Štítnik

The village of Štítnik is situated in the middle of valley known as Štítnicka dolina. Štítnik is located in the northern part of Rožňava District, only 13 km from the town of Rožňava. Štítnik is one of the villages which belong to the micro region known as Štítnická dolina (the Valley of Štítnik).
The village is surrounded by picturesque hills and beautiful natural scenery. This village is a good starting point for numerous nature walks and bike rides. Visitors can also enjoy horse riding, mushroom picking during the autumn season, herbs and forest fruit picking and hunting trips. Village offers good facilities for tennis playing and during the winter season skiing is a popular sporting activity for people of all ages. The ski lift is located only 6 km from the village, in a village called Hrádok.

Historical facts about Štítnik:
The earliest written reference about this village - a letter addressed to the family of Bebek by King Belo IV. - dates from 1243. However they say that the history of Štítnik dates from 10th century.
In 1320 the village was awarded the right to organize markets and collect an entrance toll from every attendee.

In 1328 King Karol Robert issued the statement in which Štítnik became a free town.
The history and present life of the village has always been connected with the mining industry. The first reference about the water powered wheel used in Štítnik for extracting raw iron ore dates from 1344. This was the first example of water energy being used for mining purposes in the Slovak Republic.
The village parish and gothic church was built in 1355. The southern and central part of the church was rebuilt in 1460 however the northern part has never been completely finished. This church has got very nice interior which consists of numerous wall paintings and frescoes, pretty copes, gothic bronze font dating to 1636, valuable wooden benches, two organs and stone tombs. In 1970 the village church became one of the important historical buildings to be put on the list of the Slovak National Cultural Heritage.
Since 1427 the village was allowed to organize free markets. This right was given by King Zsigmund. In 1432 members of the Bebeks' family built a family castle near Štítnik which was inhabited until 1594.

One of the earliest craft guilds in Slovakia were established in Štítnik. Local people still keep the tradition of lace making, painting and decorative carving alive and try to pass it on the young generations.
There are several interesting historical buildings in the village which were built in rococo-classicist style - curia (Szontaghovská kúria, Sárkányovská kúria, Sebokovská kúria), manor house, water castle and village hall. Numerous historical documents about this village play a crucial role in better understanding of the village past.
The plague in the early 18th century (1710 and 1739) killed many inhabitants of Štítnik. To commemorate these tragic events a baroque-styled column was erected in the village in 1710.

In 1803 a great fire destroyed the most valuable parts of this small town. Fortunately, the Evangelical Church was not effected by the fire.
The village was highly involved in the iron industry during the 19th century. Many iron ovens and workshops were built in early 19th century and their owners decided to pool resources together and established a joint business known as Štítnicka concordia. The industry has slowly declined during the mid 20th century.