Detva Gyetva | |
|---|---|
 Panorama of the city | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Coordinates:48°33′N19°25′E / 48.55°N 19.42°E /48.55; 19.42 | |
| Country |  Slovakia |
| Region |  Banská Bystrica Region |
| District | Detva District |
| First mentioned | 1696 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ján Šufliarský |
| Area | |
• Total | 68.09 km2 (26.29 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 474 m (1,555 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 13,666 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 962 11[2] |
| Area code | +421 45[2] |
| Car plate | DT |
| Website | www |
Detva (Hungarian:Gyetva) is a town in centralSlovakia with a population of 14,686. It is situated beneath the mountainPoľana.
The name means 'youth' inSlovak and was probably motivated by the majority of young people among the first settlers.[4]
Detva was created as a village of bondage in a deep-forested area belonging toZvolenská Slatina andOčová upon instruction of the owner of theVígľaš dominion Ladislav Čáky resp.Ladislaus Csáky in 1636-1638. The first settlers were coal producers fromĽubietová, followed byWalachian-type settlers from northern and eastern parts of Slovakia and immigrants from other surrounding villages. In 1787,Ján Vagač founded the first knownmanufactory producingbryndza cheese. The settlement became anoppidum (market town) in 1811 and a town in 1965. In 1996 the town of Detva became the seat of new Detva district.
It was developed as a large newly cleared land and this character has been preserved up to present, despite the fact that a part of the newly cleared lands were separated from Detva -Hriňová (before 1863),Detvianska Huta (in ?),Korytárky (in 1955; part of Kriváň until 1993) andKriváň (in 1955). Logging andwood processing, sheep breeding and peasantry had been the main source of bread and butter of the Detvans. Hard living conditions at distant isolated newly cleared lands and self-sufficiency in providing of basic living needs determined the formation of the original material and spiritual culture of local inhabitants and thanks to this Detva had become one of the symbols of the modern Slovak nation.
In 1955 Detva experienced a significant change. A factory for military machinery and strategic constructions was built in the town's woods for security purposes. This factory, called Podpolianske strojárne Detva (PPS) at that time, produced UNC machinery, aka "Universal" on Western European markets. Machinery such as front loaders and skid steer loaders used to reach an annual production of 4,000. The factory enlarged the population of Detva from 3,500 to over 12,000, employing over 70% of Detva's population. However, after theVelvet Revolution and the split ofCzechoslovakia, infamous illegal and non-transparent privatization, typical of then Central and Eastern European states, took place. Detva's PPS factory had to put its production on halt and to downsize its workforce from 8,000 in 1993 to 1,000 in 2005.
According to the 2001census, the town had 15,122 inhabitants. 96.11% of inhabitants wereSlovaks, 1.75%Roma, and 0.75%Czechs.[5] The religious make-up was 78.03%Roman Catholics, 13.11% people with no religious affiliation and 4.47%Lutherans.[5]
Detva istwinned with the town:[6]
Tuchów, Poland
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The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia"
Municipalities ofDetva District | ||
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