Poprad

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View of the High Tatras from Poprad

Poprad (Template:IPA; Template:Langx; Template:Langx) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. The largest town of the Spiš region and the largest of all towns in the vicinity of the High Tatra Mountains in both Slovakia and Poland, Poprad is the tenth largest city in Slovakia, with a population of approximately 50,000.

The Poprad-Tatry Airport is an international airport located just outside the city. Poprad is also the starting point of the Tatra Electric Railway (known in Slovak as Tatranská elektrická železnica), a set of special narrow-gauge trains (trams) connecting the resorts in the High Tatras with each other and with Poprad. Mainline trains link Poprad to other destinations in Slovakia and beyond; in particular, there are through trains running from Poprad to Prague in the Czech Republic.

History

Template:Quote box The territory was inhabited by Slavic settlers since the Migration Period. The first written record dates from 16 March 1256 in the deed of donation of the Hungarian King Bela IV. After the Mongol invasions in the 13th century it was colonized by German settlers and became the largely German town Deutschendorf meaning 'Germans' village'. From 1412 to 1770, as one of the Spis towns, Poprad was pawned by the Kingdom of Hungary to the Kingdom of Poland, resulting in a strong Polish influence on the city's further development. In the 17th century, the number of Germans began to decline. Since 1918, this territory has been placed under the control of Czechoslovakia.

Poprad itself was for 690 years (up until 1946) just one of several neighbouring settlements, which currently make up the modern city. The other parts of the current municipality are Matejovce (German: Matzdorf; Hungarian: Mateóc, first reference 1251), Spišská Sobota (German: Georgenberg; Hungarian: Szepesszombat, 1256), Veľká (German/Hungarian: Felka, 1268), and Stráže pod Tatrami (German: Michelsdorf; Hungarian: Strázsa, 1276). The most significant of these original towns was Georgenberg, now Spišská Sobota, which preserved its dominant position in the area until the late 19th century.

Poprad gained importance at the expense of Spišská Sobota after the construction of the Košice–Bohumín Railway in 1871. In the following years, further railway lines were built: Poprad - Kežmarok in 1892 and Tatra Electric Railway in 1908.

In 1942, during World War II, most of the transports of Jews to ghettos and concentration camps in German-occupied Poland were sent from the Poprad railway station. The first transport of about 1,000 Jewish girls and young women left Poprad on 25 March 1942 for Auschwitz-Birkenau. By the end of 1942, when the deportations stopped, over 58,000 Jews had been deported from Slovakia to German-occupied Poland via Poprad.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Poprad was liberated on 28 January 1945 by troops of the Soviet 18th Army. The German population was expelled afterwards.

After the war, the neighbouring settlements were incorporated into Poprad: Spišská Sobota and Veľká in 1945, Stráže pod Tatry in 1960 and Matejovce in 1974. At that time, with the development of winter sports, Poprad became the starting point for expeditions to the High Tatras.

In 1999, Poprad put in a bid to host the 2006 Winter Olympics, but lost to Turin, Italy.

Geography

Poprad lies at an altitude of Template:Convert above sea level and covers an area of Template:Convert.<ref name="statistics">Template:Cite web</ref> It is located in northeastern Slovakia, about Template:Convert from Košice and Template:Convert from Bratislava (by road).

Poprad is situated on the Poprad River in the Sub-Tatra Basin, and is a gateway to the High Tatras. Mountain ranges around the city include the Levoča Hills in the east, Kozie chrbty in the south, and the Low Tatras in the southwest. The drainage divide between the Black Sea and Baltic Sea lies a bit to the west, near the village of Štrba.

Climate

Poprad lies in the north temperate zone and has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) with four distinct seasons. It is characterized by a significant variation between warm summers and cold winters.

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Demographics

Template:Historical populationPoprad has a population of 55,158 (as of 31 December 2005). According to the 2001 census, 94.1% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 2.1% Romani, 1% Czechs, 0.2% Hungarians, 0.2% Germans, 0.1% Rusyns, 0.1% Ukrainians, and 0.1% Poles.<ref name="statistics"/>

Religion

The oldest churches here are the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession ( Lutherans). It also operates here: the Greek Catholic Church and Orthodox Church, Baptists, the Apostolic Church, Seventh-day Adventists, the Pentecostal Charismatic Church, and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Poprad

  • Co-Cathedral of the Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)
  • Church of St. Giles (Roman Catholic)
  • Church of St. Cyril and Methodius (Roman Catholic)
  • Church of Holy Trinity (Lutheran)
  • Pentecostal Church
  • Church of St. Peter and Paul (Greek Catholic)
  • Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses
  • Church of Holy Cross (Orthodox)

Veľká

  • Church of St. John (Roman Catholic - Salesians)
  • Church of Holy Trinity (Lutheran)
  • Baptist church
  • Church of Seventh-day Adventists

Spišská Sobota

  • Church of St. George (Roman Catholic)
  • Lutheran church

Matejovce

  • Church of St. Stephen (Roman Catholic)
  • Lutheran church

Stráže pod Tatrami

  • Church of St. John (Roman Catholic)
  • Lutheran church

Kvetnica

  • Church of St. Helen (Roman Catholic)

Landmarks

The historical centre is concentrated around St. Giles square (Námestie svätého Egídia), which is rimmed with houses predominantly from the 18th and 19th centuries. Churches in the city include the early-Gothic Catholic Church of St. Giles from the late 13th century and the classicist Lutheran Church of Holy Trinity from the 19th century.

Another historical area in Poprad is in Spišská Sobota, which was declared in 1953 to be a Town Monument Reserve. A significant landmark there is the Church of St. George, with five late-Gothic side altars and a main altar from the workshop of Master Paul of Levoča.

Modern places of interest include the Poprad-Tatry railway station and the AquaCity Poprad water park.

Government

Between 2003 and 2014, the mayor of Poprad was Anton Danko (former international ice-hockey referee). In the November 2014 municipal elections, he lost to Jozef Švagerko (KDH – Christian democrats).

Territorial division

The city is divided into six boroughs for municipal administrative division:

  1. Staré Mesto ["Old Town"]
  2. Spišská Sobota
  3. Stráže
  4. Veľká
  5. Matejovce
  6. Kvetnica

Sport

Arena of the ice hockey club HK Poprad

Poprad currently has one ice hockey club, HK Poprad, who play at the Poprad Ice Stadium.

Lev Poprad was another ice hockey club in Poprad, which used to play in the KHL for one season but was moved to the Czech capital, Prague, in 2012. Despite successful 2013/2014 seasons, the club has ended due to financial problems. Several former and current NHL hockey players were born in Poprad.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The city also hosted the 1994 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships, 1999 European Youth Olympic Winter Days, 2017 IIHF World U18 Championships and 1999 Winter Universiade. Every year, the ice hockey Tatra Cup is held. There was also an unsuccessful bid to host the 2006 Winter Olympics.

There are many football stadiums in Poprad; however, the main one is NTC Poprad, home of FK Poprad, founded in 1906 and the Slovakia national youth teams.

The local women's basketball club is Basketbalová Akadémia Mládeže Poprad (BAMP). Their matches are played in Aréna Poprad. The arena was also one of the venues at the 2017 editions of the FIVB Volleyball World League.

Education

The city's system of primary education consists of 12 public schools and one religious primary school, enrolling in total of 5,464 pupils.<ref name='uips'>Template:Cite web</ref> Secondary education is represented by four grammar schools with 1,800 students,<ref name='uips2'>Template:Cite web</ref> three specialized high schools with 1,566 students,<ref name='uips3'>Template:Cite web</ref> and four vocational schools with 2,045 students (data as of 2007).<ref name='uips4'>Template:Cite web</ref>

The city also hosted the 3rd International Biology Olympiad in 1993.

Transport

Aerial view of the city with the airport

Poprad is a gateway to the High Tatra mountain range, which is a popular tourist destination. The city lies on the main road (E 50) and railway connecting western and eastern Slovakia.

Poprad-Tatry railway station links Poprad with other major destinations on Slovakia's standard gauge rail network, and with the mountains via the metre gauge Tatra Electric Railway. The direct trains SuperCity Pendolino connect Poprad with Prague.

International Poprad–Tatry Airport from 1938, is an airport with the highest elevation in Central Europe. It also offers scheduled flights to London.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bus transport

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Rail transport

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Notable people

Memorial plaque of Jan Brokoff in Spišská Sobota

Sport

Twin towns – sister cities

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Poprad is twinned with:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

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References

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Photos and videos

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