Budča () is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of the

Zvolen District Zvolen District (''okres Zvolen'') is a district in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia. Until 1918, most of the present-day district belonged to the Zvolen county, apart from Lešť in the south-west which was part of the county of ...

in the

Banská Bystrica Region The Banská Bystrica Region (, ; , ) is one of the eight regions of Slovakia. It is the largest of the eight regions by area, and has a lower population density than any other region. The Banská Bystrica Region was established in 1923; its bord ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Geography

Budča is situated approximately 5 km west of the town of

Zvolen Zvolen (; ; ) is a city in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers. It is famous for several historical and cultural attractions. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the ...

in a valley between the

Štiavnica Mountains The Štiavnica Mountains (also Štiavnické Mountains; , ) are a volcanic mountain range southern central Slovakia. They are part of Inner Western Carpathians and the Slovenské stredohorie Mountains. The area is protected by Štiavnica Moun ...

and

Kremnica Mountains The Kremnica Mountains (, , ) are a volcanic mountain range in central Slovakia. They are part of the Western Carpathians and the Slovenské stredohorie Mts. The mountain range is situated east of the town of Kremnica, which gave it its name. ...

, near the

Hron The Hron (; ; ; ) is a long left tributary of the DanubeP ...

river at an altitude of 285 meters. Historically, it lies on the

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

highway, linking central Slovakia with the south and north. The village is surrounded on all sides by mountains.

Language, people, customs

The dialect of Budča is central Slovakian, with deviations from the standard language. Many elements in

Hont County Hont County was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Most of its territory is now part of Slovakia, while a smaller southern portion is part of Hungary. Today, in Slovakia Hont is the i ...

's dialect are a result of the joint estate of Budča and Dobrá Niva by the Esterházi family. Some traditional customs are observed, usually around

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

and

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

. Also, before and during weddings some traditions are kept.

Architecture, attractions, tourism

Older historical buildings, due to numerous wars, disasters, and invasion, no longer exist. In the 1990s significant new home construction began, and continued into the early 21st century. Proximity to Zvolen made the village a popular location for building houses. The slopes of the nearby mountains are a Protected Landscape Area and harbor native plants and

thermophile A thermophile is a type of extremophile that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between . Many thermophiles are archaea, though some of them are bacteria and fungi. Thermophilic eubacteria are suggested to have been among the earliest bacte ...

s, the northernmost point of their occurrence. Another natural attraction is Devil's Rock, located about 3 km west of the village on a steep slope above the main road to

Žiar nad Hronom Žiar nad Hronom (slang: Žiar, , ; until 1920 ''Svätý Kríž'' and until 1955 ''Svätý Kríž nad Hronom'') is a city in Banská Bystrica Region, Slovakia. Name development The name of the settlement has gone through multiple developments. P ...

; it resulted from volcanic origin of the surrounding mountains. There is a local legend about its origin: The Devil helped local fishermen with catches in return for a promise that they would never go to church. The men failed their promise, so the Devil began to accumulate rock

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

in the confines

Hron The Hron (; ; ; ) is a long left tributary of the DanubeP ...

. Luckily, the Devil did not quite succeed, leaving only the stone seas and Devil's Rock itself.

Economy and employment

Initially the government planned to build a complex for paper fabric production in the village, but in the end a large-scale pig farm was built, the largest in

. There are not many other employment opportunities in Budča; however, there are plans to build an industrial park.

Transport

The village is easily accessible by local road and rail networks.

History

The village was first mentioned in the first half of the 13th century, when its original name was Bucha. Later, under Hungarian influences, the name changed to Bucs, then to Zólyóm Bucs. After 1918 it was Buča, and since 1928 it has been Budča. The first church was built in 1239 in the Gothic style. In the 16th and 17th centuries it was among the largest settlements in the regio

Throughout its history Budča has been plagued by wars and rebellions: the Ottoman Empire, Turks; the Bethlen, Tököly and Rakoczy insurrections; both

World Wars A world war is an international conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I (19 ...

of the 20th century; and the soldiers of the Hungarian Republic of Councils. The village has experienced other disasters, of which the worst in recent times was a fire in 1900. Before the establishment of independent

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in 1918, Budča was part of

Zólyom County Zvolen (; ; ) is a city in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina River (Slovakia), Slatina rivers. It is famous for several historical and cultural attractions. It is surrounded by Poľana Protected Landscape Area, Po� ...

within the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. From 1939 to 1945, it was part of the

Slovak Republic Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's ...

. Uprisings forced the people to withdraw into the mountains, where they founded the settlement called Old Budča. After the threats passed, the population returned to their original village and Old Budča disappeared, but its traces can still be seen. Inhabitants of the village were also actively involved in the

Slovak National Uprising Slovak National Uprising ( Slovak: ''Slovenské národné povstanie'', abbreviated SNP; alternatively also ''Povstanie roku 1944'', English: ''The Uprising of 1944'') was organised by the Slovak resistance during the Second World War, directed ag ...

(abbreviated SNP). Systems of education started early in Budča's history; from about 1239, religious education was reputedly taking place at the local pastorate. Journalist, educator, and raconteur Ľudo Zelienka taught there from 1940 to 1944. A new school was opened on 1September1964; the school was built primarily by the people of Budča themselves.

Region

Budča is home of the civic association named micro region Adela.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20071217080336/http://www.statistics.sk/mosmis/eng/run.html *http://www.budca.sk/ *http://www.e-obce.sk/obec/budca/budca.html *http://www.oz-adela.szm.sk/Budca/budca.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Budca Villages and municipalities in Zvolen District