Poprad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Poprad is also the name of a river in Slovakia and Poland (see Poprad River)
| Poprad | ||
| City | ||
 |
||
|
||
| Country |  Slovakia |
|
|---|---|---|
| Region | Prešov | |
| District | Poprad | |
| Tourism region | Tatry | |
| River | Poprad | |
| Elevation | 672 m (2,205 ft) | |
| Coordinates | ||
| Area | 62.997 km² (24 sq mi) | |
| Population | 55,042 (2006-12-31) | |
| Density | 874 /km² (2,264 /sq mi) | |
| First mentioned | 1250 | |
| Mayor | Anton Danko | |
| Timezone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| - summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Postal code | 058 01 | |
| Phone prefix | 421-52 | |
| Car plate | PP | |
   Location in Slovakia
|
||
  Location in the Prešov Region
|
||
| Wikimedia Commons: Poprad | ||
| Statistics: MOŠ/MIS | ||
| Website: http://www.poprad.sk | ||
Poprad (pronunciation ; Hungarian: Poprád, German: Deutschendorf) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains. It is the biggest town of the Spiš region and the tenth largest city in Slovakia.
The city has an historic centre, an international airport and is the starting point of the Tatranská elektrická železnica (Tatra Electric Railway) -- a set of special narrow gauge trains (trams) connecting the resorts in the High Tatra with each other and with Poprad. Main line trains link Poprad to other destinations in Slovakia and beyond; in particular, through trains run to Prague in the Czech Republic.
Contents |
[edit] History
Historically, the territory originally occupied by Slovak settlements was colonized in the 13th century by German settlers and became a largely German town. From 1412 to 1770, as one of the Spiš towns, Poprad was pawned by the Kingdom of Hungary (to which Slovakia belonged between the 11th century and 1918) to the Kingdom of Poland, meaning that Poland was partially responsible for the developments there.
Poprad itself, the first written reference to which dates from 1256, was for 690 years (up until 1946) just one of several neighbouring towns, which currently make up the modern city with 55,000 inhabitants. The other parts are of the current municipality Matejovce (first reference 1251), Spišská Sobota (1256), Veľká (1268), and Stráže pod Tatrami (1276). The most significant of those original towns was Spišská Sobota, which preserved its dominant position till the late 19th century.
In 1999, Poprad put in a bid to host the 2006 Winter Olympics, but lost to Turin, Italy.
[edit] Geography
Poprad lies at an altitude of 672 metres (2,205 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 63 square kilometres (24.3 sq mi).[1] It is located in north-eastern Slovakia, about 110 kilometres (68 mi) from Košice and 330 kilometres (205 mi) from Bratislava (by road).
Košice is situated on the Poprad River in the Sub-Tatra Basin, at is a gateway to the High Tatras. Mountain ranges around the city include Levoča Hills in the east, Kozie chrbty in the south and Low Tatras in the south-west. The drainage divide between the Black Sea and Baltic Sea lies bit to the west, near the village of Štrba.
[edit] Climate
Poprad lies in the north temperate zone and has a continental climate (climate of basins) with four distinct seasons. It is characterized by a significant variation between warm summers and cold winters.
| Weather averages for Poprad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Average high °C (°F) | 0 (32) | 2 (35) | 6 (43) | 12 (53) | 18 (64) | 20 (69) | 22 (72) | 22 (72) | 18 (64) | 13 (55) | 5 (41) | 0 (33) | |
| Average low °C (°F) | -8 (18) | -7 (19) | -3 (26) | 1 (34) | 6 (42) | 9 (48) | 10 (51) | 10 (50) | 7 (44) | 2 (36) | -2 (28) | -6 (21) | |
| Precipitation cm (inch) | 1.56 (0.61) | 1.91 (0.75) | 2.02 (0.80) | 3.65 (1.44) | 5.41 (2.13) | 5.91 (2.33) | 6.84 (2.69) | 5.07 (2.00) | 3.92 (1.54) | 2.97 (1.17) | 2.52 (0.99) | 1.63 (0.64) | |
| Source: MSN Weather[2] 25 January 2008 | |||||||||||||
[edit] Demographics
Poprad has a population of 55,158 (as of December 31, 2005). According to the 2001 census, 94.1% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 2.1% Roma, 1% Czechs, 0.2% Hungarians, 0.2% Germans, 0.1% Rusyns, 0.1% Ukrainians, and 0.1% Poles.[1] The religious make-up was 65.9% Roman Catholics, 16.8% people with no religious affiliation, and 7.3% Lutherans.[1]
[edit] Landmarks
The historical centre is concentrated around the St. Egidius square (Námestie svätého Egídia), which is rimmed with burgher houses predominantly from the 18th and 19th centuries. Churches in the city include the early-Gothic Catholic Church of St. Egidius from the late 13th century.
Other historical centre is in Spišská Sobota, which was declared in 1953 as a Town Monument Reserve. A significant landmark is Church of St. George with five late-Gothic side altars and main altar from the workshop of Master Paul of Levoča.
Modern places of interest include a new water park called AquaCity Poprad.
[edit] Government
Since 2003, the mayor is Anton Danko (former international ice-hockey referee).
[edit] Territorial division
The city is divided into six boroughs for the purpose of municipal administrative division:
- Staré Mesto ["Old Town"]
- Spišská Sobota
- Stráže
- Veľká
- Matejovce
- Kvetnica
[edit] Education
The city's system of primary education consists of 12 public schools, and one religious primary school, enrolling in total 5,464 pupils.[3] Secondary education is represented by four gymnasia with 1,800 students,[4] three specialized high schools with 1,566 students,[5] and four vocational schools with 2,045 students (data as of 2007).[6]
[edit] Transport
Poprad is a gateway of the Vysoké Tatry mountain range, which is a popular tourist destination. The city lies on the main road (E 50) and railway connecting western and eastern Slovakia. Poprad-Tatry Airport offers scheduled flights to Prague and London.
[edit] Personalities
- Károly Alexy - sculptor born in Poprad (1823)
- Peter Bondra - famous ice hockey player, more than 500 goals in NHL
- Jan Brokoff - Baroque-era sculptor and carver (born 1652 in Spišská Sobota - died 1718 in Prague)
- Adolf Burger - author of memoirs on Operation Bernhard filmed as the Oscar-winning The Counterfeiters, grew up and trained in Poprad
- Daniela Hantuchová - professional tennis player (born April 23, 1983 in Poprad)
- Peter Ihnačák - Ice hockey player born in 1957 in Poprad
- Leslie Kish - world-stature statistician, was born in Poprad
- Miroslav Lajčák - diplomat, born in Poprad
- Tibor Sekelj - explorer, Esperantist, writer and lawyer born in Spišská Sobota in 1912
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Municipal Statistics. Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
- ^ Monthly Averages for Poprad, Slovakia. MSN. Retrieved on 25 January 2008.
- ^ Prehľad základných škôl v školskom roku 2006/2007 (Slovak). Ústav informácií a prognóz školstva (2006). Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ Prehľad gymnázií v školskom roku 2006/2007 (PDF) (Slovak). Ústav informácií a prognóz školstva. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ Prehľad stredných odborných škôl v školskom roku 2006/2007 (PDF) (Slovak). Ústav informácií a prognóz školstva. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ Prehľad združených stredných škôl v školskom roku 2006/2007 (PDF) (Slovak). Ústav informácií a prognóz školstva. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Poprad · Svit · Vysoké Tatry Batizovce · Gánovce · Gerlachov · Hozelec · Hôrka · Hranovnica · Jánovce · Kravany · Liptovská Teplička · Lučivná · Mengusovce · Mlynica · Nová Lesná · Spišská Teplica · Spišské Bystré · Spišský Štiavnik · Štôla · Štrba · Šuňava · Švábovce · Tatranská Javorina · Veľký Slavkov · Vernár · Vikartovce · Vydrník · Ždiar |
|
