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SUMMARY OF THE
SPRING ISSUE
Volume 12, No. 1, SPRING
2004
Slovak
Heritage Live
A quarterly newsletter
published by Vladimir Linder
Spring issue was published in
February 2004 and it was mailed to 1200 recipients world wide.
Čachtice Castle
FROM THE EDITOR
A
big thank you to everyone that renew their subscriptions, however there
are still large number of subscribers that forgot to renew. If your
address label is high lined, please note the additional messages enclosed
with the newsletter and your subscription has either expired or will
expire soon. Please renew early and if you can, you know that donations
are gladly accepted no matter how large they may be.
In
December we had visits from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria,
Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Italy, Israel, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Romania,
Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United
Kingdom, United States, Yugoslavia and we had received 214828 hits...
FROM
THE MAIL BAG
Dear
Vlad,
Your persistence has paid off. I am enclosing a check for $150.00 for the
following: $75.00 for2002, 2003, and 2004 membership and $75.00 for the
book Slovak History Chronology and Lexicon published by SPN in 2002.
I am also thinking about writing a paper about my trip to Slovakia
in October. I still marvel at the success that we had. I prepared for it
for six months. It may serve as a guide for others who contemplate making
similar trip after fifty years of no contact and having little knowledge
of Slovak, their names, and villages.
Sincereely,
Mr. George Uchrin
21 Stonehedge Dr.
Lincroft
NJ 07738 USA
THE
TEN FOODS OF YOUR EASTER BASKET FOR BLESSING
PASCHA...CHRIST
RISEN
The word PASCHA means
“Passover,” for Christ by his resurrection passed over from death to
life, freeing us from the bondage of sin, as once the Jewish people
“passed over” from slavery to freedom. Furthermore, the Risen Christ
is the “leaven” for the paschal bread, which he changed into his own
body (Matthew 26:26).
BABKA...BLESSED
MOTHER
Christ’s mother must be remembered in the Easter foods; she was
intimately involved with the passion and death of her Son. The Babka,
baked in a tall, round loaf, is rich, fine-textured, and light, glazed and
decorated to symbolize the joy of the Blessed Mother at the news of
Christ’s Resurrection.
BEETS...STAIN
OF SIN
The red stain of beets symbolizes the stain caused by sin, which is washed
away be Christ’s victory over sin, as foretold in an old Testament
prophesy (Isaiah 1:18)...
ČACHTICE
CASTLE
and
the blood countess Alžbeta Bathory
Čachtice
castle is located on a hill above town of Čachtice and on the other
side of the castle is village called Vrbové. It is situated where a ledge
of the Podunajská lowland in Považie connects with the Smaller
Carpathian hills, 7 Kilometers south of Nové Mesto nad Váhom. Beckov
castle is a bit northwest from here and Trenčín is north of Beckov.
Southwest from Čachtice high in the mountains is Tematín castle.
The first written mention of the Čachtice
village originates from the king Béla IV in the year 1248. Čachtice
had been awarded town privileges in the year 1392 together with market
rights. It was a town of landlords.
Čachtice castle dates back
to the second half of the 13th century and it was one of the first castles
that were safeguarding hot western border of Hungary. The first owners of
the castle were Peter and Pongrác from family Hunt-Poznan, and for
certain time it was property of Matúš Čák the owner of Trenčín
castle. In 1392 it becomes property of Stibor from Stibotice who was owner
of 15 castles in Považie region. Nádasdy family owned the castle from
1569.
In
1708 it became victim of František Rákoczi II army that burned it. The
castle was repaired in 1715 and it was used as a jail for some time.
Soon it burned again and from then on it started to deteriorate.
At the highest point there
was a palace with horseshoe shaped watchtower in which a chapel
was located, built in second half of the 13th
century in the place of a late Bronze Age fortified settlement.
Surrounding the upper courtyard were several residential buildings built
by Stibor of Stibotice and his son (1392-1436). Lower courtyard had
defense character and it was accessible from the upper part by a tunnel
carved through rock above the moat. Fortifications embracing the new group
of buildings were retained from the latest Renaissance reconstruction
ordered in the 17th century by the notorious Elizabeth Báthory...
ERNEST
TATARKO (1914-)
By:
Mons, Doc. ThDr. ICLic. František Dlugoš, PhD
Ernest
Tatarko was born on December 26, 1914 in Ľubica near Kežmarok. He
went to primary school in Kežmarok and after fourth year he was accepted
to Lutheran Gymnasium in Kežmarok that was German and he graduated here.
From 1935 to 1940 he studied theology at Spiš’s seminary. During his
studies at the seminary he was helping in publishing of liturgical
magazine LIGHT, which was mailed to different parishes of the diocese. He
published it together with professor Jalovec. Apart from the magazine, he
took care with professor Čarnogurský, of whom Ernest declared that
he was for him the model of sainthood, of mission page of the diocese. On
February 2, 1940 he was ordained to priesthood by Archbishop of Spiš, Ján
Vojtaššák.
After ordination he became chaplain in Spiš Podhradie. In June of the
same year he got a task of standing in for a chaplain of Levoča for
six weeks. After this time he returned to be a chaplain again in Spiš
Podhradie where a decree naming him a chaplain of Spišská Nová Ves was
waiting for him. The priest of Spišské Podhradie wasn’t very happy
about it and made sure he never left to his new post. In 1941 he became
chaplain of Levoča, where he stayed exactly to January 21, 1945...
KREMNICA’S
MUSEUM OF COINS AND MEDALS
The
first coins in today’s territory of Slovakia were minted by Celts more
than 2000 years ago. In the first century BC there was a Celts mint it
today’s Bratislava. They minted several types of coins from gold and
silver. Most known are silver coins with writing BIATEC, NONNOS, COISA,
and AINORIX. They are the oldest proof of Latin writing in Slovakia. With
the expansion of Roman Empire all the way to the border river Danube at
the beginning of 1st century AD, Roman coins can be found and slowly
pushed out the Celts coins. After the dissolving of the Great Moravian
Empire in 10th century the territory os slovakia becomes part of new
Hungarian State and there is a beginning of new coins whose basic unit was
DENÁR.
The
Kremnica mint was founded on November 1, 1328 by the Hungarian king
Charles Robert of Anjou, after bestowing the privilege of a free royal
mining and minting town upon the mining settlement of Cremnychbana
(Kremnica). Rich deposits of gold and silver in the local mines enabled
the town to produce coins of high quality. The mint has been in continuous
operation since it’s founding and is considered an important historical
monument of central Europe. Kremnica’s fame in Europe peaked during the
14th and 15th centuries, the period of its greatest economic and social
prosperity, when its gold output also reached its height at about 400 Kg
per year. During this time the mint minted from the gold from Kremnica and
surrounding mines around 400000 ducats. The most valuable coins of
Kremnica’s mint were golden florens, known as Kremnica’s Ducats. They
weren’t the currency only on domestic market but they became the
favorable and most sought coins in the whole Europe for several centuries.
All this time (they were minted until 1881) they kept their purity 23
Carats and 9 Grénes-987,981/1000
and steady weight of 3.45 grams...
SLOVAK
HISTORY
CHRONOLOGY
& LEXICON
Publisher:
SPN
This
book is in English
The book (350 pages) is divided into two sections.
The
first section, the calendar, presents Slovak history from the first
evidence about human beings on Slovak territory up to the events that took
place in 1998 with notations summarizing important historical events and
phenomena.
The second section is an encyclopedic dictionary with three hundred
alphabetically arranged entries characterizing the most important
concepts, institutions, and events. It includes genealogical tables of the
longest reigning dynasties on the Hungarian throne, a list of all rulers
and presidents of states to which the lands of Slovakia belonged (Great
Moravia, the Kingdom of Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Slovakia).
Six historians from Bratislava prepared this chronology of Slovak history
(J. Bartl, V. Segeš, V. Čičaj, D. Škvarna-main author, R. Letz
and M. Kohútová).
It is said that the way to the knowledge of the present leads through a
knowledge of the past. Therefore, this book can be recommended to all
readers, who are interested in the Slovak history as well as to those, who
are involved in genealogical research.
We can only welcome this book trying to fill the gap because until now,
Slovak history was not sufficiently covered and to a very limited extent
in the English language.
It is not frequent to mention the translator’ s name, but an exception
in this case is allowed, thank you David P. Daniel for your excellent
translation.
Reviewed
by Miroslava Dulová
This
book is available now. Cost is US$79.95
Please mail personal check to
Vladimir Linder
3804 Yale Street
Burnaby, BC, V5C 1P6, CANADA
Obrázkový
slovník slovenčiny
ILLUSTRATED
DICTIONARY OF THE SLOVAK LANGUAGE
Author:
Oľga Škvareninová
Publisher:
SPN
ISBN 80-8-00913-6
This illustrated dictionary is
intended for each and everybody with the intention to improve his or her
knowledge of the Slovak language.
It
includes approximately 3 000 selected words, more than the basic
thesaurus.
The dictionary is divided into
six individual titles and accompanied by a register at the end.
The
individual titles are:
People and their surroundings
Nature
Working environment
Transportation
Leisure and sport
Art and science
This
book is available now. Cost is US$25.95.
Please mail personal check to
Vladimir Linder
3804 Yale Street
Burnaby, BC, V5C 1P6, CANADA
JÁN
ČISÁRIK
(1909-1969)
Helena Čisárik together
with their children, during their first visit in jail at Valdice,
couldn’t recognize her husband. He looked to them like shrunk gray old
man. They recognized him only from his eyes and voice. He loss 88 pounds
from his original weight.
The district court in Banská Bystrica in closed sitting on May 24,
1960 decided like this: “Under § 391 section 1, Ján čisárik,
born on June 26, 1909 in Jarabina is receiving amnesty from the president
of the republic from May 9, 1960 and he is forgiven the rest of his
sentence of 8 months and 20 days and regaining hi citizenship rights.”
The district office in Hradec Králové
billed him on November 14, 1960 for their expenses during his jail time
for 3820,00 Kčs. During the time he was in jail he paid the
government 1703,93 Kčs and that left him 2117,07 Kčs to pay.
On June 28, 1961 the minister for internal affair had forgiven him all the
unpaid bills under condition that for next 10 years from the date of
amnesty he won’t commit knowingly any criminal act.
Ján Čisárik was
born on June 26, 1909 in Jarabina, district Stará Ľubovňa in
the family of Greek Catholic priest. Father Alexander and mother Anna
Kovalická had seven children, from which two passed away in their youth.
Onder brother ThDr. and PhDr. Aalexander was Greek Catholic priest. His
younger brother was a priest as well. Ján’s youth was marked by the
fire in the village and period of First World War. He went to elementary
school in Jarabina and then he continuer from 1916 in Bajerovce. As ten
years old he started to study at the high school in Prešov and from 1924
high school in Užhorod. After successful graduation he was able to get a scholarship
for study of Theology at the Charles University in Prague with assumption
of study to become professor at the faculty of philosophy.
Because of tragedy in the family he transfered to Greek Catholic theology
academy in Prešov.
He married Helen Mankovič on August 11,1931 in Drienica, district Prešov.
After
finishing the theology academy he becomes a priest in 1931. He served
in army from October to December 1931 at Division Hospital in Košice...
TEMATÍN
CASTLE
Tematín castle is
located about 15 Km southeast of Nové Mesto nad Váhom. It is one of the
highest situated castles in Slovakia at and elevation of 564 meters above
the sea level. It is a dominant of center Považie. It probably
originated shortly after the tartar invasion around the middle of the 13th
century. However the first written records date back to 1270.
Together
with Trenčín, Beckov and Čachtice castles they were providing
defense for northwest border territories of Hungary. It was also defending
lover ford through river Váh mentioned in documents in 1453. In 13th and
14th century it was the property of the king. The oldest buildings are in
area of the upper castle that was made up of four-corner tower and
fortified palace. In second half of the 14th century the castle lost its
original strategic purpose and it went to private hands...
CREATING A
FAMILY BIOGRAPHY
By David A. Beardsley
Do
you wish you knew more about your great-grandparents? Of course you do.
What if you had their life story in their own words with pictures to go
along with it? Some fortunate
people do. And what if one of those pictures could come alive and you
could actually see and hear your ancestor speaking to you? I’m afraid
it’s too late for that to happen-for you. But one day you will be
the ancestor, and it’s not too late for you to leave this kind of record
for your own descendants.
I’m
going to say two big words quickly-don’t let them scare you: interactive
multimedia. There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?
Without getting into a dictionary definition, interactive
multimedia is a way of combining audio, video, home movies, photographs,
text and so on into one “document” that allows the viewer to select
what he or she is going to look at. If you’ve ever watched a DVD and
chosen some “additional materials” from the menu, you have used
interactive multimedia.
You
too can do something very similar, in CD or DVD format, and you don’t
need a Hollywood budget. I’m not going to claim that it’s easy, or
inexpensive, but for future generations the results can be priceless. With
the right tools and a willingness to learn, you’ll be able to do
wonderful things. In this article I’ll discuss some of the tools you can
use. Don’t think you have to go buy them all-you may be able to borrow
some from other family members, or perhaps a library or community
center...
NOT
ONLY OUR LIFE CONSISTS OF UPS AND DOWNS
By
our Slovak Correspondent: Miroslava Dulová
Last
year, August was the most critical month for our beauty on the Danube,
Bratislava, 15 centimeters of water making the difference (See Slovak
Heritage Live, No. 1 Spring 2003) and this year the situation was repeated
again but with a substantial difference. The water level of the Danube
achieved its 50-years, 100-years, or who knows better, 150 years minimum
because of the extremely hot weather and a period of no rain lasting for
several weeks. People were just thinking of walking in water reaching only
their knees to the other Danube bank…
JÁNOŠÍK,
JÁNOŠÍK
ANTON
MAREC
Publisher
Matica Slovenská 1995
This book is in English
33
tales from the legend of famous outlaw captain.
At
the time of Jánošík’s life, what is now the Slovak Republic was part
of Uhorsko (old Hungary), which also included Hungary, Transylvania,
southern Poland, and Zakarpathian Ukraine. Slovakia did not exist as a
state and the official language spoken by the nobility was Hungarian, the
serfs spoke Slovak. Uhorsko was associated with Austria under the Habsburg
Emperor Karol VI and took part in the war for the Spanish throne after
the death of the Spanish King Charles II. The war plundered the serfs who
had to contribute as well as the lower nobility. According to the law of
the time the serfs had to pay tithes and taxes and were also forced to
work on the landlords’ fields by the drábi. The Hungarian nobility then
used the serfs in the revolt against the Habsburgs led by Rákoczi who
ruled over the land in 1703 and 1704. He was winning until 1706 but was
defeated in 1708 by the Austrian army (near Trenčín). The war ended
with the signing of the peace at Szatmár by the Habsburgs in 1711. Jánošík
lived in the period of late feudalism, the last phase of serfdom. He
robbed for six years and fought against the oppression of the lords in
northwest Slovakia.
The
tradition of Jánošík’s struggle was against feudalism and later
became national and social. As a stranger to Slovakia the discovery of
the tale of Jánošík is an important part in learning about Slovak
history and culture. One of the most interesting aspects of this story
is that the personality of Jánošík and the many tales and legends,
which have formed about him, are based on a real and determinable
person. Juraj Jánošík, the son of a peasant (serf), was born in the
small village of Terchová in 1688 and executed in 1713. From 1706 to 1708
he was in the revolutionary kuruc army of František Rákoczi II. After
the suppression of the kuruc uprising in 1711, in the town of Bytča
he met a kuruc named Tomáš Uhorčík who he helped to escape from
prison. He later joined up with other kurucs who had formed a band of
outlaws with Uhorčík, possibly to keep the spirit of the revolt
alive, and became their captain. They robbed noblemen and rich townsmen in
middle and northern Slovakia, Poland, Silesia, and Moravia and (according
to legend) gave to the poor. In winter they hid in villages and out of the
way places, moving often. In October 1712 Jánošík was arrested by the
drábi and imprisoned, but he managed to escape. He was caught again in
early 1713 in the region of Liptov and taken to the county court in
Liptovský Mikuláš where he stood trial and was executed on March 17. He
refused to answer his accusers, even after being tortured, and died hung
by his lower rib on a hook. He is the hero of many tales and legends and
is celebrated in songs and dances, literature and art. The tradition of
Jánošík is still alive today and can be observed in many areas of
Slovak Life.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of Jánošík’s story can only be
formulated as enigmatic question; why did this man, above all others,
become the focal point for so many tales and legends?
John
L. Doyle
Hard
cover, 102 pages, the book is 8 1/4 x 11 1/2 inches
COST
US$39.95
all-inclusive
Please
send check to:
Vladimir Linder
3804 Yale Street
Burnaby, BC,
V5C 1P6, CANADA
BOOK
REVIEWS
SLOVAK
THEATRE 2002
Contemporary
dance, site-specific project, ballet
Editor: The Theatre Institute Bratislava
444
INTERESTING TOURISM SPOTS OF SLOVAKIA
SLOVAK
FOR YOU
A manual
of conversation
Edited by Ing. Iveta Božoňová
Editor:
Príroda 2002
ICE
HOCKEY DICTIONARY
English-Slovak
Slovak-English
Author: Igot Tóth et al.
FTVŠ UK Bratislava, 2003
Reviewed
by Miroslava Dulová
dulova@nextra.sk
For FREE sample issue of
The Slovak Heritage Live Newsletter
please send in or email your postal address to:
Vladimir
Linder
3804 Yale Street
Burnaby, BC,
Canada, V5C 1P6
Phone/Fax:
1-604-291-8065
This limited time offer is good
only in North America
GO
TO SLOVAK HERITAGE LIVE MAIN PAGE
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Copyright © Vladimir Linder 2004
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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