Detva was founded in 1638 as a feudal commune of the Viglas demesne by
its owner Ladislav Caky. The original village expanded very quickly throughout
its territory, as did the number of inhabitants. Gradually the foundations
were placed for the surrounding villages. The pristine occupations of the
natives were shepherding, cattle breeding, wood processing and agriculture.
Isolation, almost no contacts with the outside world, and the relatively
high degree of remoteness of the villages forced Detva to become as self-sufficient
as it was possible. In 1811, its title was promoted to "little town," with
the right to organise annual markets. In those days, it was also granted
a town's coat of arms, which shows three spruce
trees. In 1965 Detva acquired the status of "town," and in 1996 it became
the seat of new Detva district. The "face" of Detva has been gradually
changing as time passes. From the agricultural, bucholic village with the
strong tradition of sheep-breeding and "bryndza" industry ("bryndza"
is a sheep cheese, ground and mixed with salt; in 1787 Detva was the first
place in all of Slovakia to start manufacturing bryndza), Detva
grew into a place with large engineering works, Podpolianske strojarne.
In spite of modernization Detva has preserved its attractiveness. Nowadays
the city has approximately 15,000 inhabitants and 5,644 ha of cadastral
land. Also, Detva still keeps its traditional crafts alive - the furrier's
trade, woodcarving, embroidery, and especially folk art.
(Info from the Detva
website)
Jarig Bakker, 3 Jan 2001
Detva Coat of Arms
from http://www.tatrahome.sk/revue/erby/ . (!Link does not work any more!)
submitted by Rob Raeside, 16 July 1999
See also:
detva.gif)
from http://www.tatrahome.sk/revue/erby/ . (!Link does not work any more!)
