Hlohovec

For a village in the Czech Republic, see Hlohovec (Břeclav District).

Hlohovec (German: Freistad(l) an der Waag, Hungarian: Galgóc), is a town in southwestern Slovakia, with a population of 21,508.

Hlohovec
Municipality
Hlohovec, view from south
Flag Coat of arms
Hlohovec Location of Hlohovec in the Trnava Region Show map of Trnava Region Hlohovec Location of Hlohovec in Slovakia Show map of Slovakia
Coordinates: 48.43°N 17.80°E / 48.43; 17.80
Country	Slovakia
Region	Trnava Region
District	Hlohovec District
First mentioned	1113
Government
• Mayor	Ivan Baranovič
Area [1]
• Total	64.19 km2 (24.78 sq mi)
Elevation [2]	146 m (479 ft)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	19,883
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	920 01[2]
Area code	+421 33[2]
Car plate	HC
Website	www.hlohovec.sk

Name

The name comes from *Glogovec, the Old Slavic name for a place densely overgrown by hawthorn. The Hungarian form Galgóc was adopted before a phonological change g > h in Slovak.^[4]

History

The first written evidence of its existence is from 1113, when a town with the name Galgocz was mentioned in the so-called Second Zobor Document. In 1362 Hlohovec obtained town privileges. Ottoman troops captured city and annexed it to the sanjak of Uyvar as the Holok eyalet in 1663. Austrian troops retook it in 1664.

Landmarks

Aerial photography of the castle

The dominant building is a Renaissance-Baroque Erdődy-castle built in 1720. The castle is built on the place of a pre-existing Slavic settlement and a medieval castle. In the castle area is the Empire theatre built in 1802, a riding school from the 18th century, and a Baroque garden pavilion.

In the middle of St. Michael Square stands the Gothic church of St. Michael with its highly decorated portal. Next to the church is the Chapel of Saint Anna from the 18th century. In the northern border of the central part of the town is the Franciscan church and monastery built in 1492. Part of the monastery premises nowadays occupies the Museum of National History and Geography.

The most visited and beautiful natural part of town is the castle park with its lake, French terraces, and rare wood-species, especially old sycamore trees.

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1970	17,881	—
1980	21,148	+18.3%
1991	23,409	+10.7%
2001	23,729	+1.4%
2011	22,701	−4.3%
2021	20,556	−9.4%
Source: Censuses[5][6]

According to the 1910 census the town had 7749 inhabitants: 5645 Slovaks, 1401 Hungarians and 667 Germans, 83.6% of the people were Roman Catholic, 13.7% Jewish and 2.1% Lutheran.

According to the 2001 census, the town had 23,729 inhabitants. 97.85% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 0.72% Roma and 0.63% Czechs.^[7] The religious make-up was 79.58% Roman Catholics, 14.85% people with no religious affiliation and 2.44% Lutherans.^[7]

Notable people

See also: Category:People from Hlohovec

• Heinrich Berté (1858-1924), composer of Dreimäderlhaus.
• Peter Burian (b. 1959), diplomat
• Ján Hollý (1785–1849), writer
• Miroslav Karhan (b. 1976), footballer
• Richard Müller (b. 1961) singer-songwriter
• Ladislav Kuna (1947–2012), footballer
• András Révész (1896–1970), biographer, journalist, and writer^[8]
• Jozef Seilnacht (1859–1939), altar builder
• Viera Strnisková (1929-2013), actress

Twin towns — sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Slovakia

Hlohovec is twinned with:^[9]

• De Panne, Belgium
• Hranice, Czech Republic
• Slovenske Konjice, Slovenia

See also

• List of municipalities and towns in Slovakia