Danube Swabians
Germans of Hungary
Hungarian Names
Hungarian People

Bódvavendégi - Abaúj- Torna
Kosice
Levoca
Slowakei
Spisska Nova Ves
Szepes County
Upper Hungary
Zavada_Spis_Slovakia

Mertes Family - neighbor family of Feske

Burnside_Chicago_Illinois
Our Lady of Hungary Catholic Church

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko%C5%A1ice

( listen)

( listen)

Being the economic and cultural center of eastern Slovakia, Košice is the seat of the Košice Region and Košice Self-governing Region, the Slovak Constitutional Court, three universities, various dioceses, and many museums, galleries, and theaters. Košice is an important industrial center of Slovakia, and it accounts for about 9% of the country's GDP. The U.S. Steel Košice steel mill is the most economically influential private employer in the region^{[undue weight? – discuss]}. The town has good railway connections and an international airport.

The city has a well preserved historical center, which is the largest among Slovak towns. There are many heritage protected buildings in Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Art Nouveau styles with Slovakia's largest church: the St. Elisabeth Cathedral. The long main street, rimmed with aristocratic palaces, Catholic churches, and townsfolk's houses, is a thriving pedestrian zone with many boutiques, cafés, and restaurants. The city is well known as the first^{[citation needed]} settlement in Europe to be granted its own coat-of-arms.

Etymology

The first written mention of the city was in 1230 as "Villa Cassa".^[4] The Slovak name of the city comes from the Slavic personal name Koša with the patronymic slavic suffix "-ice".^[5] The city may derive its name from Old Slovak kosa, "clearing", related to modern Slovak kosiť, "to reap".^[6] Though according to other sources the city name may derive from an old Hungarian^[7] first name which begins with "Ko".^[8] Historically, the city has been known as Kaschau in German, Kassa in Hungarian, Cassovia in Latin, Cassovie in French, Caşovia in Romanian, Кошице (Košice) in Russian, and Koszyce in Polish (see here for more names). Below is a chronology of the various names:^[9][10][11]

History

The first evidence of inhabitance can be traced back to the end of the Paleolithic era. The first written reference to the Hungarian town of Košice (as the royal village - Villa Cassa) comes from 1230. After the Mongol invasion in 1241, King Béla IV of Hungary invited German colonists to fill the gaps in population.

The city was made of two independent settlements: Lower Košice and Upper Košice, amalgamated in the 13th century around the long lens-formed ring, of today's Main Street. The first known town privileges come from 1290.^[12] The city grew quickly because of its strategic location on an international trade route from agriculturally-rich central Hungary to central Poland, itself along a greater route connecting the Balkans and the Adriatic and Aegean seas to the Baltic Sea. The privileges given by the king were helpful in developing crafts, business, increasing importance (seat of the royal chamber for Upper Hungary), and for building its strong fortifications.^[4] In 1307, the first guild regulations were registered here and were the oldest in Kingdom of Hungary.^[13]

As a Hungarian free royal town, Košice reinforced the king's troops in the crucial moment of the bloody Battle of Rozgony in 1312 against the strong aristocratic Palatine Amadé Aba (family). In 1347, it became the second place city in the hierarchy of the Hungarian free royal towns with the same rights as the capital Buda. In 1369, it received its own coat of arms from Louis I of Hungary.^[12] The Diet convened by Louis I in Košice decided that women could inherit the Hungarian throne.

The significance and wealth of the city in the end of the 14th century was mirrored by the decision to build a completely new church on the grounds of the previously destroyed smaller St. Elisabeth Church. The construction of the biggest cathedral in the Kingdom of Hungary - St. Elisabeth Cathedral - was supported by the Emperor Sigismund, and by the apostolic see itself. Since the beginning of the 15th century, the city played a leading role in the Pentapolitana - the league of towns of five most important cities in Upper Hungary (Bardejov, Levoča, Košice, Prešov, and Sabinov). During the reign of King Matthias Corvinus the city reached its medieval population peak. With an estimated 10,000 Hungarian inhabitants, it was among the largest medieval cities in Europe.^[14]

The history of Košice was heavily influenced by the dynastic disputes over the Hungarian throne, which together with the decline of the continental trade brought the city into stagnation. Vladislaus III of Varna failed to capture the city in 1441. John Jiskra's mercenaries from Bohemia defeated Tamás Székely's Hungarian army in 1449. John I Albert, Prince of Poland, could not capture the city during a six month long siege in 1491. In 1526, the city homaged for Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor. John Zápolya captured the city in 1536 but Ferdinand I reconquered the city in 1551.^[15] In 1604, Stephen Bocskay occupied Košice during his insurrection against the Habsburg dynasty. Giorgio Basta, commander of the Habsburg forces, failed to capture the city, but Ferdinand I eventually recaptured it in 1606. Stephen Bocskay died in Košice on 29 December 1606 and was interred there.

On 5 September 1619, Gabriel Bethlen captured Košice in another anti-Habsburg insurrection. He married Catherine von Hohenzollern, of Johann Sigismund Kurfürst von Brandenburg, in Košice in 1626.^[16] On 18 January 1644, the Diet in Košice elected George I Rákóczi the prince of Hungary. In 1657, a printing house and a college were founded by the Jesuits there. The city was besieged by kuruc armies several times in the 1670s and it revolted against the Habsburg emperor. The rebel leaders were massacred by emperor's soldiers on 26 November 1677. A modern pentagonal fortress (citadel) was built by the Habsburgs south of the city in 1670s. Another rebel leader, Imre Thököly captured it in 1682 but the Austrian field marshal Aeneas de Caprara got it back on 1685. In 1704-1711 Prince of Transylvania Francis II Rákóczi made Košice the main base in his War for Independence. The fortress was demolished by 1713.

In the 17th century it was the capital of Upper Hungary (in 1563-1686 as the seat of the "Captaincy of Upper Hungary", and in 1567-1848 as the seat of the Chamber of Szepes county (Spiš, Zips), which was a subsidiary of the supreme financial agency in Vienna responsible for Upper Hungary). Due to Ottoman occupation, the city was the residence of Eger's archbishop from 1596 to 1700.^[17] Since 1657, it was the seat of the historic Royal University of Košice (Universitas Cassoviensis). It was transformed into a Royal Academy in 1777, then into a Law Academy in the 19th century; it ceased to exist in the turbulent year of 1921. After the end of the anti-Habsburg uprisings in 1711 the victorious Austrian armies drove the Ottoman forces back to the south and this major territorial change created new trade routes which circumvented Košice. The city began to decay and turned from a rich medieval town into a provincial town known for its military base and dependent mainly on agriculture.^[18]

In 1723, the Immaculata statue was erected in the place of a former gallows at Hlavná ulica (Main Street) commemorating the plague from the years 1710-1711.^[19] This was one of the centers of the Hungarian language regenerate movement which published the first Hungarian language periodical called the Magyar Museum in Hungary in 1788.^[20] The city's walls were demolished step by step from the early 19th century to 1856; only the Executioner's Bastion remained with few parts of the wall. The city became a seat of its own bishopric in 1802. The city's surroundings became a theater of the war again during the Revolutions of 1848, when the Imperial cavalry general Franz Schlik defeated the Hungarian army on 8 December 1848 and 4 January 1849. The city was captured by the Hungarian army on 15 February 1849, but the Russian troops drove them back on 24 June 1849.^[21]

At the beginning of the 19th century, there were three manufacturers and 460 workshops in 1828.^[22] The first factories were established in the 1840s (sugar and nail factories). The first telegram message arrived in 1856 and the railway connected the city to Miskolc, Hungary in 1860. In 1873, there were already connections to Prešov, Žilina, and Chop (in today's Ukraine). The city gained a public transit system in 1891 when track was laid down for a horse-drawn tramway. The traction was electrified in 1914.^[22] In 1906, Francis II Rákóczi's house of Rodosto was reproduced in Košice and his remains were buried in the St. Elisabeth Cathedral.^[23]

After World War I and during the gradual break-up of Austria-Hungary, the city at first became a part of the transient "Eastern Slovak Republic", declared on 11 December 1918 in Košice and earlier in Prešov under the protection of Hungary. On 29 December 1918, the Czechoslovak Legions entered the city, making it part of the newly established Czechoslovakia. However, in June 1919, Košice was occupied again, as part of the Slovak Soviet Republic, a proletarian puppet state of Hungary. The Czechoslovak troops secured the city for Czechoslovakia in July 1919,^[24] which was later upheld under the terms of the Treaty of Trianon in 1920.

Košice was ceded to Hungary, by the First Vienna Award, from 1938 until early 1945. The town was bombarded on 26 June 1941, in what became a welcome pretext for the Hungarian government to declare war on the Soviet Union a day later. The German occupation of Hungary led to the deportation of Košice's entire Jewish population of 12,000 and an additional 2,000 from surrounding areas via cattle cars to the concentration camps. The town was captured by the Soviets in January 1945 and for a short time it became a temporary capital city of the restored Czechoslovak Republic until the Soviet Red Army reached Prague. Among other acts, the Košice Government Program was declared on 5 April 1945.^[24]

After the Communist Party seized power in Czechoslovakia in February 1948, the city became part of the Eastern Bloc. Several present day cultural institutions were founded and large residential areas around the city were built. The construction and expansion of the East Slovak Ironworks caused the population to grow from 60,700 in 1950 to 235,000 in 1991. Before the breakup of Czechoslovakia (1993), it was the fifth largest city in the federation. Following the Velvet Divorce and creation of the Slovak Republic, Košice became the second largest city in the country and became a seat of a constitutional court. Since 1995, it has been the seat of the Archdiocese of Košice.

Location in Slovakia	Location in the Košice Region
Košice - Capital of Upper Hungary in 1617	Main Street
The military base in Košice at the end of the 18th century	National Theater built in 1899

Geography

Košice lies at an altitude of 206 metres (676 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 242.77 square kilometres (93.7 sq mi).^[25] It is located in eastern Slovakia, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the Hungarian, 80 kilometres (50 mi) from the Ukrainian, and 90 kilometres (56 mi) from the Polish borders. It is about 400 kilometres (249 mi) east of Slovakia's capital Bratislava and a chain of villages connects it to Prešov which is about 36 kilometres (22 mi) to the north.

Košice is situated on the Hornád River in the Košice Basin, at the easternmost reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains. More precisely it is a subdivision of the Čierna hora mountains in the northwest and Volovské vrchy mountains in the southwest. The basin is met on the east by the Slanské vrchy mountains.

Demographics

Košice has a population of 240,688 (31 December 2011). According to the 2011 census, 73.8% of its inhabitants were Slovaks, 2.65% Hungarians, 2% Roma, 0.65% Czechs, 0.68% Rusyns, 0.3% Ukrainians, and 0.13% Germans. 19% of Košice's population did not declare their ethnic affiliation in the 2011 census.^[27]

The religious makeup was 45% Roman Catholics, 16.6% people with no religious affiliation, 6.12% Greek Catholics, and 2.33% Lutherans, 2% Calvinists and 0.11 Jews.^[28]

Historical demographics

The town had a German majority until the mid-16th century.^[29] Cassovia consisted of 72.5% which may have been Hungarians,^{[clarification needed]} 13.2% Germans, 14.3% Slovaks or of uncertain origin in 1650.^[29] According to the Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi, the city was inhabited by "Hungarians, Germans, Upper Hungarians" in 1661.^[29] The linguistic makeup of the town's population underwent historical changes that alternated between a growth of the ratio of those who claimed Hungarian and those who claimed Slovak as their language. With a population of 28,884 in 1891, just under half (49.9%) of the inhabitants of Košice declared the then official Hungarian language as their main means of communication, 33.6% Slovak, and 13.5% German; 72.2% were Roman Catholics, 11.4% Jews, 7.3% Lutherans, 6.7% Greek Catholics, and 4.3% Calvinists.^[30] The results of this census are questioned by some historians^[31] by claiming that they were manipulated, in order to increase the percentage of the Magyar population in the period of Magyarization.

By the 1910 census, which is sometimes accused of being manipulated by the ruling Hungarian bureaucracy,^[32] 75.4% of the 44,211 inhabitants claimed Hungarian, 14.8% Slovak, 7.2% German, and 1.8% Polish.^[33] The Jews were split among other groups by the 1910 census, as only the most frequently used language and not ethnicity was registered.^[34] The linguistic balance within the town limits began to shift towards Slovak after World War I with Slovakization in the newly established Czechoslovakia.^{[citation needed]} As a consequence of the Vienna Awards, Košice was ceded to Hungary. During the German occupation of Hungary towards the end of World War II, approximately 10,000 Jews were deported by the Arrow Cross Party and the Nazis, and killed in Auschwitz.^[35] The ethnic makeup of the town was dramatically changed by persecution of the town's large Hungarian majority (population exchanges between Hungary and Slovakia and slovakization) and by mass immigration of Slovaks into newly built communist-block-microdistricts, which increased the population of Košice four-times by 1989 and made it the fastest growing city in Czechoslovakia.^[36]

External links

Official website of the town of Košice

http://www.kosice.sk/

Košice – one of the oldest towns in Slovakia – lies at the place where the River Hornád emerges from its picturesque wooded valley and flows onto an extensive plain. This is a city with a rich and glorious past. It starts with the first mention of a community here in a document from the year 1230, when Košice is referred to as “Villa Cassa”. The town itself was founded by German colonists from Lower Saxony together with the original local Slav settlers after the year 1243. It is assumed that in 1290 Košice acquired town privileges, with the right to hold markets and fairs, collect taxes and build fortified walls. Further privileges granted in 1342 and 1347 gave Košice the status of a free royal town, ranking it as one of the leading centres of Greater Hungary. Then in 1369 King Ludovicus Magnus granted Košice a coat of arms, making it absolutely the first town in Europe to use such a symbol on the basis of a royal armorial warrant. Following the period of economic flourishing and relative peace in the 14th and 15th centuries, Košice in the 16th and 17th centuries experienced troubled times as a result first of the Turkish invasion threat, then the religious conflicts of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, and later the series of aristocratic rebellions against the Habsburgs. Despite repeated armed clashes, during this time the Jesuits were able to make Košice a seat of learning with its own university and secondary schools. The confusion of the incipient Modern Age gave way to peace and progressive growth in the 18th and 19th centuries. The new Baroque architecture flourished here, followed by neo-Classicism and Romanticism; the aristocracy moved into the town, promoting the arts, theatre and social life. By the end of the 19th century Košice had developed into one of the most important industrial cities in Greater Hungary. In 1918 Košice became part of the first Czechoslovak Republic, and although the wartime Hungarian occupation from 1938 to 1945 brought economic and demographic decline, at the end of the Second World War Košice for a while became the capital of the re-established Czechoslovakia. From the 1950’s onwards the city experienced furious growth, accelerat­ed mainly by the building of the East Slovakian Steelworks. In the space of one generation there was a five-fold increase in the city’s population, and a twenty-fold expansion in its built-up area.

History of Kosice - 13^th century

Kosice, the second largest city in Slovakia, is situated in the valley of the Hornad River and Kosicka kotlina (the Kosice Basin), at the foot of the Cierna Hora mountains in the north and the Slovak Ore Mountains and the Volovske Vrchy Hills in the west. From the east, the Kosice Basin is bordered by the Slanske Vrchy Hills. To the southwest near the Hungarian border there are the renowned Slovensky Kras Hills.

Kosice has a warm, rather dry climate typical for hollows; the average January temperature ranges from -2 0C to -4 0C; average July temperature ranges from 18.5 0C to 20 0C; the average annual precipitation is 600-700 mm. The northwestern areas at the foothills of the Slovak Ore Mountains have a temperate mountain climate.

The‚ advantageous position of the city on the crossroads of the old long-distance trade routes was the fundamental factor for the development of this place of habitation on the fertile soil of the river-terrace near the juncture of the Hornad and Torysa Rivers. The area has been settled continuously since the Paleolithic Era; an Aurignacian camp site, the earliest one known to have existed in Central Europe, was excavated at Barca near Kosice.

The presence of a Slavic community having settled here in 8-9th century was confirmed by study of the fortifed settlement site at Breh in the area of Krasna nad Hornadom. Another presumed settlement site of this type is at Hradova, where a castle was built later to control the important crossroads of the trade routes.

At the end of the 11 th century, the building of a Benedidine abbey as a center for the spreading of culture was begun at Krasna nad Hornadom; it was consecrated in 1143. Another fortifed site, the above-mentioned Hradova Castle, was built in the frst half of the 13th century. Several settlements arose along the road in the river valley between these two points, which rnay be considered as the origins of the later town. According to existing data, by 1216 another monastery had already stood on the site of present-day Kosice and the settlement itself was mentioned in 1230. It was situated at the site of Slovenska Street; the frst parish church in the area was built there too. This place of habitation expanded rapidly after the arrival of German colonists; its layout followed the settlement pattern provided by other towns which had already been settled by the native folk. The German immigrants appeared as new inhabitants shortly after the Tartar invasion and they founded their homes next to the existing settlement.

Before 1249 they were granted their first privileges. Owing to them and to the advantageous situation of the settlement, Kosice developed relatively rapidly into a town. The Saxons who settled in Kosice achieved religious self-government very early, and in 1290 they were exempted from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon. Already by that time, the original, one-nave church of St. Elizabeth (1260-1280) stood in the middle of the spindle-shaped square (a typical shape for eastern-Slovakia towns). The town's protecive walls had been partially built by that time, as well as the Royal House and the hospital. The oldest building preserved from that period is the Early-Gothic Dominican church with remnants of the monastery located near the line of the town's western walls. The presence of this religious order testified to the definite urban character of Kosice at that time.

By the end of the 13 century markets were held in the town, which emerged as an important center for the barter of imported goods from Prussia, the towns of the Hansa League in Germany, and Krakow, Poland.

History of Kosice - 14^th century

At the beginning of the 14th century the burghers of Kosice showed extraordinary resolution and courage. They fearlessly rebelled against the very cruel Palatine Omodej, to whom the control of the town was granted by King Charles Robert of Anjou in 1304. Unable to find any other way of getting rid of their feudal oppressor, they murdered him in 1311 . Kosice won the ensuing lawsuit with Omodej's descendants. After this event, the Omodejs joined the opposition against King Charles Robert. The burghers of Kosice played an important role for the King's victory in the decisive battle against the Omodejs near Rozhanovce on 15th June 1312. Their participation in this victorious battle won the charter of a Free Royal Town for Kosice in 1342, and strengthened its economic and military power. Rapid development and urbanization of the town followed.

At that time, a major part of the forests in the vicinity were changed into vineyards, and growing grapes became one of the main occupations of the local inhabitants. A mutual cooperation treaty with Krakow was signed in 1324; the first of its kind. It contributed largely to the steadily expanding volume of long-distance trade along the route from southeastern Hungary to the Scandinavian countries by way of Kosice. These treaties document the town's important position in international commerce at that time. Another opportunity to improve its position was the right of storage granted in 1361. By the mid-14th century Kosice had only one rival in Hungarian kingdom - the principal center of the state and the residence of the monarch - Buda. The kings favored Kosice and paid frequent visits to the city. The imposing appearance of Gothic Kosice was equal to its importance.

The large, elongated square, oriented to the north, was lined by osientatiously(?) ornamented houses of the wealthy patricians, induding the Royal House and the so-called Levoca House. The Town Hall stood originally in the square. The monumental Franciscan church and monastery were built near the northern town walls. The Gothic cathedral of St.Elizabeth began to be constructed on the site of an older church in about 1380. This cathedral was of great importance to Hungarian medieval architecture. The lodge and the masons’ workshop, set up while the cathedral was being built, exerted great influence over building activity in a vast area. Master masons were commissioned to work on the various buildings, including those at the royal court. Next to the cathedral, a detached bell-tower and a charnel-house of St. Michael were built. By that time the town had already more than 4,000 inhabitants, and was protected by a ring of stout walls.

In the second half of the 14th century, the town expanded beyond the lines of town walls. In 1397 Kosice became the authority over nineteen towns and villages and it acquired the dominant position in the association of eastern-Slovak towns - Pentapolitana. Kosice was of great strategic importance to the defense of the northeast territories of Hungary; the strong town walls were believed to be impregnable; therefore, the sovereigns often committed not only their valuables and archives but also their wives and children there for protection. Kosice was also the seat of the commander in-chief of the eastern Slovakia towns' armed forces and the captain of Kosice's garrison.

History of Kosice - 15-16^th century

In 1419 the town controlled a monopoly in producing a special cloth - fustian; therefore, all manufacturers of this cloth in Hungary had to move to Kosice. Ten years later, Kosice also gained a monopoly of bleaching flax linen, which was shared with Bardejov.

During the turbulent years of the struggle for the Hungarian throne, Kosice played an important role. At the end of the first half of the 15th century, under the leadership of Jan Jiskra of Branděs (who was an Ispan, an administrator of Saris County, with its center in Kosice) expeditions were undertaken against the Poles and Hungarians. Loans for these expeditions flowed out of Kosice's municipal treasury. All of the "Estates of the Tisza Region" submitted to Jiskra at the Diet of Seňa in 1445; Jan Talafus became a captain of Kosice. The reformist Hussites retained their power over the town after the peace had been signed with Janos Hunyadi in 1450; they lost it only after their defeat at Sarissky Potok.

The patricians of the town originated from the merchant class at that period. Crafts and agricultural production had little significance apart from viticulture. The mass migration of people- especially Hungarian aristocracy - from the southern territories of the kingdom occupied by the Turks resulted in an enormous concentration of population within the town walls; the number reached 7,000. At the time when Buda was seized and occupied by the Turks, Kosice became the capital of the Hungarian kingdom for some time.

In the mid-16th century a great fire almost destroyed the whole town. It damaged St. Elizabeth's as well as the town walls. Owing to the support of the royal court, a new Renaissance town arose on the ruins of the old one. During the reconstruction works, the vacant ground, which had remained on the building plots, especially behind the houses, was built up with additional buildings with the purpose of housing the rising population.

History of Kosice - 17-18^th century

The significance of Kosice for the revitalization of the Hungarian kingdom in the east and southeast was also reflected in the gradual modernization of the fortifications. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the town became an almost impregnable fortress with three lines of walls and a moat. During the reign of King Leopold I, a star shaped citadel was built in front of the southern gate. Today it can be seen only in contemporary engravings of the town.

Kosice did not escape the religious fighting during Reformation and Counter-Reformation. The churches, including the cathedral of St.Elizabeth, changed hands several times. The religious unrest, the pressure of Turkish armies, the rebelliousness of the Hungarian Estates as well as the loss of leadership of south-north commerce after the shift of world trade centers westwards caused a slump in both commerce and craft production in Kosice and consequently in other east Slovak towns, too. After the Turkish victory, the population in the part of the town encircled by walls dropped by one third compared to the total in 1480. The number of houses was less than four hundred. The erstwhile second largest city in the Hungarian kingdom was stagnating.

Due to the efforts of Benedid Kischdy, the Hungarian Bishop of Eger, the Jesuitical University was established in Kosice in 1657, comprising of philosophical, theological, and linguistic faculties. King Leopold I issued a Golden Bull in 1660 to promote the university and make it equal to other European universities. As a part of the university a printing house was established. The university was changed into a Royal Academy in 1776, and later only the Faculty of Law had the charade of a college. The Jesuitical University Church was built in 1674- 1684 for needs of the university.

The appearance of the town was altered in the 18th century, when a new building program was embarked on: the suburbs were being founded as the town walls were gradually dismantled. The older palaces and monasteries were redesigned to match the new Baroque and later the classical styles.

History of Kosice - 19^th century

At the turn of the 19th century, the economy revived. Manufacturers producing English porcelain, hats, cloth and more, appeared in the town. The population was constantly rising, especially owing to the influx of people from the villages.

At the beginning of the 19th century, a bishopric was established in Kosice; the parish church of St.Elizabeth became a cathedral church in 1804.

Revival of the economy of the town was manifested in the town's architecture. The Reduta cultural center, a ballroom, theater, large burghers' and patrician houses, ornate aristocratic palaces, the Evangelical church, and a number of large barracks were built.

The arrival of the railway, which connected Kosice with Miskolcz and Budapest in 1860, and Bohumin in 1870, provided a mighty new impulse for the economic boom of the town. Construction of a railway station east of the town center was also finished that year. On the site between the railway station and the city a large park was planted and a new street network was developed. The process of urbanization of the town was influenced by the traffic patterns of Vienna and Budapest, creating a system of circular avenues which occupied the place of the demolished town walls. With the construction of new rental houses, Kosice attained a metropolitan character. The river terraces westwards above the city were built up with rustic country houses grouped around small squares. A synagogue was built amidst a row of houses situated along a southern axis next to the city in the year 1866; 20 years later a Greek-Catholic church was built in Cyrilometodska Street.

History of Kosice - 20^th century

The inhabitants of Kosice built a new theater and rebuilt the cathedral of St.Elizabeth into the neo-Gothic style. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Art Nouveau style appeared; it was applied to create romantic and historical facades. A system of suburbs, known as "glacis", was developed in the 19th century. In 1912, the Art Nouveau City Hall was built as focal point at the end of a boulevard running parallel with the old High Street. Kosice became a significant administrative, cultural and educational center of eastern Slovakia before mid-the 20th century.

Large blocks of flats were constructed, new banks, post offices, the radio-broadcasting station, blocks of flats in Stara Bešeňova, and schools as well as a modern Roman Catholic sacred building, the Queen of Peace Church. At this time the first negative interferences in the urban structure of the city appeared - such as the new Baťa shoe-store. Large pre-fabricated blocks of flats built around the town center were an answer to the rapid industrial development and the rising population in the 1960s - 1970s. Many of the big, bulky solitary buildings were set directly into the center of rows of historical houses interfering with the urban structure of the city. In general, in spite of them, Kosice has preserved the historical atmosphere of Hlavna (High) Street and the circular avenues intact as well as the intimacy of the narrow lanes situated next to the former city walls.

The most significant historical, architectural, and art-historical structures of the town are situated in the center of the large, spindle-shaped square.

The declaration of the historical center of the town, an Urban Preservation Area, in 1981 was a result of the effort to save the historical environment of Kosice.



The Names of Soldiers killed in action in the 1st WW burried in Kosice Municipal Cemetery

http://www.kosice.sk/clanok.asp?file=history_erb_indexsk.htm

http://www.kosice.sk/clanok.asp?file=history_remembrances_index.htm

The list of city officials