Dobšiná (Dobschau; Dobsina; Latin: Dobsinium) is a town in the Slovenské rudohorie mountains (Slovak Ore Mountains) in Slovakia, on the Slaná River, north-north-west of Košice.

Geography

It is situated between Revúcka vrchovina and Volovské vrchy in the Carpathians, and lies to the south of the beautiful Stratená valley, watered by the river Hnilec, and enclosed on all sides by mountains. The well-known ice cave Dobšinská Ice Cave (discovered in 1870) can be found in that valley and belongs to the territory of the village.

History

The first written reference to the settlement stems from 1326; the text mentions that German mining experts were settled here. It received a town charter in 1417. The town was a center of mining (gold, silver, nickel, later iron, cobalt, copper, mercury etc.) and iron processing in the past. In the vicinity are mines of various materials, some of them being very ancient.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the town had 4,896 inhabitants. 88.58% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 9.01% Roma, 0.63% Hungarians and 0.27% Czechs. The religious make-up was 35.23% Roman Catholics, 33.58% people with no religious affiliation, 25.25% Lutherans and 0.47% Greek Catholics.

References

External links

• Official website