Sečovce

Sečovce (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈsetʂɔwtse]; Hungarian: Gálszécs;^[4] Ukrainian: Сечівці)^[5] is a town in the Trebišov District in the Košice Region of south-eastern Slovakia.

Sečovce Gálszécs
Municipality
Sečovce Town Hall
Flag Coat of arms
Sečovce Location of Sečovce in the Košice Region Show map of Košice Region Sečovce Location of Sečovce in Slovakia Show map of Slovakia
Coordinates: 48.70°N 21.66°E / 48.70; 21.66
Country	Slovakia
Region	Košice Region
District	Trebišov District
First mentioned	1255
Area [1]
• Total	32.66 km2 (12.61 sq mi)
Elevation [2]	136 m (446 ft)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	8,531
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	780 1[2]
Area code	+421 56[2]
Car plate	TV
Website	www.secovce.sk

History

Roman Catholic Church of The Assumption

The town was first mentioned in year 1255 on the list of king Béla IV of Hungary. In 1494, a Roman Catholic church was built in the Gothic architecture style. Since the 15th century, there was gradual development of trade, including markets with shoemakers, saddlers, potters and furriers. The first post-office was opened in 1783, telegraph office in 1868, telephone office in 1890, train station in 1904, and museum in 1954, which was moved to Trebišov in 1981.

Geography

The municipality lies at an altitude of 149 metres (489 ft)^{[citation needed]} and covers an area of 32.65 km² (12.61 sq mi) (2024).^[6]

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1970	5,776	—
1980	6,145	+6.4%
1991	6,705	+9.1%
2001	7,819	+16.6%
2011	8,236	+5.3%
2021	8,526	+3.5%
Source: Censuses[7][8]

Population statistic (10 years)^[9]

Year	1994	2004	2014	2024
Count	7348	7882	8352	8538
Difference		+7.26%	+5.96%	+2.22%

Population statistic^[9]

Year	2023	2024
Count	8539	8538
Difference		−0.01%

It has a population of 8538 people (31 December 2024).^[10]

Prior to 1945, the town had a large Jewish population, most of which was deported by the Nazis. Also, prior to 1945, the town consisted primarily of ethnic Hungarians, with a small Slovak minority, but the Hungarians were forceably deported right after the war in order to ethnically cleanse the area and to make room for Slovaks from the north. Those who remained have assimilated and now consider themselves for the most part to be Slovak.

Ethnicity

Census 2021 (1+ %)^[11][12]

Ethnicity	Number	Fraction
Slovak	7762	91.03%
Romani	1458	17.1%
Not found out	476	5.58%
Total	8526

In year 2021 was 8526 people by ethnicity 7762 as Slovak, 1458 as Romani, 476 as Not found out, 51 as Rusyn, 43 as Czech, 25 as Other, 23 as Hungarian, 16 as Ukrainian, 9 as Russian, 8 as Vietnamese, 4 as German, 3 as Polish, 2 as Irish, 2 as Austrian, 1 as Serbian, 1 as Moravian, 1 as Croatian and 1 as English.

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+ %)^[13]

Religion	Number	Fraction
Roman Catholic Church	3743	43.9%
Greek Catholic Church	1820	21.35%
None	1736	20.36%
Not found out	589	6.91%
Evangelical Church	160	1.88%
Calvinist Church	139	1.63%
Other	123	1.44%
Apostolic Church	99	1.16%
Total	8526

In year 2021 was 8526 people by religion 3743 from Roman Catholic Church, 1820 from Greek Catholic Church, 1736 from None, 589 from Not found out, 160 from Evangelical Church, 139 from Calvinist Church, 123 from Other, 99 from Apostolic Church, 33 from Eastern Orthodox Church, 33 from Jehovah's Witnesses, 17 from Ad hoc movements, 13 from Christian Congregations in Slovakia, 5 from Other and not ascertained christian church, 3 from Jewish community, 3 from Islam, 3 from Church of the Brethren, 3 from Buddhism, 1 from Old Catholic Church, 1 from Paganism and natural spirituality, 1 from Hinduism and 1 from United Methodist Church.

Economy

A few factories reside in and around Sečovce - Palma Agro (vegetable oils), Silometal (metal silos and containers), Sonap (clothing), Valter (socks), Lesy SR (wood processing), and Simkovic-Protektor s.r.o./SPR Retreading Solutions (tire retreads)^{[citation needed]}

Famous people

• Štefan Sečovský (16th century), evangelical preacher, writer, composer, pedagogue. His original Hungarian name was Galszecsi Istvan.
• Štefan Gáboréczy (16th century), evangelical writer
• Andrej Fáy (1786 – 1864), lawyer, businessman, politician, writer, playwright
• Emery Roth (1871 – 1948), architect
• Jozef Švagrovský (1921 – 1985), paleontologist, university professor
• Gejza Šimanský (1924 – 2007), football player
• Stano Bubán (1961), painter, associate professor, Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava
• Ingrid Timková (1967), actress and director
• Adolf Schwarz (1836), Hungarian-Jewish chess player