Tvrdošín

Understand

Tvrdošín is the district town on the North of Slovakia. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Orava and Oravica.The borough of Tvrdošín includes the communities Krasna Hôrka, Medzvedzie and Oravice, lying 22km from the town. The population of the town is about 9 337.

History

The name Tvrdosin is of ancient Slavic origin and dates back to the pre-historic era. The word itself stands for a fortified settlement, a fortress or a stronghold. The territory of Tvrdošín was colonized since prehistory. As a proof of that are the mass findings of objects which had been discovered in the last century in Medvedzie, Krasna Hôrka and Nizna. Thanks to a favorable location, the town had a role of an important water-way, road and later also rail-way transportation junction. The Zobor Charter, dating back to the year 1111, records Tvrdošín under the names Toarsin and Doardi. The Charter of the King Belo IV dated 11 August 1265, unmistakeably identifies the town as Toardosina. The year of 1361 was an important turning point in the history of Tvrdosin. In this year, the town was given privileges by the King Ludovit pertaining to royal towns. Tvrdosin got the privilege of voting a reeve and pastor, organizing a market. Also, the town was exempted from paying duty. In spite of a busy trade in the second half of the 16th century the custom-station started to decline. It was caused by the instability of the overall political situation. The second half of the 17th century was the hardest period in the history of Tvrdošín and its neighboring villages. Frequent transportations of foreign armies due to the anti-Habsburg uprisings had caused a lot of problems for the town. The town was completely destroyed by fire. In the 18th century, the inhabitants of Tvrdošín obtained their livelihood from agriculture and cattle breeding and in this century, the town was considered to be a town of linen-makers. In 1777 Tvrdošín became the centre of a district. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were efforts to establish industrial enterprises. In 1909, a plant for making buttons was built there. At the end of 1922 the district of Tvrdošín had been abolished, consequently, bad development the town. But in 1965, the town acquired the character of town. In 1967, Medvedzie became part of Tvrdosin and in 1974, Krasna Hôrska merged with Tvrdošin.