Smolenice
Encyclopedia
Smolenice is a village
and municipality
of Trnava District
in the Trnava Region
of Slovakia
, on the foothills of the Little Carpathians
. It is 60 km northeast of Bratislava
and 25 km northwest of Trnava
. The village is made of two parts, Smolenice and Smolenická Nová Ves (formerly Neštich)
, but more archaeological discoveries are from Neolith. The most significant period was a transition from Bronze to the Iron Ages, when the Celts around the 6th century BC had oppidum above the village. On the same place was a settlement from the Great Moravia
period. The village was first mentioned in 1256 under name villa Solmus, though the settlement started to grow in the late Middle Ages. In the 14th century, the gothic Smolenice Castle
was built above the village, as a part of chain of the castle protecting passes in the Little Carpathians
. The castle with the village was royal at first, but it kept changing its hands for several centuries, until the Pálffys took it in the 18th century, when the castle was in decay. During the Napoleonic Wars
, it burned down, and only outer fortifications remained. In the 19th century, new wood processing works sprung up near the village, which were replaced in 1968 with the chemical works Chemolak. In the 20th century, reconstruction of the Smolenice castle ruins began, and was reconstructed as a château. Reconstruction finished after the Second World War.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of Trnava District
Trnava District
Trnava District is adistrict in the Trnava Region of western Slovakia.Until 1918, the district was mostly part of the Hungarian countyof Pozsony, apart from Bučany in the east which formed part of Nyitra County.-Municipalities:*Biely Kostol*Bíňovce...
in the Trnava Region
Trnava Region
The Trnava Region is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions.-Geography:It is located in the middlewest part of Slovakia and forms a territorial band between the Bratislava Region and the rest of Slovakia, between Austrian and Czech borders in the north and Hungarian border in the south...
of Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, on the foothills of the Little Carpathians
Little Carpathians
The Little Carpathians are a low, about 100 km long, mountain range, part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slovakia, covering the area from Bratislava to Nové Mesto nad Váhom, a very small part called Hundsheimer Berge is situated south of Devín Gate in...
. It is 60 km northeast of Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
and 25 km northwest of Trnava
Trnava
Trnava is a city in western Slovakia, 47 km to the north-east of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a kraj and of an okres . It was the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishopric . The city has a historic center...
. The village is made of two parts, Smolenice and Smolenická Nová Ves (formerly Neštich)
History
Although the site was inhabited since PaleolithicPaleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
, but more archaeological discoveries are from Neolith. The most significant period was a transition from Bronze to the Iron Ages, when the Celts around the 6th century BC had oppidum above the village. On the same place was a settlement from the Great Moravia
Great Moravia
Great Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...
period. The village was first mentioned in 1256 under name villa Solmus, though the settlement started to grow in the late Middle Ages. In the 14th century, the gothic Smolenice Castle
Smolenice Castle
The Smolenice Castle is a castle in the eastern slope of the Little Carpathians, near the town of Smolenice, Slovakia.-History:The Smolenice Castle was built up in the half of 15th century, but it was destroyed during the Rakoci's uprising and Napoleanic wars...
was built above the village, as a part of chain of the castle protecting passes in the Little Carpathians
Little Carpathians
The Little Carpathians are a low, about 100 km long, mountain range, part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slovakia, covering the area from Bratislava to Nové Mesto nad Váhom, a very small part called Hundsheimer Berge is situated south of Devín Gate in...
. The castle with the village was royal at first, but it kept changing its hands for several centuries, until the Pálffys took it in the 18th century, when the castle was in decay. During the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, it burned down, and only outer fortifications remained. In the 19th century, new wood processing works sprung up near the village, which were replaced in 1968 with the chemical works Chemolak. In the 20th century, reconstruction of the Smolenice castle ruins began, and was reconstructed as a château. Reconstruction finished after the Second World War.
Sights
- The Smolenice CastleSmolenice CastleThe Smolenice Castle is a castle in the eastern slope of the Little Carpathians, near the town of Smolenice, Slovakia.-History:The Smolenice Castle was built up in the half of 15th century, but it was destroyed during the Rakoci's uprising and Napoleanic wars...
, now reconstructed as a château. - Ruins of Celtic oppidum on the Morpín hill.
- The DrinyDrinyDriny is a limestone cave in West Slovakia in the Little Carpathians Mountains. It is located around 2 km southwest of the village of Smolenice.The cave's entrance altitude is 399 m....
limestone cave, the only public accessible cave in western Slovakia. - Little Carpathians with many castle ruins, with the protected Hlboče valley, and the highest point of the Little Carpathians, ZárubyZárubyZáruby is the highest hill of the Little Carpathians. It is located at an altitude of 768 m, near the village of Smolenice....
(768 m) - Grave of Štefan Banič