PEZINOK – THE CENTER OF SMALL CARPATHIAN REGION

History
From the Chronicle of the Town
The territory of today’s Pezinok was settled for the first time about 4000-3000 years B.C. There was a Celtic settlement in this area about 400-300 years B.C. The first written reference about Pezinok goes back to 1208. There were two waves of settlement by German winters and artisans, the first one in the first half of the 13th Century and the second one at the beginning of the 16th Century. In 1647 King Ferdinand III issued a charter granting Pezinok the status of free royal town and in 1870 the town achieved a special status. It was a district town from 1949 to 1960 and again since 1996.
A typical feature of the town is a historic center with burgher houses, streets and remnants of fortification. Most important sights are the castle (from the beginning of 14th Century), the Parish church, the Cloister Church and the Monastery (18th Century), the Protestant Church (18th Century), the City Hall in a Renaissance style (17th Century) and the Kodiak’s House with the exposition of the Small Carpathian Museum. There are about 50 more cultural sights, which have been preserved in the town, among them the Shaubmar`s Mill (it is one of 15 water mills in Pezinok) with its gallery.
Significant personalities
A number of important personalities were born or lived in Pezinok. Some of them are buried in a local cemetery. One of them is the famous composer Eugen Suchoň (the author of the operas Krutnava and Svatopluk), Ľudovít Rajter, conductor and founder of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Jozef Ľudovít Holuby, botanist and ethnographer, Ján Zigmundík, a pedagogue and others. The house in which the well-known baroque portraitist Ján Kupecký (1667-1740) was born, has also been preserved.
PEZINOK TODAY
Location
Pezinok is located about 20 kilometers northeast from the Slovak capital Bratislava. It is 156 meters above sea level. The territory of Pezinok is 7 276 hectares.
The town is situated at the border between the lowlands and a mountain range - the Small Carpathy. The lowlands are used for agriculture and are a source of building material. The bigger part, which is the mountainous part, provides timber and raw materials (antimony, gold, calcite). It is a place visited by many tourists. The southeastern part of the Carpathy is a place suitable for the cultivation of vineyards.
This area abounds in many different kinds of trees and plants (beech, oak, maple, ash, lime, fir, different kinds of bushes and plants). Many animal species like deer, roes, as well as different birds can be found here.
Municipality
In Pezinok there is a local Parliament (with 37 deputies in the election period 1998-2002) and a mayor. The executive organ is the City Hall with 39 employees and the Town Police.
Pezinok has been a district town since 1996. The following authorities and organizations have their office in Pezinok: Regional office, Regional Labor office, Tax office, Regional Police headquarters, Regional Military office, Regional Court, Regional Prosecutor, Duty office, Slovak Telecommunications – regional branch Bratislava-vidiek, Postal Service, Regional. Transportation office, Forest office, Psychological advisory service, Local library education center and Small Carpathian Museum.
Population
Pezinok has a population of 21 865 people, 48, 5% men and 51,5% women. As far as the age composition is concerned, 17, 6% are between the ages is of 0-14, 64,7% are of working age (men 15-59, women to 54) and 11, 7% are retired people.
The people in Pezinok live in 7 028 apartments, 2 230 from them are family houses.
Economic situation
At the turn of the 21st Century Pezinok is a modern town, which is not only an administrative, but also an economic center of the Small Carpathian region. Trade and services are among the most important economic sectors. The production of wine plays a very important role, as well as other industries like the production of bricks, timber and the construction industry.
In Pezinok there are about 1200 registered entrepreneurs, 200 from them are legal bodies. More than 300 stores are to be found in Pezinok and 6 commercial banks have their branches here.There is a high number of entrepreneurs in the town with their own professional organization - the Entrepreneur’s Club. The regional entrepreneurs` chamber is also located here.
Culture
The cultural life of the people in Pezinok has rich traditions. Mainly the Cultural Center, the Small Carpathian Museum, the Small Carpathian Educational Center, the Gallery of Folk Arts, the Gallery G5 by the Small Carpathian Library facilitate its cultural life.
Important cultural events are organized on a regular basis. Among them are the following events: Ethno-festival – music from different ethnic groups (every year in February), International Church Choir Festival Ad Una Corda (in May every other year), International Theater Festival Cibulak (every year in the last week of June), Festival of brass music (every August), Permonik – International exhibition of minerals, fossils and precious stones connected with gold-washing in the streets (every August), Cultural Summer – concerts in front of the castle (every Sunday in July and August), the Month of Photography - International exhibition of photos in more that a dozen of restaurants in the town (every October). Pezinok is famous for its Wine Festival (Vinobranie), which takes place every other year in September (in the years the festival is not organized in Pezinok, it is organized by the neighbor town of Modra). The festival is a celebration of wine and shows the richness of cultures in Pezinok and its wide surroundings.
Local media provide information about the life in the town for its inhabitants and visitors. They include a monthly periodical Pezincan (it has existed since 1967), local TV Pezinok, monthly Pezinok Entrepreneur, a weekly Pezinsko, which contains advertisements and information about local companies and other magazines including student’s magazines, which are published at local primary and secondary schools.
Schools

There are 9 kindergartens, 5 primary schools, one special school (they had 2 797 students as of September 1, 2001), 5 secondary schools – one Secondary Grammar School, one Business Academy, one Police School and two secondary schools that serve for training future ceramists, shop-assistants, tailors and one, which provides education for future chefs-waiters, carpenters, painters and barbers. The secondary schools currently have 1 511 students.
Children and young people can attend the Eugen Suchon Music School and the Center of Leisure time. They can also study languages at a language school and in the Regional Education Center.
Sports
Sports have traditionally played a very important role in this town. We can find about 30 sport clubs and associations in Pezinok with more than 2000 members. There are amateur sportsmen, but also professionals, who play for national teams or in Slovak or international leagues. The most successful sports in Pezinok are basketball (4 times Slovak Champion), Women’s Volleyball, karate, judo, arm wrestling, running, softball and others.
A number of sport facilities are available for sportsmen, as well as for the public: indoor swimming pool, outdoor swimming pool, three soccer fields, basketball hall, 1 volleyball playground, 2 tennis complexes, a sport hall, 9 gymnasiums, 1 squash center, Sports Facility Rozalka, 4 hiking routes starting at the train station, 3 educational routes and on the hill of Baba there are facilities for winter sports with artificial snow.
Tourism
Pezinok is a part of the tourist project Small Carpathian Wine Route, which links the towns of the Small Carpathian region with wine traditions all the way from Bratislava to Smolenice.
The town is an interesting place for tourists, because there are historic sights here (you can take a walk exploring the history of the town and there is special path where you can learn about the history of mining in this region). You can see a unique exposition in the Small Carpathian Museum about wine production and an exposition in the only Slovak Gallery of Folk Arts, which is located in the reconstructed Schaubmar`s mill. We also have to mention wine tourism – you have a chance to taste different sorts of wine and other specialities and there are special wine events. (Wine market – every April, Wine Festival – every other year in September, Saint Martin’s blessing of young wine – every year on November 11 and the Day of Open Cellars – every November)
The surrounding areas provide opportunities for hiking and relaxation both in summer and winter. There are marked hiking routs in Small Carpathy, there is a recreational facility Rozalka with tennis courts and opportunities for horseback riding, in the town you can go to an indoor swimming pool, squash hall and slopes for skiing with artificial snow with 5 tows on the hill of Baba.
Cooperation with Foreign Partners
Pezinok established partner contacts with the town Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic in 1949. In 2000 the cooperation with Neusiedl am See, Austria and Mosonmagyarovar, Hungary started. The cooperation with foreign partners includes the meetings of the representatives of the municipalities, people from different interest groups, institutions and companies, students, sportsmen and senior citizens, who visit each other on a regular basis. These contacts are established mainly at regular Weeks of the Towns in their partner town.
In October 2000 there was a Week of Pezinok in Neusiedl am See, in June 2001 a Week of Pezinok in Mosonmagyarovar and a In September 2001 a Week of Neusiedl am See in Pezinok.