Špania Dolina

Coordinates: 48°49′N 19°08′E / 48.817°N 19.133°E / 48.817; 19.133
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Špania Dolina
Village
Špania Dolina from Panský Diel
Špania Dolina from Panský Diel
Car plate
BB
Websitewww.spaniadolina.sk

Špania Dolina (Hungarian: Úrvölgy) is a village and municipality in central Slovakia, near the city of Banská Bystrica.[5] Although its permanent population does not exceed 200 people, it is a picturesque historic village situated 728 m above sea level and is surrounded by the Staré Hory and Veľká Fatra mountains. It has become a popular tourist recreation centre.

Name

The ancient

Latin name of the village is Valis Dominorum (meaning "Lord’s Valley"). The first part of the Slovak name ("Špania") is derived from another Latin word for "lord": spanatus. The second part ("Dolina") means "valley" in Slovak. The old German name of the village was Herrengrundt and it has been used for centuries by Carpathian Germans living in the area. The Hungarian
name of the village is Úrvölgy.

History

Catholic church and covered stairway leading to it
A minershouse
Bastion, a part of the former defense system around the settlement, built in 1644

Prehistoric mining tools excavated in the territory of Špania Dolina have been dated from as early as 2000-1700 BC.

Thurzo
families.

The rich region attracted many foreign visitors. The House of Fugger funded a laboratory of the famous

Montesquieu visited and described the copper mines in Špania Dolina upon the encouragement of Isaac Newton
.

The ancient tradition of making bobbin lace led to the establishment of a bobbin lace craft school in 1883. The copper mines were closed down in 1888 and the economy of the village is now based primarily on tourism.

Landmarks

A covered stairway leads to a fortified church, built in the Gothic and Renaissance styles. Wooden miners' houses, now reconstructed, were originally built in the 17th and 18th centuries. The so-called "Knocker" from the 16th century served as a special bell tower for calling the miners to work in the morning. Ancient shafts and other technical monuments are scattered in the nearby forests. Špania Dolina is also a hub of hiking, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing trails.

Demographics

Špania Dolina has only 192 residents (as of December 31, 2013). According to the 2001

Roman Catholics and 10.7% people with no religious affiliation.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Počet obyvateľov podľa pohlavia - obce (ročne)". www.statistics.sk (in Slovak). Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  2. ^ a b "Hustota obyvateľstva - obce [om7014rr_ukaz: Rozloha (Štvorcový meter)]". www.statistics.sk (in Slovak). Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  3. ^ a b c d "Základná charakteristika". www.statistics.sk (in Slovak). Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2015-04-17. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  4. ^ a b "Hustota obyvateľstva - obce". www.statistics.sk (in Slovak). Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  5. ^ "Špania Dolina - Okres Banská Bystrica - E-OBCE.sk". www.e-obce.sk. Retrieved Sep 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Browne, Edward (1696). Brief account of some travels in Hungaria, Servia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Thessaly, Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Friuli. pp. 106–107. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  7. ^ Kázmér, Miklós; Papp, Gábor (January 2017). "KÁRPÁTI ÁSVÁNYOK EGY TIZENNYOLCADIK SZÁZADI ANGLIAI GYŰJTEMÉNYBEN" (PDF). Magyar Tudomány (in Hungarian): 68–69. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  8. ^ a b "Municipal Statistics". Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Archived from the original on 2007-11-16. Retrieved 2007-12-05.

External links

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