Pezinok

Sister cities

• Mladá Boleslav

History

From the second half of the 10th century until 1918, it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Pezinok, or at least its surroundings, was mentioned in writing for the first time in 1208 under the name "terra Bozin". During the next few centuries, the town changed from a mining settlement to a vineyard town. It gained the status of a free royal town on 14 June 1647. Pezinok had its most glorious era of wealth and prosperity in the 17th and 18th centuries when it was also one of the richest towns in the Kingdom of Hungary. Its wealth was based on the production of quality wines. In the 19th century, the town slowly began to industrialize: the first sulphuric acid factory in Hungary or the known brickworks were established here. It boomed further after it was connected to the railway. After the breakup of Austria-Hungary in 1918/1920, the town became part of the newly created Czechoslovakia. In the first half of the 20th century, it was declining, vineyard production was declining, forcing many inhabitants to emigrate. It has been growing again since the end of World War II. Jews were granted permission to live in Pezinok in 1450. In 1529 The local counts, Counts Wolfang and George von Pezinok and St. George, began to imprison local Jews, due to the fact that they owed money to the Jewish community. Matters deteriorated further when the mutilated body of a local 9-year-old boy was found in the area, leading to a blood libel, an accusation that Jews had murdered Christians for religious rituals. The already imprisoned Jews were brought to the town square and tortured until they confessed to the murder and to additional crimes. On May 21, 1529, 30 Jewish men, women and children were burned at the stake. Children under the age of 10 were the only ones to receive a pardon,…