Bardejov

Sister cities

• Calais
• Gorlice
• Jasło
• Česká Lípa
• Ashtabula
• Mikulov
• Přerov
• Kaštela
• Sremski Karlovci
• Krynica-Zdrój
• Mahilyow
• Tiachiv

History

The present-day city developed from an old Slavic settlement, into which German settlers moved (probably not until the 13th century). However, the first written reference to the town dates back to the 1240s, when monks from Bártfa complained to King Béla IV of Hungary about a violation of the town's borders by Eperjes (today Prešov, Slovakia). By that time, the notable Basilica of St. Giles had already been built. The town was in the northeast Hungarian majority settlement until the Ottoman wars near the Polish border. Heavily fortified in the 14th century, the town became a center of trade with Poland. More than 50 guilds controlled the flourishing economy. Bártfa gained the status of a royal town in 1376, later becoming a free royal town. In October 1410 at the Battle of Bardejov the Polish King Władysław II Jagiełło defeated the King Sigismund of Hungary and Croatia, who was later on crowned as King of Germany, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor. The town's golden age ended in the 16th century, when several wars, pandemics, and other disasters plagued the country. Beginning in the first quarter of the 18th century, the situation began to improve. Slovaks and Hasidic Jews came into Bártfa in large numbers. By the end of the century, the population of the town had regained the level of the 16th century. The burghers' houses were rebuilt or modified in keeping with current architectural fashion. A Jewish quarter with a synagogue, slaughterhouse, and ritual baths developed in the north-western suburbs. New churches and bridges were built, as well. During the Reformation, Michal Radašin was called the town pastor. Despite further fires in the last quarter of the 19th century, the town continued to thrive, thanks to major industrialization projects in the…

Most-observed species

• Beech

  Fagus sylvatica L. · Magnoliopsida
  127
• Ground-ivy

  Glechoma hederacea L. · Magnoliopsida
  68
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  64
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  60
• Sycamore [tree]

  Acer pseudoplatanus L. · Magnoliopsida
  58
• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  54
• European Silver-fir

  Abies alba Mill. · Pinopsida
  54
• Common Nettle

  Urtica dioica L. · Magnoliopsida
  52

Most recent

• M 5 — 2023-10-09
  15 km SE of Stropkov, Slovakia
• M 3.3 — 2020-04-23
  7 km SSW of Strážske, Slovakia
• M 3.1 — 2006-06-25
  10 km S of Bukowina Tatrza?ska, Poland
• M 3.4 — 2004-12-09
  4 km WSW of Lud?mierz, Poland
• M 2.5 — 2004-12-01
  4 km SW of Lud?mierz, Poland
• M 4.3 — 2003-05-20
  12 km S of Snina, Slovakia