Pusta Ves 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 the

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' ...

Prašník Prašník () is a village and municipality in Piešťany District in the Trnava Region of western Slovakia. History In historical records, the village was first mentioned in 1958. Geography The municipality lies at an altitude of 189 metres and ...

Piešťany District Piešťany District (''okres Piešťany'') is a district in the Trnava Region of western Slovakia, with the town of Piešťany being as its seat, cultural and economic center. Geography The district lies in the northern part of the Trnava Region ...

in the

Trnava Region The Trnava Region (, ; ; ) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. It was established in 1996, before which date, most of its districts were parts of Bratislava Region which was established on the founding of Czechoslovakia in 1923. ...

of western

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 ...

. It is a hub of marked hiking trails through the surrounding forests. Pusta Ves is located at an altitude of 250 meters at the foot of the

Little Carpathians The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', ; ; ) are a low mountain range, about 100 km long, and part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slovakia, covering the area from Bratislava to Nové Mesto n ...

, 18 km west of the spa town of Piestany. Pusta Ves means remote village. The small community is surrounded by high hills and vast forests. The village is divided into an upper and lower part: Horna Pusta Ves and Dolná Pusta Ves. During Slovak independence from 1939 to 1945, people with Czech or Jewish background found refuge in and around the village. Since Slovakia August 29. 1944 was at war with Germany the remote village immediately was a gathering and command center for partisans who fought against German soldiers. The village men were imprisoned in

Trenčín Trenčín (, also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a List of towns in Slovakia, city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech Republic, Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a populati ...

and two houses were burned by

fascists Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social h ...

. The village women organized catering, maintenance of uniforms and transporting weapons for partisans. The partisans later received support of the Red Army partisans. The village did not experience massacre and most prisoners could return home after the end of war in 1945. In 1968, the village had Red Star hero status. At the burial site with partisans grave in front of the village is a small museum and an

amphitheater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...

where there are antifascist manifestation, display of partisans fight and market on every year on August 29.

References

Villages and municipalities in Piešťany District {{Trnava-geo-stub