Medzev

Medzev , German Metzenseifen (Hungarian Meczenzéf - to 1902 Mecenzéf ) is a town in the east of Slovakia with a population of 4482 (December 31, 2019).

Medzev is a member of the European Charter - Villages of Europe , a group of rural communities from all 28 EU countries.

geography

The city is located 36 kilometers west of Košice , in the southeastern part of the Slovak Ore Mountains between the Volovské vrchy and Slovak Karst mountains . The upper Bodva flows through the place . The Šugovský potok and Zlatná brooks feed smaller ponds which used to be used as a water supply for the former hammer mills. The area is partly deforested, partly covered by beech forest. The city center is at an altitude of 313 m nm

Neighboring communities of Medzev are Mníšek nad Hnilcom in the north, Jasov in the east, Turňa nad Bodvou in the south, Hačava in the southwest and Štós in the west.

history

The place was created in 1960 by merging the places Nižný Medzev (German Untermetzenseifen; Hungarian Alsómeczenzéf ) and Vyšný Medzev ( Obermetzenseifen; the latter has been independent again since 1999). These places were founded in the 13th century (1359 Mechenseuph ), but probably there were German and Slovak miners before that. After the Mongol invasions, there was a large influx of German families, with the ownership structure being largely determined by the Jasov monastery .

From the 14th century onwards, besides mining, craft became more and more decisive. From the 15th century, the places Nižný and Vyšný Medzev were differentiated. During the Reformation the monastery was closed, so that the place no longer fell under his rule. The dispute over rule flared up again in the course of the Counter Reformation and the reorganization of the monastery; This dispute only ended under Maria Theresa .

In the course of industrialization , the place became an economic center. Numerous hammer smiths (around 100) mainly produced agricultural implements. In 1894 Metzenseifen received a railway connection on the Moldava nad Bodvou – Medzev railway line . In the 1930s there were tensions between the German- and Slovak-speaking workers. Up to the end of the Second World War, the Carpathian Germans formed the largest population group; Even today, over 20% of the population is German-speaking. In the 2000s, the number of Germans rose by around 0.75%.

Mantakish

“Dovidenia” / “Goodbye” - sign at the exit of Medzev in the direction of Štós

The older population still speaks Mantakic, a dialect of the German language that is restricted to this place and is derived from the dialects of the Germans who immigrated from the 14th to the 18th century, the so-called Saxons (Latin Saxones ). , has formed. The vocabulary of the Mantaks , as the users of this endangered dialect are called, is recorded in the Mantakic dictionary in writing and tone.

In the primary school of Metzenseifen (officially with the bilingual name Základná škola - Primary School Medzev ), German has been taught again from the 1st grade onwards, in some classes for 6 hours per week. The local city chronicler Walter Bistika complains, however, that the increasing knowledge of standard German was at the expense of the Mantakic dialect. According to the deputy headmistress Gertrúda Schürgerová (2013), only 2 to 3 children per class understand Mantakish, while in 1993 half of the pupils still spoke the dialect. Although half of the primary school teachers are supposed to speak Mantakish, the dialect is not taught, unlike standard German. An exception is a theater project of a seventh grade, which was carried out in 2013, partly in Mantakish (also German and Slovak). Since both parents rarely speak the dialect among today's school children, it is usually not passed on to the children. However, there are still a few children who hardly speak Slovak when they start school. Due to the school environment with Slovak and - to a lesser extent - Standard German, the children's dialect skills are lost again.

population

		Ethnic structure of saucer soaps 1880–1930
year	Residents	Slovaks	German	Hungary	Others
1880	3,173	58	2,733	238	144
1890	2,690	112	2,390	159	29
1900	2,805	112	2,258	417	18th
1910	2,658	83	1.918	596	61
1921	2,670	102	1,945	600	23
1930	2,656	245	2,062	240	109

According to the results of the 2001 census, Medzev had 3,667 inhabitants.

By ethnicity:

75.43% Slovaks
13.55% German
6.65% Roma
1.55% Hungary

By denomination:

77.58% Roman Catholic
12.95% non-denominational
4.36% no answer
2.18% Greek Catholic

Church of the Nativity in Medzev

Attractions

The Catholic Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary is originally a Gothic building from the early 15th century; It was completely rebuilt in 1732–1735 and restored in 1891.

Web links

Commons : Medzev - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ Gabriela Schleusener, Heinz Schleusener: Dictionary of German dialect in Metzenseifen . Shaker Verlag, Aachen 2013.
↑ Medzev.sk - oficiálna webová stránka: Viacúčelové ihrisko v areáli Základnej školy - Medzev Primary School , official city website in 2009 and Základná škola - Medzev Primary School , official school website (Slovak, with bilingual official name), accessed December 2, 2014.
↑ Kristina Forbat: Legendary Metzenseifen . Kaschau city clerk 2013, June 7, 2013.
↑ Zoltán Ilyés, Az 1938-as határváltozás és a felső-Bódva-völgyi németség (Mecenzéf, Stósz), p. 3 link

[1] Gabriela Schleusener, Heinz Schleusener: Dictionary of German dialect in Metzenseifen . Shaker Verlag, Aachen 2013.

[2] Medzev.sk - oficiálna webová stránka: Viacúčelové ihrisko v areáli Základnej školy - Medzev Primary School , official city website in 2009 and Základná škola - Medzev Primary School , official school website (Slovak, with bilingual official name), accessed December 2, 2014.

[3] Kristina Forbat: Legendary Metzenseifen . Kaschau city clerk 2013, June 7, 2013.

[4] Zoltán Ilyés, Az 1938-as határváltozás és a felső-Bódva-völgyi németség (Mecenzéf, Stósz), p. 3 link