Modry Kameň

Modrý Kameň (German Blauenstein , Hungarian Kékkő ) is a town in Okres Veľký Krtíš within Banskobystrický kraj in southern Slovakia . With 1624 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) it is one of the smallest cities in the country.

geography

View of the city from the castle

The city is located at the transition from the Ipeľská kotlina basin (part of the Juhoslovenská kotlina ) to the Krupinská planina plateau . The Krtíš flows through the town and takes in the Riečka tributary here . The Lešť military area begins a few kilometers north of the city . The height in the municipal area of almost 19.65 km² varies from 200 m nm to 504 m nm ; it is covered by brown forest soils as well as illimerized soils. The city center lies at an altitude of 240 m nm and is four kilometers from Veľký Krtíš and 77 kilometers from Banská Bystrica .

Neighboring municipalities are Horné Strháre in the north, Dolné Strháre in the east, Veľký Krtíš in the south, Dolné Plachtince in the south-west, Stredné Plachtince in the west and Dačov Lom in the north-west.

history

Blauenstein Castle

Cremation graves from the older and middle Bronze Ages were found in what is now the municipality.

Modrý Kameň was first mentioned in writing as Keykkw in 1290 ; this is also the first mention of the castle and its manor. The history of the place is closely linked to the castle; up to the end of the Middle Ages the owners came from the Balassa dynasty , who lived here until the 19th century. During the Turkish wars in the 16th and 17th centuries, the place was affected several times along with the castle and was occupied by the Turks from 1576 to 1593. In 1658 Modrý Kameň became a town; the inhabitants were employed in agriculture, viticulture as well as craftsmen and shepherds. In 1828 there were 163 houses and 1545 inhabitants.

Until 1918 it belonged to Neograd County within the Kingdom of Hungary and then came to the newly formed Czechoslovakia or now Slovakia. In Czechoslovakia (from 1923 to 1960) and in the First Slovak Republic , the city was the seat of an okres.

population

According to the 2011 census, Modrý Kameň had 1555 inhabitants, of which 1391 were Slovaks , 25 Magyars , 19 Roma , six Czechs and one German and one Pole each ; two residents were of a different ethnicity. 110 residents did not provide any information. 1104 residents supported the Roman Catholic Church , 121 residents the Evangelical Church A. B , four residents each for the Greek Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church , two residents each for the Baptists and the Brethren Church, and one resident each for the Baha'i, the Old Catholic Church , to the Evangelical Methodist Church, to the Evangelistic Church and to the Reformed Church; four residents were of other denominations. 128 inhabitants had no denomination and the denomination of 181 inhabitants was not determined.

Results after the 2001 census (1434 inhabitants):

By ethnicity:

92.82% Slovaks
2.79% Roma
2.02% Magyars
0.35% Czechs
0.07% German

By denomination:

79.22% Roman Catholic
8.44% non-denominational
7.60% Protestant
3.14% no answer
0.84% Greek Catholic
0.28% orthodox

Attractions

Calvary, Crucifixion Chapel of Christ

Blauenstein Castle (Slovak: hrad Modrý Kameň ), ruins of the Gothic fortress, which was rebuilt several times in the course of the Turkish wars, but finally destroyed in the middle of the 17th century. In 1730 Gabriel Balassa had a country palace built in the baroque style at the lower castle, and a chapel was added in 1759. Today it is state-owned and is the seat of the Doll and Toy Museum , which is part of the Slovak National Museum network.

Calvary from the 18th century

Roman Catholic church in neo-Romanesque, partly baroque style from 1879. Some of the furnishings come from the castle chapel

Marian column in late baroque style from the 18th century

traffic

Modrý Kameň is located on the national road II / 527 ( Šahy –Veľký Krtíš– Babiná ), with connections to the trunk road network in Veľký Krtíš ( I / 75 , 3 km away), Devičie and Babiná ( I / 66 , E 77 , both 34 km away). There is no rail connection, the train station in Veľký Krtíš on the Lučenec – Veľký Krtíš railway line is without passenger traffic. The closest passenger train stations are in Lučenec and Zvolen (37 km and 51 km, Salgótarján – Vrútky ) and Šahy (50 km, Zvolen – Čata). There are several regional bus connections with surrounding communities and cities.