Gelnica

{{Infobox Slovak place | name = Gelnica | other_name = Gölnicbánya | settlement_type = Municipality  | image_skyline = Gelnica Kostol Nanebovzatia Panny Márie-1.JPG | image_caption = | image_flag = Gelnica-gelnica-flag.svg | image_shield = Coat of Arms of Gelnica.svg  | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Košice Region}} | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = Gelnica District  | pushpin_map = Slovakia Košice Region#Slovakia | pushpin_relief = 1 | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Gelnica in the Košice Region##Location of Gelnica in Slovakia | coordinates = {{coord|48.85|N|20.94|E|region:SK|display=inline,title}}  | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Dušan Tomaško | leader_party =  | established_title = First mentioned | established_date = 1246  | elevation_footnotes = <ref name="base_info">{{Cite web |url=http://datacube.statistics.sk/#!/view/sk/VBD_SK_WIN/om5001rr/v_om5001rr_00_00_00_sk |title=Základná charakteristika |language=sk |date=2015-04-17 |website=www.statistics.sk |publisher= Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic|access-date=2022-03-31}}</ref> | elevation_m = 365  | postal_code_type = Postal code | postal_code = 560 1<ref name="base_info"/> | area_code = +421 53<ref name="base_info"/> |registration_plate = GL  | website = {{URL|https://www.gelnica.sk/}} }}

'''Gelnica''' ({{Audio|Gelnica (Slovak pronunciation).ogg|pronunciation}}; {{langx|hu|Gölnicbánya}}, {{langx|de|Göllnitz}}) is a town in the Košice Region of Eastern Slovakia. It has a population of 6,076.

==Names== The name comes from the name of the river Hnilec derived from Slavic word ''hnilý'' (rotten). The initial ''g'' in the German form ''Göllnitz'' indicates that the name was adopted by Germans before the spirantisation of Slavic ''g'' to ''h'' in Slovak (around the 12th century). The current Slovak name ''Gelnica'' comes from this secondary German form. The Hungarian ''Gölnicbánya'' (''bánya'' – mine) refers to the town's mining activity.

==Geography== {{Slovak municipality/geo|365|<ref name="base_info"/>}}

It is located in the northern part of the Slovak Ore Mountains, in the Hnilec river valley, which flows a few kilometres downstream into Hornád. The town lies at the both banks of Hnilec, has an altitude of {{convert|375|m|ft|lk=on|abbr=off}}, and is located around {{convert|38|km|mi|lk=on|abbr=off}} from Košice.

==History== Carpathian Germans chiefly from Bavaria began to settle the formerly Slavic settlement during the 13th century. By 1264 it was an established mining town and became a royal mining town of the Kingdom of Hungary by 1276, from where the first mentioned is recorded (as "Gelnic"). For many years Gelnica was a chief mining town in Szepes County of the Kingdom of Hungary. Silver, copper, but also gold, quicksilver, lead and iron ore were mined in the mines. Between 1465–1520, Gelnica lost most of its privileges. The town's population in the second half of the 16th century is estimated at 1000 people, whereby the ratio of Germans and Slovaks, who were the main ethnic groups, is estimated to have been 3:1.<ref name="stefanik-lukacka">Martin Štefánik – Ján Lukačka et al. 2010, Lexikón stredovekých miest na Slovensku, Historický ústav SAV, Bratislava, 2010, p. 156, {{ISBN|978-80-89396-11-5}}. http://forumhistoriae.sk/-/lexikon-stredovekych-miest-na-slovensku {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326010518/http://forumhistoriae.sk/-/lexikon-stredovekych-miest-na-slovensku |date=2017-03-26 }}</ref> In 1910, the town's population of 3833 inhabitants consisted of 2095 Germans, 1098 Slovaks and 606 Hungarians.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://library.hungaricana.hu/hu/view/NEDA_1910_01/?pg=1&layout=s|title=1910 Census of the Kingdom of Hungary|date=1910}}</ref> The German population was expelled in 1945.

==Sights== The town includes the ruins of a medieval castle, destroyed by a fire in 1685. Other attractions include a Gothic church and Renaissance town hall, both remodelled along Baroque lines, and a mining museum.

== Population == {{historical population|1970|4640|1980|5100|1991|6277|2001|6404|2011|6202|2021|5951|align=right|cols=1|source=Censuses<ref>{{cite web |title=Statistical lexikon of municipalities 1970-2011|url=https://slovak.statistics.sk/wps/wcm/connect/cd33d897-7314-41d0-a12b-a95e537d7a39/Statisticky_lexikon_obci_Slovenskej_republiky_2011.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy|language=sk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Census 2021 - Population - Basic results|url=https://www.scitanie.sk/obyvatelia/zakladne-vysledky/pocet-obyvatelov/|publisher=Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic|date=2021-01-01}}</ref>}} {{Slovak municipality|pop}}

It has a population of {{Slovak municipality|p}} people (31 December {{Slovak municipality|y}}).{{Slovak municipality|P}}

=== Ethnicity === {{Slovak municipality|etno}}

=== Religion === {{Slovak municipality|relig}}

==Twin towns — sister cities== {{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Slovakia}}

Gelnica is twinned with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Partnerské mestá|url=https://www.gelnica.sk/partnerske-mesta.phtml?id3=8010|website=gelnica.sk|publisher=Gelnica|language=sk|access-date=2019-09-09}}</ref> {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *{{flagicon|CZE}} Horní Suchá, Czech Republic *{{flagicon|NED}} Gennep, Netherlands *{{flagicon|POL}} Rudnik nad Sanem, Poland *{{flagicon|FRA}} Le Pradet, France *{{flagicon|UKR}} Novodnistrovsk, Ukraine {{div col end}}

==Notable people== * Gabriela Rothmayerová (born 1951), writer and politician * Eugen Šváb (1936–2024), swing musician

==References== {{reflist|2}}

==External links== * [http://www.gelnica.sk Town website] {{in lang|sk}} *[http://www.cisarik.com/0_Gelnica_Gelnica_KI_Szepes_Spis.html '''Surnames''' of living people in Gelnica]

Category:Cities and towns in Slovakia Category:Spiš Category:Geography of Košice Region Category:Mining communities in the Slovak Republic Category:Carpathian German settlements