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THE MANOR
HOUSE
IN BETLIAR
AGAIN
In "The Slovak Heritage
Live Volume 6, No. 4, Winter 1998 In the story about Manor House In Betliar I
read a statement that "Bebeks who came from the old-land holding Akos
family founded the mining town of Dobsina in 1326." This information
seems to be incorrect as the development of mining industry in Slovakia from
the 14th century had been connected with German miners who used to build their
settlements near the mineral deposits in Slovakia. The main owner of all mines
was the king who provided some privileges to the newly founded mining towns.
In order to be able to write
this article I have researched three sources of historic information: P, Krizko:
From the History of mining towns in Slovakia, Bratislava, 1964; History of
Slovakia (until 1526), chief editor Samuel Cambel, Slovak Academy of Science,
Bratislava 1986; Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume 7
p.465,.Chicago-Londom-Toronto, 1959.
In the last source-under the
heading of Dobsina-mining village it reads: "It lies in The Slovak Ore
Mountains on the Slana River, northwest of Kosice. The settlement founded in
1326 by immigrant German miners has retained a tradition of lumbering and iron
mining."
In both of the Slovak
scientific historic works it is written that during the reign of the Hungarian
king Bela IV (1235-70) Slovakia, as a part of Hungarian State, suffered from
the Tartar invasions, which shattered the region's developing economy. The
king invited-settlers, mainly German miners and artisans into the area to help
rebuild the mercantile base. German contractors and miners brought modern
technology and capital with them that were applied in the mining industry in
Slovakia. There were two or three waves of German immigration that took place
since the 14th century. The first Germans came from Alpine. Lands
and later on from the Lower Sachsenland. Dobsina or the original German name
Dobschau started to play a very important role in the 15th century when it
became one of the centers of iron mining because north of the town large
deposits of iron ore were discovered. The strong German character of the town
was retained until 1948 when the German School was closed. Many
German-speaking residents immigrated back to Germany during World War II or
after the War. The Slovak-speaking people moved to the town from the nearby
villages and only Slovak schools were allowed to open. Rural people used to
call the German born descendants by the nickname of "Buliners" who
used to speak the Buliner dialect that was different from the present German
language. All the dialects spoken in the nearby villages have preserved traces
of the Buliner language too. The history of the German immigration can still
be recognized in Dobsina though Slovak population prevails nowadays. There
are a lot of stories and legends still current describing the life of the
first German settlers in Dobsina." The traditions and habits of the
miners are preserved and presented by the GEMER Folk Ensemble at folklore
festivals in Slovakia.
I myself have my own personal
relationship to Dobsina and surrounding area as I was born and raised in
Rejdova, nearby village, 13 km from Dobsina. I also went to high school in
Dobsina as well as I used to teach at the same high school in the early
1970s.
Zuzana Davalovska
281 North Howard Ave.
Burnaby, BC, V5B 4Y7
CANADA
GO
TO SLOVAKIA'S CASTLES
Published in the
Slovak Heritage Live newsletter Volume 7, No. 2, Summer 1999
Copyright © Vladimir Linder 1999
3804
Yale Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5C 1P6
The above article and photographs may not be copied,
reproduced, republished, or redistributed by any means including electronic,
without the express written permission of
Vladimir
Linder. All rights
reserved.
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