Michalovce

Coordinates: 48°44′57″N 21°54′05″E / 48.74917°N 21.90139°E / 48.74917; 21.90139

Michalovce
Town
Michalovce town square
Coat of arms
Country	Slovakia
Region	Košice
District	Michalovce
Tourism region	Dolný Zemplín
River	Laborec
Elevation	115 m (377 ft)
Coordinates	48°44′57″N 21°54′05″E / 48.74917°N 21.90139°E / 48.74917; 21.90139
Area	52.807 km2 (20 sq mi)
Population	40,255 (1 January 2008)
Density	762 / km2 (1,974 / sq mi)
First mentioned	1244
Mayor	Viliam Záhorčák
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	071 01
Phone prefix	421-56
Car plate	MI
Location of Michalovce within Slovakia
Location of Michalovce in the Košice Region
Wikimedia Commons: Michalovce
Statistics: MOŠ/MIS
Website: http://www.michalovce.sk

Michalovce ( pronunciation (help·info); Hungarian: Nagymihály, German: Großmichel, Romani: Mihalya, Yiddish: Mikhaylovets or Mykhaylovyts) is a town on the Laborec river in eastern Slovakia, with a population around 40,000. It is the biggest town of the Michalovce District (okres) in the Košice Region.

Geography

The town lies in the Košice Region, in the Eastern Slovak Lowland on the Laborec river, historically belonging to the Zemplén county. The town is about 60 km east of Košice and 35 km west of Uzhhorod, Ukraine. Geographical features nearby include the Vihorlat Mountains and the Zemplínska šírava lake.

History

The first known settlers in the area around Michalovce were in the Neolithic. The Slavs arrived in the area in the fifth century^{[citation needed]}. The area was part of the Great Moravian empire^{[citation needed]} in the ninth century. From the tenth century onwards, the region had been part of Hungary. After the Ottoman conquest in south central Hungary in the sixteenth century, Hungary was divided, and present-day Michalovce became part of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, and later Royal Hungary. The town grew significantly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and since the Austrian-Hungarian Ausgleich of 1867, it achieved a status of a large community and shortly afterward became seat of one of the districts of Zemplén County.^[1]

After World War I, in 1918 (confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920), Michalovce, along with some other parts of Zemplén County, became part of the then formed Czechoslovakia. In 1944, 3500 Jewish inhabitants were deported from Michalovce. Since 1993, the breakup of Czechoslovakia, Michalovce is part of Slovakia. In 1996 it was made the seat of the Michalovce District.

Demographics

In 1910, Michalovce had 6120 residents, which number contains 3792 Hungarian, 1586 Slovak and 542 German inhabitants. The religious make-up was 38.6% Roman Catholic, 32.3% Jewish and 23.2% Greek Catholic.

According to the 2001 census, the town had 39,948 inhabitants. 94.57% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 2.24% Roma, 0.73% Czechs and 0.47% Ukrainian.^[2] The religious makeup was 53.92% Roman Catholics, 19.65% Greek Catholics, 9.73% people with no religious affiliation and 5.19% Orthodox.^[2]

International relations

Twin towns - sister cities

Michalovce is twinned with:

Vyškov in Czech Republic Villarreal in Spain

Jarosław in Poland (since 1998) [3] Sátoraljaújhely in Hungary

People

• Presian II of Bulgaria (gravestone of certain "Prince Presian" was found in Michalovce)
• Aurél Dessewffy
• Emília Sičáková-Beblavá
• Volodymyr Sichynskyi

References

Notes

1. ^ "Town history". Municipality of Michalovce. 2007. http://www.michalovce.sk/en/article-history.html?s=&p=2c5ae87568d53eb16a458d14a411e475&m=8f00d9add6dd1283d5e80ac2da3f6af6&sm=85abc80ac0c11cbdd20a3dd98c4e3065. Retrieved 18 June 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Municipal Statistics". Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Archived from the original on 2007-11-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20071116010355/http://www.statistics.sk/mosmis/eng/run.html. Retrieved 2007-12-09. 
3. ^ "Jarosław Official Website - Partner Cities". (in Polish) © 2008 Urząd Miasta Jarosław. Ul. Rynek 1, 37-500 Jarosław. http://www.jaroslaw.pl/miasta-partnerskie. Retrieved 2008-10-23. 

External links

• Michalovce - Official city website
• Michalovce - detailed map guide
• Michalovce - ShtetLink