Poltár

Poltár is a town and municipality in the Poltár District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia.

Poltár
Municipality
Turkish bridge in Poltár
Flag Coat of arms
Poltár Location of Poltár in the Banská Bystrica Region Show map of Banská Bystrica Region Poltár Location of Poltár in Slovakia Show map of Slovakia
Coordinates: 48.43°N 19.80°E / 48.43; 19.80
Country	Slovakia
Region	Banská Bystrica Region
District	Poltár District
First mentioned	1330
Government
• Mayor	Peter Sitor
Area [1]
• Total	30.53 km2 (11.79 sq mi)
Elevation [2]	242 m (794 ft)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	5,178
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	987 01[2]
Area code	+421 47[2]
Car plate	PT
Website	www.poltar.sk

Geography

The town is located in the Southern Slovak basin near the river Ipeľ, south of the Revúcka Hills, which is part of the Slovak Ore Mountains, around 18 km (11.18 mi) from Lučenec.

History

There were historical Slavic remains of ancient housing, probably from the 7th century. After that remains of small medieval castle are part of Poltár's history, found in the general area and in the town part of Kostolisko (Literally meaning "Place of Church") there are remains of romancatholic church. Poltár was first mentioned in 1246 as silva Polta. Some other names are Nagpolthar, Felsupolthar, Kyspoltar, Varalyapolthar (1409) and Polthar (1439). In the 16th century the town was divided into Horný Poltár and Dolný Poltár. In the same general time, it was occupied by the Ottomans (between 1554 and 1593). In the year 1828 there were only mere 83 houses and 56 citizens. In the same timeframe, the town of Poltár was very agricultural, which wasn't profitable for the town. From 1869 and onwards, the factory of Barratt-Dragon was built, with its primary focus being the creation of bricks and tiles. Before the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, Poltár was part of Nógrád County within the Kingdom of Hungary. From 1939 to 1945, it was part of the Slovak Republic.

From 1922, a steam sawmill was built, but burnt down fourteen years later in 1936. The citizens of Poltár were also very active in the Slovak National Uprising. In the year 1966 Poltár joins the towns of Slaná lehota and Zelené, receiving the city privileges.

Parts of Poltár

Podháj - built during the late medieval era by the Sóós family. It was destroyed during the Ottoman occupation during 1554-1562. It was rebuilt around the 17th century, but only as a small village.

Prievrana - built during the late medieval era. It was destroyed during the multiple military actions in the area roughly around 1610. It was rebuilt in the 17th century, only as a small village. Its other names (mainly Hungarian) were Prenna and Perenna.

Slaná Lehota - built in the second half of the 14th century. The town was owned by Fiľakovo. Between the years 1554-1593 it was occupied by the Ottomans. After that, in 1598 the Sóós family became the owners. In 17th and 18th century Geczy family became the owners. In the year 1828 it had 23 houses and 130 citizens.

Zelené - Founded approximately in the 14th century. It was owned by many families during its history. It was occupied by the Ottomans in 1554-1593. In the year 1828 it had 28 houses and 274 citizens. The town helped the Slovak National Uprising movement.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1970	3,105	—
1980	5,030	+62.0%
1991	5,823	+15.8%
2001	6,099	+4.7%
2011	5,826	−4.5%
2021	5,333	−8.5%
Source: Censuses[4][5]

Population statistic (10 years)^[6]

Year	1994	2004	2014	2024
Count	5960	5977	5742	5123
Difference		+0.28%	−3.93%	−10.78%

Population statistic^[6]

Year	2023	2024
Count	5170	5123
Difference		−0.90%

It has a population of 5123 people (31 December 2024).^[7]

Ethnicity

Census 2021 (1+ %)^[8][9]

Ethnicity	Number	Fraction
Slovak	4923	92.31%
Not found out	378	7.08%
Romani	55	1.03%
Total	5333

In year 2021 was 5333 people by ethnicity 4923 as Slovak, 378 as Not found out, 55 as Romani, 25 as Hungarian, 22 as Czech, 12 as Russian, 9 as Vietnamese, 6 as Rusyn, 5 as Austrian, 5 as Other, 3 as Polish, 3 as German, 2 as Jewish, 2 as Ukrainian, 2 as Serbian, 2 as Romanian, 1 as Irish, 1 as Turkish, 1 as French and 1 as Albanian.

Note on population

The difference between the population numbers above and in the census (here and below) is that the population numbers above are mostly made up of permanent residents, etc.; and the census should indicate the place where people actually mainly live. For example, a student is a citizen of a village because he has permanent residence there (he lived there as a child and has parents), but most of the time he studies at a university in the city.

Religion

Census 2021 (1+ %)^[10]

Religion	Number	Fraction
Roman Catholic Church	2158	40.47%
None	1818	34.09%
Evangelical Church	839	15.73%
Not found out	403	7.56%
Total	5333

In year 2021 was 5333 people by religion 2158 from Roman Catholic Church, 1818 from None, 839 from Evangelical Church, 403 from Not found out, 38 from Greek Catholic Church, 17 from Ad hoc movements, 12 from Other, 10 from Calvinist Church, 8 from Other and not ascertained christian church, 5 from Eastern Orthodox Church, 5 from Jehovah's Witnesses, 5 from United Methodist Church, 3 from Christian Congregations in Slovakia, 3 from Buddhism, 2 from Paganism and natural spirituality, 2 from Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1 from Jewish community, 1 from Old Catholic Church, 1 from Islam, 1 from Hinduism and 1 from Baptists Church.

People

• Ivan Gašparovič, the former President of Slovakia was born here.