Senec District in the Bratislava Region.-Geography:The municipality lies at an altitude of 128 metres and covers an area of 19.828km². It has a population of 2143 people....

, has won a number of national and international gold prizes in Slovakia and Hungary.Bratislavsky Kraj, cislo 10, 2011

Historical Descriptions

Vályi András (1796): Hungarian village in Bratislava Castle County. Lord County Palffy is the greatest landowner. The inhabitants are Catholics and Protestants, and the village is occupied by a number of nobles. It is half a mile from Puszta Foedemes. The burghers of Bratislava send their young children to the village to learn the Hungarian language.

Fényes Elek (1851): Réthe, a populous Hungarian village in Bratislava Castle County, one hour east of Szencz. 491 Catholics, 49 Evangelical, 337 Reformed, 149 Jews. With a Reformed and Catholic church, and a synagogue. Large limits boundaries and beautiful expanse of fertile meadows, vast pastures, famous for sheep and cattle market. Many landowning nobles. One street leads to Cseklesz.

Liszka Jozsef (2003): The squires of Reca formed an individual group in the Matyusfold region. This social class of the village, which consisted of both Reformed and Catholics, was wealthier than the average. Their wealth was clear because their dwellings looked like manor houses, they employed liveried coachmen and they sent their children to schools in Bratislava from the 19th century. Reca noble families were also distinctive for their behaviour and mentality. "The necessary honourable elegance and a keeping of a certain distance" remained alive even after there was no longer any justification of property, i.e. in the second half of the 20th century.

Popular Culture References

Reca is the setting for the epic Hungarian film Rákóczi hadnagya (1954), or "Rákóczi's Lieutenant" in English. The heroic officer in the film, Lieutenant Janos Bornemissza, is driven by his "patriotism to Hungary and love for the beautiful Anna Biro from Reca". When Reca falls into Labanc hands Anna is imprisoned and only rescued by Bornemissza at the end of the film.

Geography

The municipality lies at an altitude of 124 metres and covers an area of 9.921km². It has a population of 1244 people.

External links/Sources

• http://www.statistics.sk/mosmis/eng/run.html