Poprad (Slovak:[ˈpɔprat]ⓘ; Hungarian: Poprád; German: Deutschendorf) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. The largest town of the Spiš region and the largest of all towns in the vicinity of the High Tatra Mountains in both Slovakia and Poland, Poprad is the tenth largest city in Slovakia, with a population of approximately 50,000.
The Poprad-Tatry Airport is an international airport located just outside the city. Poprad is also the starting point of the Tatra Electric Railway (known in Slovak as Tatranská elektrická železnica), a set of special narrow-gauge trains (trams) connecting the resorts in the High Tatras with each other and with Poprad. Main line trains link Poprad to other destinations in Slovakia and beyond; in particular, there are through trains running from Poprad to Prague in the Czech Republic.
The territory was since the Migration Period inhabited by Slavic settlers. The first written record dates from 16 March 1256 in the deed of donation of the Hungarian King Bela IV. After the Mongol invasions in the 13th century it was colonized by German settlers and became the largely German town Deutschendorf meaning 'Germans' village'. From 1412 to 1770, as one of the Spis towns, Poprad was pawned by the Kingdom of Hungary to the Kingdom of Poland, resulting in a strong Polish influence on the city's further development. In the 17th century, the number of Germans began to decline. Since 1918 this territory was placed under the control of Czechoslovakia.
Poprad itself was for 690 years (up until 1946) just one of several neighbouring settlements, which currently make up the modern city. The other parts of the current municipality are Matejovce (German: Matzdorf; Hungarian: Mateóc, first reference 1251), Spišská Sobota (German: Georgenberg; Hungarian: Szepesszombat, 1256), Veľká (German/Hungarian: Felka, 1268), and Stráže pod Tatrami (German: Michelsdorf; Hungarian: Strázsa, 1276). The most significant of these original towns was Georgenberg, now Spišská Sobota, which preserved its dominant position in the area until the late 19th century.
Poprad gained importance at the expense of Spišská Sobota after the construction of the Košice–Bohumín Railway in 1871. In the following years, further railway lines were built: Poprad - Kežmarok in 1892 and Tatra Electric Railway in 1908.
In 1942, during World War II, most of the transports of Jews to ghettos and concentration camps in German-occupied Poland were sent from the Poprad railway station. The first transport of about 1,000 Jewish girls and young women left Poprad on 25 March 1942 for Auschwitz-Birkenau. By the end of 1942, when the deportations stopped, over 58,000 Jews had been deported from Slovakia to German-occupied Poland via Poprad.[4]
Poprad was liberated on 28 January 1945 by troops of the Soviet18th Army. The German population was expelled afterwards.
After the war, the neighbouring settlements were incorporated into Poprad: Spišská Sobota and Veľká in 1945, Stráže pod Tatry in 1960 and Matejovce in 1974. At that time, with the development of winter sports, Poprad became the starting point for expeditions to the High Tatras.
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).[5] It is located in northeastern Slovakia, about 110 kilometres (68 mi) from Košice and 330 kilometres (205 mi) from Bratislava (by road).
Church of st. Cyril and Methodius (Roman Catholic)
Church of Holy Trinity (Lutheran)
Pentecostal Church
Church of st. Peter and Paul (Greek Catholic)
Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witness
Church of Holy Cross (Orthodox)
Veľká
Church of st. John (Roman Catholic - Salesians)
Church of Holy Trinity (Lutheran)
Baptist church
Church of Seventh-day Adventists
Spišská Sobota
Church of st. George (Roman Catholic)
Lutheran church
Matejovce
Church of st. Stephen (Roman Catholic)
Lutheran church
Stráže pod Tatrami
Church of st. John (Roman Catholic)
Lutheran church
Kvetnica
Church of st. Helen (Roman Catholic)
Landmarks
The historical centre is concentrated around the St. Giles square (Námestie svätého Egídia), which is rimmed with houses predominantly from the 18th and 19th centuries. Churches in the city include the early-Gothic Catholic Church of St. Giles from the late 13th century and the classicist Luheran Church of Holy Trinity from the 19th century.
Another historical area in Poprad is in Spišská Sobota, which was declared in 1953 to be a Town Monument Reserve. A significant landmark there is the Church of St. George, with five late-Gothic side altars and a main altar from the workshop of Master Paul of Levoča.
Between 2003 and 2014, the mayor of Poprad was Anton Danko (former international ice-hockey referee). In the November 2014 municipal elections, he lost to Jozef Švagerko (KDH – Christian democrats).
Territorial division
The city is divided into six boroughs for the purpose of municipal administrative division:
Lev Poprad was another ice hockey club in Poprad, who used to play in the KHL for one season but was moved to the Czech capital, Prague, in 2012. Despite successful 2013/2014 seasons, club has ended due to financial problems. There is a number of former and current ice hockey players in NHL who were born in Poprad.[11]
The city's system of primary education consists of 12 public schools, and one religious primary school, enrolling in total 5,464 pupils.[12] Secondary education is represented by four grammar schools with 1,800 students,[13] three specialized high schools with 1,566 students,[14] and four vocational schools with 2,045 students (data as of 2007).[15]
Transport
Aerial view of the city with the airport
Poprad is a gateway to the High Tatra mountain range, which is a popular tourist destination. The city lies on the main road (E 50) and railway connecting western and eastern Slovakia.
International Poprad–Tatry Airport from 1938, is an airport with the highest elevation in Central Europe. It also offers scheduled flights to London.[16]
^"Poprad Climate Normals 1991–2020". World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
