Kechnec (; ) 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 ...

in eastern

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

The village lies at an altitude of 180 metres and covers an area of 10.211 km². The municipality is part of the administrative units

Košice-okolie District Košice–okolie District (''okres Košice–okolie''; , lit. 'Košice-Surroundings') is a district in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia. It surrounds the city of Košice, which serves as the district seat although it does not belong to the d ...

and

Košice Region The Košice Region (, ; ; ) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. The region was first established in 1923 and its present borders were established in 1996. It consists of 11 districts ( okresy) and 440 municipalities, 17 of which ...

. It has a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of about 1080 people.

History

Historically History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

, the village was first mentioned in 1220 as a settlement called ''Felnemet''. Being on the Hungarian Queen’s land at the lower stream of the River

Hornád The Hornád ( Slovak, ) or Hernád ( Hungarian, ) is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary. It is a tributary to the river Slaná (Sajo). The source of the Hornád is the eastern slopes of Kráľova hoľa hill, south of Šuňa ...

, the territory of Kechnec was settled by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

immigrants at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. We know that from the Varadin’s Register of 1220. In 1295 the

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

Agnes gave the town of Kechnec, together with another 7 small towns to Menne, a surrogate breastfeeder of King

Ladislaus IV of Hungary Ladislaus IV (, , ; 5 August 1262 – 10 July 1290), also known as Ladislaus the Cuman, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1272 to 1290. His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of a chieftain from the pagan Cumans who had settled in Hung ...

. An old document dated to 1338 says that in this town there was a mill, located near the present town of

Seňa Seňa () (1249 ''Schena'', 1251 ''Scyna, Zyna'', 1255 ''Scynna'', 1402 ''Czena'') is a village and municipality in Košice-okolie District in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia. Etymology According to István Kniezsa, the name is of Slavic ...

, which was preserved to the modern times. This documents active work and life of local farmers. The King

Sigmund In Germanic mythology, Sigmund ( , ) is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod. Sigmund is best known as the father of Sigurð the dragon-slayer, though Sigu ...

, another major player in the history of the town, gave Kechnec to the Marmoss administrator Peter of Perin. It was a gift for his loyalty and military merits. This fact documents the importance of Kechnec at that time. The donation and merit document is interesting due to its bilingual name – ''Felnemethy alio domine Kemnech''. Although already before the time of arrival of German colonists the town of Kechnec had had its own

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

name, which the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

adopted, it also got its official Hungarian name Felnémeti. In 1560 the town was named ''Kenyhecz Nempty'', in 1605 ''Kenyhecz'', in 1808 ''Kechnec'', and the last mentioned name has been preserved until now. According to the conscriptions of local priests and churches, in 1746 people in Kechnec spoke Slovak. A number of major landowners were resident in the town, from among which it is worth to mention the Kenyheczi and Czikovics families. János Czikovics obtained Kechnec from King

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold * Leopold (surname) Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold B ...

I in 1689 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Economy

Nowadays, Kechnec is becoming an industrial centre of this region. Kechnec Industrial Zone is a green field of 332 hectares (820 acres) with a newly constructed public infrastructure. New investors are coming here, that gives new opportunities for work.

Twin towns — sister cities

Kechnec is twinned with: * Isaszeg, Hungary

Genealogical resources

The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Kosice, Slovakia" * Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1714-1895 (parish A) * Greek Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1791-1896 (parish B) * Reformated church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1794-1901 (parish B)

References

External links

*http://www.kechnec.sk/ *http://www.kipp.sk/index.php
of living people in Kechnec
{{authority control Villages and municipalities in Košice-okolie District First Vienna Award