Veľký Krtíš

Veľký Krtíš
Town
Lutheran church and rectory
Coat of arms
Veľký Krtíš Location of Veľký Krtíš in the Banská Bystrica Region Veľký Krtíš Location of Veľký Krtíš in Slovakia
Coordinates: 48°12′54″N 19°20′17″E
Country	Slovakia
Region	Banská Bystrica
District	Veľký Krtíš
First mentioned	1245
Government
• Mayor	Dalibor Surkoš
Area
• Total	15.03 km2 (5.80 sq mi)
	(2022)
Elevation	222 m (728 ft)
Population  (2022)
• Total	10,647
• Density	710/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	990 01
Area code	+421 47
Car plate	VK
Website	www.velky-krtis.sk

Veľký Krtíš (before 1927 Veľký Krtýš, Hungarian: Nagykürtös) is a town in middle Slovakia, situated in the historical Novohrad region. The town's most important economic sectors are mining and agriculture.

Etymology

The name is of Hungarian origin and is probably derived from the word kürtös which either means a bugler or, more likely motivated by the ethnonym Kürt (one of Magyar tribes).

History

The town was first mentioned in the second half of the 13th century, although the name Krtíš first appeared in 1245 under name Curtus (Latin). Until 1919 it was the part of the Hungarian Kingdom, later Austria-Hungary, part of the Nograd - Novohrad region. It was ruled by Ottoman Empire between 1554 and 1594 and again between 1596 and 1686 as part of Filek sanjak, its centre was Rimaszombat. After Treaty of Trianon it became part of Czechoslovakia. In the Second World War, the village remained in the Slovak state, a Nazi-Germany ally. The village suffered damages in the spring of 1945 when the Soviet army of the 2nd Ukrainian front together with the Romanian army met the Nazi Germany units. A Romanian military cemetery can be found in the nearby Modry Kamen. The village developed to a town in the 1960s with the opening of the mine for brown coal with massive industrialisation under the Communist Party. It had many industrial plants, Liaz; a large vehicular plant had a large plant in the until the 1990s on the outskirts towards Maly Krtris. The former Liaz plant is now owned by a Turkish investment firm producing luxury vehicle parts for various automobile companies like Aston Martin, Land Rover and Jaguar.

Geography

Veľký Krtíš lies at an altitude of 200 metres (656 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 15.028 square kilometres (5.8 sq mi). It is situated in the Krupinská planina, at the foothills of Javorie, around 15 kilometres (9 mi) north of the Hungarian border and around 75 kilometres (47 mi) south of Banská Bystrica.

Demographics

In May 2017 the town had 11,657 inhabitants. According to the 2011 census 86.93% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 6.20% Hungarians, 2.06% Roma and 0.78% Czechs. The religious make-up was 54.26% Roman Catholics, 21.58% people with no religious affiliation and 16.00% Lutherans.

Twin towns — sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Slovakia

Veľký Krtíš is twinned with:

• Písek, Czech Republic

External links

• Media related to Veľký Krtíš at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website