Lučenec (; german: Lizenz; hu, Losonc; yi, לאשאנץ; la, Lutetia HungarorumLelkes György (1992), Magyar helységnév-azonosító szótár, Balassi Kiadó, Budapest, 508 p.) is a town in the

Banská Bystrica Region The Banská Bystrica Region ( sk, Banskobystrický kraj, ; hu, Besztercebányai kerület, ) is one of the eight regions of Slovakia. It is the largest region by area, and has a lower population density than any other region. The Banská Bystri ...

of south-central

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 ...

. Historically, it was part, and in the 18th century the capital, of

Nógrád County Nógrád ( hu, Nógrád megye, ; sk, Novohradská župa) is a county ( hu, megye) of Hungary. It sits on the northern edge of Hungary and borders Slovakia. Description Nógrád county lies in northern Hungary. It shares borders with Slovakia an ...

of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...

. In 1920, as a result of the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It forma ...

, it became a part of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. The town has a large

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

, built in 1924, which served a large

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish population before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The synagogue underwent renovations in 2016. Lučenec is the economic centre of the whole Novohrad region, which includes districts Poltár and

Veľký Krtíš Veľký Krtíš (before 1927 ''Veľký Krtýš'', hu, Nagykürtös) is a town in middle Slovakia, situated in the historical Novohrad region. The town's most important economic sectors are mining and agriculture. Etymology The name is of Hungari ...

History

Lučenec and its surroundings were inhabited in the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with ...

s. Slavs moved to this area in the 6th and 7th century as the first permanent settlers and the

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 ...

joined them in the 10th century. The first indirect mention of Lučenec was in 1128, when Lambert built a chapel in honour of Virgin Mary. The first direct mention of the settlement was in 1247 under the name ''Luchunch'', but until the first half of the 15th century it was only a village, and was located off the main trade routes. In 1442, Lučenec was conquered by the

Hussites The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...

troops under command of

John Jiskra of Brandýs John Jiskra of Brandýs ( cs, Jan Jiskra z Brandýsa; german: Johann Giskra von Brandeis; hu, Jiskra János; c. 1400 – c. 1469), in English sometimes referred as John Giskra, was a Czech strategist and mercenary soldier. John Jiskra came from ...

and in 1451 the Battle of Lučenec took place near the village between the troops of

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...

and those of Jiskra, where the latter emerged victorious. After the fall of the

Fiľakovo Fiľakovo (; hu, Fülek, german: Fülleck, tr, Filek) is a town in the Banská Bystrica Region of south-central Slovakia. Historically it was located in Nógrád County, as part of the Nógrád, Novohrad, "Newcastle" region. Geography It is lo ...

( hu, Fülek, german: Fülleck) castle in 1554, Lučenec was under the control of the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

and their vassals as part of

Budin Eyalet Budin Eyalet (also known as Province of Budin/Buda or Pashalik of Budin/Buda, ota, ایالت بودین, Eyālet-i Budin) was an administrative territorial entity of the Ottoman Empire in Central Europe and the Balkans. It was formed on the te ...

until capturing by Austrians in 1593. It was regained by Ottomans in 1596 and was again part of ''Filek'' (Ottoman name for Fiľakovo) sanjak (its centre was in modern-day

Rimavská Sobota Rimavská Sobota (; hu, Rimaszombat, german: Großsteffelsdorf) is a town in southern Slovakia, in the Banská Bystrica Region, on the Rimava river. It has approximately 24,000 inhabitants. The town is a historical capital of Gömör és Kishont ...

) in

Eğri Eyalet Eğri Eyalet ( ota, ایالت اگیر; Eyālet-i Egīr, hu, Egri vilajet, sr, Jegarski ejalet or Јегарски ејалет) or Pashaluk of Eğri was an administrative territorial entity of the Ottoman Empire formed in 1596 with its capita ...

till 1686. The town was burned down many times until the first half of the 19th century, when during the

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europ ...

/1849 it was occupied by the Russian imperial troops. The town underwent modernization in the 19th and 20th centuries, for example, new industries like brickworks or tanneries were built, telegraph line in 1865, and in 1871 it was connected to the railway connecting

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

( sk, Budapešť) and

Žilina Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of S ...

. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Lučenec became part of Czechoslovakia, and, briefly in 1919, part of the

Slovak Soviet Republic The Slovak Soviet Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika rád, hu, Szlovák Tanácsköztársaság, uk, Словацька Радянська Республіка, literally: 'Slovak Republic of Councils') was a short-lived Communist state in sout ...

. In 1938, Lučenec was annexed to Hungary as a result of the

First Vienna Award The First Vienna Award was a treaty signed on 2 November 1938 pursuant to the Vienna Arbitration, which took place at Vienna's Belvedere Palace. The arbitration and award were direct consequences of the previous month's Munich Agreement, which ...

, and this lasted until 1945 when it was returned to Czechoslovakia. Approximately 8.3% of current residents are ethnic Hungarians.

Climate

Lučenec has a

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

( Köppen: Dfa) with four alternating seasons. There are hot summers and cold winters. There is a high number of sunshine days with a short time of duration of snow cover as well as the cover is relatively low. Near by Lučenec are located several water reservoirs such as Ľadovo, Mýtna, Málinec and most popular Ružiná.

Demographics

From 25 902 inhabitants (census 2021) are * Slovaks - 20 648 79,72% * Hungarians - 2 171 8,38% * others - 7,721 11,9% In 1910 out of 12,939 inhabitants 10,634 were

(82%), 1,675

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 ...

(13%), 428 Germans, 9 Romas, 1 Ruthenian, 12 Croatians, 18 Serbans and 162 others. According to the 2001 census, there were 28,332 people living in the town, with majority of them being

(81.63%), with a minority of

(13.11%) and with a small percentage of

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 ...

(2.32%),

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, ...

(0.61%) and others. The religious make-up was: 56.56% Roman Catholics, 21.12% people with no religious affiliation and 14.77% Lutherans.

Boroughs

Lučenec is divided into these boroughs: * ''Lučenec'' * ''Opatová'' * ''Malá Ves'' * ''Rúbanisko''

Notable People

* József Kármán (1769–1795), sentimentalist Hungarian author. *

Sándor Petőfi Sándor Petőfi ( []; né Petrovics; sk, Alexander Petrovič; sr, Александар Петровић; 1 January 1823 – most likely 31 July 1849) was a Hungarian poet of Serbian origin and liberal revolutionary. He is considered Hungary' ...

(1823–1849), Hungarian poet and liberal revolutionary. * Božena Slančíková (1867-1951), pen name '' Timrava'', a Slovak novelist and playwright. * Zoltán Speidl (1880–1917) Hungarian track and field athlete, competed at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from ...

Zoltán Tildy Zoltán Tildy (; 18 November 1889 – 3 August 1961), was an influential leader of Hungary, who served as prime minister from 1945 to 1946 and president from 1946 until 1948 in the post-war period before the seizure of power by Soviet-backed com ...

(1889–1961), an influential leader of Hungary *

Tibor Serly Tibor Serly (; Losonc, Kingdom of Hungary, 25 November 1901 – London, 8 October 1978) was a Hungarian violist, violinist, and composer. Serly was the son of Lajos Serly, a pupil of Franz Liszt and a composer of songs and operettas in the ...

(1901-1978), Hungarian classical composer * Margit Bokor (1900-1949), Hungarian opera singer * Ralph Henry Brewster, (1904-1951), American writer and musician, spent several days here in 1942. * Pavol Szikora (1952–2021) a Slovak race walker. * Ivan Saktor (1954-2021)

Twin towns – sister cities

Lučenec is twinned with: *

Louny Louny (; german: Laun) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Ohře. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrat ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Mělník Mělník (; german: Melnik) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Mělník lies in one of the most im ...

* Pápa,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

Polesella Polesella is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto, located about southwest of Venice and about south of Rovigo. Polesella borders the following municipalities: Arquà Polesine, Bosaro, Canaro, ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Salgótarján Salgótarján (; sk, Šalgotarján) is city with county rights in Hungary, the capital of Nógrád county, north-eastern Hungary, making it the third smallest county capital based on population. The nearby Salgó castle is a well-known tourist ...

* Zolotonosha,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

Gallery

File:Lucenec Church1a.jpg, The

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

church File:Lucenec Church2.jpg, The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church File:Lučenec - Evanjelický kostol (1).jpg, The

Lutheran 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 ...

church File:Lučenec - synagóga (2016).jpg, The

Synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

File:Novohradská knižnica - Lučenec.jpg, The Novohrad library File:Tuhársky potok - Lučenec.jpg, The Tuhár brook File:Lučenec - City Park (83).jpg, City Park

References

External links

* *
Spectacular Slovakia - Lučenec: reaching for the sky
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucenec Cities and towns in Slovakia Bánffy family