Velké Leváre
Encyclopedia
Veľké Leváre is a village
and municipality
in western Slovakia
in Malacky District
in the Bratislava region
.
The first written notice about the village has its origins in the year 1378. The village Veľké Leváre is situated in the reach of well-known centers: Bratislava, Vienna, Brno. The village is placed on a historically important trade route, its history is recorded as a settlement of archers and as a border watch post.
The Habans were followers of an ultra-nonconformist Christian doctrine which, among other things, held that believers should be baptised as youths, not as infants - followers are also known as Anabaptists. In the religious turmoil of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe this was regarded as heresy and frequently resulted in their severe persecution. Several groups left their original homes in Germany, some heading west to North America (where one group became known as the Amish
); others went east, some ending up in the village of Veľké Leváre in Záhorie.
Local landowners were keen for them to settle here: they were well-behaved, reliable taxpayers and prodigiously hard workers. Their main occupation was pottery making. Haban designs are very similar to those still used in Modra pottery; indeed it is very likely that this is where the Modra potters got their techniques. The main difference is that Haban designs never use red, which is associated with blood.
The Habans were not allowed to settle in the centre of Veľké Leváre, instead forming a compound around a square on the edge of the village with a mill, workshops, church, meeting hall and houses (the word 'Haban' refers to their distinctive homes). Theirs was a culture apart: children were brought up communally; marriage to non-Habans was prohibited and, since the community was small, a board approved marriages to prevent in-breeding.
In the 16 century came Croatian colonists. The family Kollonic, whose members had a significant influence in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, owned properties and a castle in the neighboring Austria (the village of Jedenspeigen). During the years 1683 - 1685, the Kollonics built a baroque manor house with a belonging English park in the village.
Cardinal Žigmund Kollonič - a Veľké Leváre compatriot and Vienna archbishop built a huge Roman Catholic church in the place of original wooden church during the years 1729 - 33 that is a dominant of the village and the surroundings. The church was consecrated to the Virgin Mary's name at the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Christian victory over the Turks during a battle nearby Vienna. A temple of the evangelic church a.c. was built at the end of the 18th century.
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 Malacky District
Malacky District
The Malacky District is a district inthe Bratislava Region of western Slovakia. Until 1918, the district was part of the Hungarian county of Pressburg.-Municipalities:*Borinka*Gajary*Jablonové*Jakubov*Kostolište*Kuchyňa*Láb...
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:...
.
The first written notice about the village has its origins in the year 1378. The village Veľké Leváre is situated in the reach of well-known centers: Bratislava, Vienna, Brno. The village is placed on a historically important trade route, its history is recorded as a settlement of archers and as a border watch post.
History
There are historically unique and Europe's most preserved buildings of a notable architecture - Haban's houses, there. Other buildings of the village are witnesses of its rich history.The Habans were followers of an ultra-nonconformist Christian doctrine which, among other things, held that believers should be baptised as youths, not as infants - followers are also known as Anabaptists. In the religious turmoil of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe this was regarded as heresy and frequently resulted in their severe persecution. Several groups left their original homes in Germany, some heading west to North America (where one group became known as the Amish
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
); others went east, some ending up in the village of Veľké Leváre in Záhorie.
Local landowners were keen for them to settle here: they were well-behaved, reliable taxpayers and prodigiously hard workers. Their main occupation was pottery making. Haban designs are very similar to those still used in Modra pottery; indeed it is very likely that this is where the Modra potters got their techniques. The main difference is that Haban designs never use red, which is associated with blood.
The Habans were not allowed to settle in the centre of Veľké Leváre, instead forming a compound around a square on the edge of the village with a mill, workshops, church, meeting hall and houses (the word 'Haban' refers to their distinctive homes). Theirs was a culture apart: children were brought up communally; marriage to non-Habans was prohibited and, since the community was small, a board approved marriages to prevent in-breeding.
In the 16 century came Croatian colonists. The family Kollonic, whose members had a significant influence in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, owned properties and a castle in the neighboring Austria (the village of Jedenspeigen). During the years 1683 - 1685, the Kollonics built a baroque manor house with a belonging English park in the village.
Cardinal Žigmund Kollonič - a Veľké Leváre compatriot and Vienna archbishop built a huge Roman Catholic church in the place of original wooden church during the years 1729 - 33 that is a dominant of the village and the surroundings. The church was consecrated to the Virgin Mary's name at the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Christian victory over the Turks during a battle nearby Vienna. A temple of the evangelic church a.c. was built at the end of the 18th century.
Flora and fauna
There are 36 fish species in the river Rudava that flows through the village territory. In the northern part of the area is situated a national nature reserve - Abrod. The border river Morava flows through the western edge of the village territory. The noteworthy nature attract tourists and experts by spots with specific and rare vegetation, bird nest places, beaver dams...Business activities
Asparagus plantations of the company ASPARAGUS ltd. are situated in the village flat country. Other business activities in the village: production of prefabricated building products (Prefabrikát, joint stock company), cardboard packaging (Surpack, joint stock company), engineering production (Bleckman, ltd.).Famous people
- Ladislav SlovákLadislav SlovákLadislav Slovák was a Slovak conductor.He was a long-time director of the Slovak Philharmonic, taking over the job from his teacher and mentor Václav Talich. Amongst his most important recordings is the entire collection of Dmitri Shostakovich's fifteen symphonies, published by Naxos Records...
, conductorConductingConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... - Gustav Brom (Frkal)Gustav BromGustav Brom, was a Czech big band leader, arranger, clarinettist and composer. He achieved fame in Europe and abroad from the 1940’s right through to his death in 1995...
, jazz musician
External links
- Official website
- Unofficial website
- Unofficial website
- http://www.tourist-channel.sk/velke-levare/indexen.html
- Habany - Hutterite Dwelling Complex
- Spectacular Slovakia travelguide - Vel´ké Leváre (edition 2009
- Spectacular Slovakia travelguide - Veľké Leváre: Ancient crafts alive today (edition 2008)