Liptovský Hrádok (; german: Neuhäusel in der Liptau; hu, Liptóújvár) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

in northern

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

, in the region of

Liptov Liptov () is a historical and geographical region in central Slovakia with around 140,000 inhabitants. The area is also known by the German name ''Liptau'', the Hungarian ''Liptó'', the Latin name ''Liptovium'' and the Polish ''Liptów''. Etym ...

History

First mentioned in 1341, Liptovský Hrádok was named after the nearby castle. The castle, also known as Liptovský Hrádok, was built originally for use of the forestry commission, hunters of the area and the Catholic Church. The castle was later modified and furnished in the style of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

. The name of the town and the castle literally means "little castle of Liptov". A salt processing facility was constructed in 1728 to collect salt for the Solivar Salt Works which now is part of

Prešov Prešov (, hu, Eperjes, Rusyn and Ukrainian: Пряшів) is a city in Eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region ( sk, Prešovský kraj) and Šariš, as well as the historic Sáros County of the Kingdom of Hungary. With ...

, a Slovak city further to the East. This helped Liptovský Hrádok rise to some prominence in the region. The population centre of the town was the main street, which runs from the castle to the south continuing along to the

Váh The Váh (; german: Waag, ; hu, Vág; pl, WagWag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów ...

River and the hamlet of Prekážka.

Geography and climate

The region of Liptovský Hrádok is bordered by the

Low Tatras The Low Tatras or Low Tatra ( sk, Nízke Tatry; hu, Alacsony-Tátra) is a mountain range of the Inner Western Carpathians in central Slovakia. It is located south of the Tatras proper, from which it is separated by the valleys of the Vá ...

to the south and partially bordered by the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and

High Tatras The High Tatras or High Tatra Mountains ( Slovak: Vysoké Tatry; pl, Tatry Wysokie; rue, Высокі Татри,'' Vysoki Tatry''; hu, Magas-Tátra; german: Hohe Tatra; french: Hautes Tatras), are a mountain range along the border of norther ...

. The town is situated in the middle of the Liptov Basin created by the Váh River. It is in the centre of northern Liptov and lies on the confluence of the rivers Váh and Belá. The average altitude of the town is 637 meters

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

. Liptovský Hrádok has a moist warm climate with an average temperature about , while the more mountainous parts are colder. The temperature is about 18-23 °C (64-73 °F) in the summer and in the winter about . Rainfall is very frequent in this part and the weather often changes quickly. Snowfall stays on the ground approximately 140 days during the year. Facts about Liptovský Hrádok: * Liptovsky Hradok had 731 inhabitants in 1869 and currently (in 2012) has 7,454 inhabitants

* Area of the town: 1.832 ha. * Dovalovo is its town section with 1001 inhabitants * Average yearly temperature: . * Maximum temperature: * Minimum temperature: * Absolute maximum: (16.08.1952) * Absolute minimum: (11.02.1929) * Length of sunshine: 140 days per year * Average rainfall per year 691 mm * Average number of cold days year: 160.4 days * Average number of summer days per year: 28.9 days

Cityscape and architecture

https://web.archive.org/web/20160304034943/http://az-europe.eu/data/albumy/GEO_PANORAMA/3848/panorama.jpg Drawing of Thomas Ender: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EdtSm1CwIPA/Rg6D-XjU47I/AAAAAAAAAQA/wTqLSdSWKuo/s400/0710lipt+hradok.jpg Castle and manson with lakelet/pond: https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090630/http://www.nasliptov.sk/image.php?url=files%2Fvylety%2F37.jpg&width=451&height=270&fit Viem from high peak Skalka at Hradná Street: https://web.archive.org/web/20140429195230/http://visitliptov.sk/hlp-image/800x532/userdata/dtb/3271/profil//skalka.jpg View at the part of "Limewood Alley" (Lipová alej) created in 1777: https://web.archive.org/web/20140430022911/http://visitliptov.sk/userdata/dtb/3293/profil/arboretum.jpg Internal part of the Castle in winter: http://i.sme.sk/cdata/9/62/6278479/hlavna.jpg

Demographics

According to the 2001

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, the town had 8,232 inhabitants. 97.11% of inhabitants were

Slovaks The Slovaks ( sk, Slováci, singular: ''Slovák'', feminine: ''Slovenka'', plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovak. In Slovakia, 4.4 mi ...

, 1.37%

Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, ...

, 0.72%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

and 0.15%

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

. The religious make-up was 42.23%

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

, 31.74%

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and 21.14% people with no religious affiliation.

Twin towns – sister cities

Liptovský Hrádok is twinned with: *

Česká Skalice Česká Skalice (; german: Böhmisch Skalitz) is a town in Náchod District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Town parts and villages of Malá Skalice, Ratibořice, Spyta ...

, Czech Republic * Hradec nad Moravicí, Czech Republic *

Nowy Targ Nowy Targ (Officially: ''Royal Free city of Nowy Targ'', Yiddish: ''Naymark'', Goral Dialect: ''Miasto'') is a town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is located in the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin at the foot of the Gorce Mounta ...

, Poland *

Stary Sącz Stary Sącz is a small historic town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the seat of the Gmina Stary Sącz (commune), and one of the oldest towns in the country, having been founded in the 13th century. Geography Stary Są ...

, Poland

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liptovsky Hradok Cities and towns in Slovakia Villages and municipalities in Liptovský Mikuláš District