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 town lies at an altitude of 149 metres (489 ft), which rises to 177 metres (581 ft) on Albínovská hora. It covers an area of 32.658 km² (12.609 sq mi) and has a population of about 8,000.

Demographics

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[6][7]

According to the 2001 census, it had 7,819 inhabitants - 95.89% of whom were Slovak, 2.17% Roma, 0.47% Czech, and 0.22% Hungarian.^[8] The religious makeup was 47.05% Roman Catholic, 25.71% Greek Catholic, 18.11% with no religious affiliation, and 1.83% Lutheran.^[8] 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.

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