Levoča

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Levoča (Hungarian: Lőcse, German: Leutschau, Polish: Lewocza) is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia with a population of 14,600. The town has a historic center with a well-preserved town wall, a Renaissance church with the highest wooden altar in Europe, carved by Master Paul of Levoča, and many other Renaissance buildings.

History

The region was inhabited as early as the Stone Age. After the Mongol invasions of 1241/1242, the area was settled by German colonists. The oldest written reference to the city dates back to 1249. In 1317, Levoča (at that time generally known by the German name of Leutschau) received the status of a royal town. In the 15th century the town, located on an intersection of trade routes, became a rich centre of commerce. The town kept this status until the end of 16th century, in spite of two damaging fires in 1550 and 1599. In this period of prosperity several churches were built and the town had a school, library, pharmacy and physicians. There was a printing press as early as 1624. Levoča was a centre of the Protestant Reformation in Slovakia. The town started to decline during the anti-Habsburg uprisings in the 17th century.

In a lurid sequence of events in 1700, the mayor of the town was accidentally wounded by a local nobleman during a hunt, generating a series of revenge attacks, finally resulting in the murder of the mayor, Karol Kramler. The mayor's arm was then cut off, embalmed, and preserved in the town hall as a call to further revenge. This became the subject of a novel about the town, The Black City, by the writer Kálmán Mikszáth.^[1]

The economic importance of the town was further diminished in 1871 when a new important railway line was built, bypassing Levoča and leading through the nearby town of Igló, (today known by its traditional Slovak name, Spišská Nová Ves) and later only branch line from the aforementioned town was built.

After the Treaty of Trianon the city became part of the newly formed Czechoslovakia and its traditional Slovak name of Levoča was formally adopted.

During World War II, under the auspices of the First Slovak Republic, 981 local Jews were deported from the town to concentration camps.

On July 3, 1995 Levoča was visited by Pope John Paul II. He celebrated a mass for 650,000 celebrants at the traditional pilgrim site of Mariánska hora just above the town.

Geography

Levoča lies at an altitude of 570 metres (1,870 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 64.042 square kilometres (24.7 sq mi).^[2] It is located in the northern part of the Hornád Basin at the foothills of the Levoča Hills, at the stream Levočský potok, a tributary of Hornád. Poprad is 25 kilometres (16 mi) away to the west, Prešov 50 kilometres (31 mi) to the east, Košice 90 kilometres (56 mi) to the south-east and Bratislava 370 kilometres (230 mi) to the south-west.

Sights

The old town is picturesquely sited and still surrounded by most of its ancient walls.

The main entrance to the old town is via the monumental Košice Gate (15th century) behind which is located the ornate baroque Church of the Holy Spirit and the New Minorite Monastery (c. 1750).

The town square boasts three major monuments; the quaint Old Town Hall (15th-17th century) which now contains a museum, the Lutheran church (1837) and the 14th century Church of St. James. This houses a magnificent Gothic carved and painted wooden altar, the largest in Europe, (18.62 m. in height), created by Master Paul around 1520. The square is generally very well preserved (despite one or two modern incursions) and contains a number of striking buildings which were the town-houses of the local nobility in the late middle ages. Also notable in the square is the wrought-iron 'Cage of Shame', dating back to the 17th century, used for public punishment of miscreants. A plaque on one of the houses records the printing and publication in the town of the most famous work of Comenius, the Orbis Pictus. Other buildings on the square house a historical museum and a museum dedicated to the work of Master Paul.

Behind the square in Kláštorská Street are the 14th century church and remains of the old monastery of the Minorites, now incorporated into a Church grammar school. Nearby is the town's Polish Gate, a Gothic construction of the 15th century.

Demographics

Levoča has a population of 14,677 (as of December 31, 2005). According to the 2001 census, out of 14,366 inhabitants 87.07% were Slovaks, 11.20% Roma, 0.33% Czechs and 0.31% Rusyns.^[2] The religious make-up was 79.54% Roman Catholics, 9.01% people with no religious affiliation, 3.87% Greek Catholics and 1.61% Lutherans.^[2]

Town and nearby settlements

Levoča (main town)
Levočská Dolina (=English: Levoča Valley). About 4 km out of town, on way to Závada.
Levočské Lúky (=English: Levoča Fields). Settlement on road to Spišska Nová Ves.
Závada. Village in the hills above Levočská Dolina.