Pavlovce nad Uhom


Pavlovce nad Uhom is a village and municipality in the Michalovce of the Košice Region of Eastern Slovakia. Pavlovce sits on the south bank of the Uzh River, and is located about west of the border with Ukraine. The village has existed since at least the Late Middle Ages, appearing in historical records as early as 1327. As of 2021, Pavlovce was reported to have a population of 4,620 people.
WWW pavlovce.sk

History

The origins and etymology of Pavlovce remain a subject of debate. According to the historian Professor Ferdinand Uličný, Pavlovce nad Uhom was established by Cuman watch-keeping units. The name Pavlovce or Plavce was applied to the village by Slovak inhabitants and Hungarian nobles rather than the Cumans themselves. Others argue that the name was derived from the popular Slavic name Pavol.
After the dissolution of the Great Moravian Empire in the early 10th Century, the ascendant Kingdom of Hungary under the Árpád Dynasty seized the Eastern Slovak Lowland. The following centuries of Hungarian rule saw an influx of ethnic Hungarians mixed with the native Slavic and Slovak populations. The Hungarians fortified their conquest by establishing guard posts and settlements in strategic locations along the newly expanded frontier.
The first written mention of Pavlovce nad Uhom appears in a feudal donation agreement dated 1327. In this document, Charles I of Hungary confirmed the ownership of the village and surrounding lands by Zeman Peto Túz. A parish church is first mentioned in 1332.
In 1417, Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg confirmed ownership to the brothers Matthew and George for their service to the Hungarian crown. They were ennobled under the title 'de Palócz' and would establish a manor centered in Pavlovce.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, the land holdings of the de Palócz family would expand to incorporate the surrounding villages of Bežovce, Blatná Polianka, Čabraď, Chyzzer, Kapušianske Kľačany, Iňačovce, Rebrín, [Senné, Michalovce District|Michalovce District|Senné], Tašuľa a Záhor.
However, the rule of the Palócz family ended with the death of Anton of Pavlovce, who was killed fighting the Ottoman Turks in the Hungarian defeat at the Battle of Mohács. As a result, the Dobó de Ruszka noble family became the new owners of Pavlovce Manor.
The 17th Century saw the spread of the Protestant Reformation throughout the Kingdom of Hungary accompanied by a series of anti-Turkish and anti-Habsburg wars. As in much of the rest of Europe, religious warfare burdened the local population with heavy taxes and the presence of encamped armies. In 1670, ownership changed again following the death of Mikuláš Forgáč's. It was divided among people such as George and Imrich Horváth de Palócz.
Following the Treaty of Szatmár in 1711, followers of the anti-Habsburg Transylvanian Prince Francis II Rákóczi were forced, under threat of exile or seizure of property, to swear allegiance to the Habsburg king. This included two nobles from the de Palócz family, Francis Barkóci and George Horváth.

Geography

The list of neighboring villages includes Senné and Bežovce to the north, Veškovce, Čierne pole, and Krišovská Liesková to the south, Vysoká nad Uhom and Bajany to the east, and Stretavka and Stretava to the west. It is located 8 kilometers from the border with Ukraine and 28 km by car from the Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod.
Under the old Kingdom of Hungary, the municipality was part of Ung County. Pavlovce nad Uhom, as the administrative unit that exists today, was created in 1960 through the merger of Pavlovce nad Uhom and the nearby settlement of Ťahyňa.

Population

It has a population of  people.

Ethnicity

The vast majority of the municipality's population consists of the local Roma community. In 2019, they constituted an estimated 72% of the local population.

Religion

According to 2008 data, the majority of the village's population is ethnically Roma.

Geology and geomorphology

Geomorphologically, Pavlovce nad Uhom belongs to the East Slovak Plain and its subgroups of Kapušany Flatlands and Senné Wet Ground. The countryside of plains and flood plains consists of Holocene clay, loamy sand sediments, and the remains of old river beds.
Its geological structure consists of floodplain sediments, Pleistocene aeolian sands, and dunes.

Climate

The area of Pavlovce nad Uhom is drained by the river Uzh, which originates in the Ukrainian Uzh Pass and leads to the river Laborec near the municipality of Stretavka. The total watershed of the river Uzh is, including in Slovak territory. Its total length is, including in Slovak territory. The average flow is and the maximum recorded is.
A lake near Pavlovce nad Uhom, called Ortov, is connected to the river Uzh via an underground aquifer whose water level increases and decreases depending on the river flow. According to a map from 1863, several ponds, referred to as lakes by the locals, existed in the municipality's territory. The area is known for its high-quality groundwater.
The East Slovak Lowland has a subcontinental climate with an annual rainfall of and winters above. The average yearly temperature in Pavlovce nad Uhom is.

Defunct architectural and historic monuments

Several historical buildings associated with the local nobility do not exist anymore, including those below.

Medieval church

A medieval church existed in the 13th century, according to the letters of George and Matthew de Palócz, which mentioned that the church contained their family tomb. The exact location of this church is unconfirmed.

Medieval mansion

Peter Túz or his sons established a medieval family mansion in Pavlovce, which later evolved into the fortified manor-house named Castellorum Palocz. Its ruins are likely located in the western part of a local park.

Baroque-Classicist manor house

The manor house was located in the center of the municipality, approximately south of the church and west of the main road. It had a rectangular plan with towers in the corners, with a rhomboid-shaped plan. It was surrounded by a courtyard with inner dimensions of. Locals say that the manor house's four wings and four towers symbolized the four seasons, twelve chimneys for the twelve months, fifty-three rooms for fifty-three weeks, and 365 doors and windows for 365 days in a year.
The manor house was severely damaged after WWII, and was thus torn down by the locals in the 1950s. Many photographs of the manor house still exist in state-owned archives and private collections.

Garden pavilion

The pavilion was built in the Empire style, with a rectangular plan of 40 m × 14 m.

Farmstead in Ortov

This Classicist agricultural building was once situated south of the floodplain forest near the tributary Ortov. The central part of the building served as a granary, the side wings as a sty, and the rest served various other agricultural purposes.

Preserved architectural and historical monuments

Roman Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist

The church was completed in the 1790s. It is notable for its murals, including images of the church Esztergom Basilica on each side of the triumphal arch, painted in 1843. The single-aisle nave of the church is vaulted with two fields of Prussian vaults. A spiral staircase in the southern part of the church leads to the three-axis matroneum above, which contains the organ. The communion table, sanctuary, and celebrant pews are located in the northern part of the church. The room above the sacristy holds additional seats, once reserved for patrons and nobles in past centuries.
There is a wooden Classicist altar from 1800, with a modern statue of the Sacred Heart located in the right part of the triumphal arch, and a preserved original Classicist pulpit, with conic tribune and canopy on the left. The statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the left, and the statue of the Sacred Heart on the right decorate the façade of the building. The church tower holds the belfry and clock mechanism.

Riding hall

The Neoclassical building, known as rajčuľňa among the locals, was likely built at the end of the 19th century.

The Holy Shrine of John of Nepomuk

The Holy Shrine of John of Nepomuk, built in 1899 in Neoclassical style, covers a late Baroque statue of the saint from the second half of the 18th century located south of the park. The sandstone statue is modeled after a statue made by John Brokoff that was displayed on Charles Bridge. The depicted clothing consists of surplice and biretta, pointing to John of Nepomuk's occupation as vicar and priest. The polychrome statue of the saint features him standing on a pedestal holding a crucifix with corpus in his right hand, resting on his chest. The left hand, left alongside the body, carries a palm twig.

Defunct Manor House Park

The park, with an overall area of, was established in the first half of the 19th century near the defunct manor house, and is registered by the Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic, as a National Cultural Monument. The park's entrance is located at the center of the village. The park features two playgrounds, an amphitheater with a stage and projecting masonry cab, a special elementary school yard, and a dilapidated pub called Letná. A mound is located in the western part.
The park is mostly flat except for the slope of the amphitheater, the mound Hurka, and the excavation with an adjacent embankment called Filagróvia.
The park contains the following plant species: oak, linden, maple, hornbeam, ash, sycamore, horse chestnut, hawthorn, hazel, privet, mulberry, elderberry, elm, willow, and ivy.

Greek Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity of Ease

The sacred building, which dates to the early 1890s and is situated in Ťahyňa, is registered by the Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic as a National Cultural Monument.

Jewish cemetery

A Jewish cemetery is located south of the municipality, on a hill near a floodplain forest surrounded by a cultivated field. Most of the tombstones are made of sandstone. The overgrown cemetery is not maintained, or registered as a National Cultural Monument. In the past, Jewish Salem and Mikvah also existed in the municipality.

Notable people

  • Paul Balla, Ukrainian visual artist.
  • Francis Barkóci , Zemplén County head, Kuruc general, later ennobled as a Count.
  • John Bubán, professor of theology and philosopher persecuted by the Communist regime in the 1950s.
  • Stephen Bubán, graphic artist devoted to drawings, paintings, and monumental works.
  • Andrei Budiš , Satu Mare diocese priest, known for his social activities.
  • Andrei Budiš , writer, priest and journalist.
  • George Čalfa , Roman Catholic priest persecuted by the Communist regime in the 1950s.
  • John Hadik, member of the Diet of Hungary, Secretary of Ministry of Interior, count, officer.
  • Adam Horvát , noble, author of descriptive work on Ung County titled Descriptio Comitatus Unghvariensis.
  • John Horvát , noble, George Rákóczi's secretary, author of historical study.
  • Joseph Jóna, Roman Catholic priest active in Pavlovce, the papal chamberlain.
  • Adalbert Kazinci , priest and journalist active in the U.S.
  • John Kondor, poet, journalist, editor for Radio Studio of Slovak Radio in Košice.
  • Valentine Novajovský, teacher, platoon commander of participants in the Slovak National Uprising.
  • Anton Palóci , noble, county head of Zemplén County.
  • George Palóci Transylvanian bishop, archbishop of Esztergom, Hungarian chancellor and anti-Hussite movement organizer.
  • Ladislav Palóci , noble, county head of Zemplén County, Sigismund's of Luxembourg knight.

Government

While Pavlovce has a birth register office and police station, it depends on the district and tax offices in Michalovce.

Transport

The nearest railway station is away.
The village is served by buses to Veľké Kapušany, Michalovce, and Jenkovce that leave every 30 minutes.