Hrubov, Slovakia

Submitted by Autumn Mozeliak

Such a tiny village is what I call my ancestral home- Hrubov. My third great-grandfather, Steven Rudý, had immigrated from this rural town in the very early twentieth century and never returned. In fact, none of the family has returned since. I plan to explore what used to be my family’s home next Fall, but for now, let’s take a peek into some basic information on the village.

Geography

Hrubov is located in the formerly known Zemplén (Zemplín) county, situated in North-Eastern
Slovakia in current day Prešov region in the Humenné district. Hrubov is settled on the eastern edge of the Ondava Highlands, in the upper section of the Ondava Valley. This small village is only composed of a little under 500 residents as of 2021. Much of the village is situated on one long ‘stretch’.

You can view the beautiful village at a bird’s eye view via Marek Palašta’s video.

A Brief History

The earliest record of Hrubov dates back to 1478. Due to the settlement building in the Ondava Valley, it is presumed that the territory was founded by a šoltýs under a purchase, German or Wallachian law, or under both rights through the 14th and part of the 15th century. In the later half of the 16th century, parts of Hrubov were within the Wallachian-Rusyn region. However,

Hrubov was certainly born on territory which belonged to the Drugets (an extremely wealthy noble family - of french origin- of the Kingdom of Hungary) at the time, who continued to own territory of the village in the 16th and 17th centuries. It belonged to the Humenné estate, in the 19th century- the Szirmayos were the landowners.

A church built in the 15th-16th century was occupied by evangelicals in the 17th century. It had originally been built with only wood and had one bell. The Lutherans reportedly still owned the church until around 1700, but by then it had been constructed with brick. A new church, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, was built in 1780 and filled with Catholic priests.

“At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, Hrubov was a small village with a serf peasant - Slovak and Wallachian - Ruthenian population. In the 17th century, peasant households there became impoverished. Around 1623, two Šolty households lived in Hrubov, and each owned the land of the entire estate. There were eight peasant households. They had similar obligations to the landowners as their contemporaries in other villages.”

Source: Ferdinand Uličný - History of the settlement of Zemplín County / Ferdinand Uličný - Dejiny osídlenia Zemplínskej župy, http://www.hrubov.sk/

In 1715 the village had 9 abandoned and 14 inhabited households, in 1787 it had 38 houses and 342 residents, and in 1828 it had 43 houses and 319 residents. Residents made a living by farming, burning coal and working in the forests. It can be assumed work in the mines was greatly available as in the 19th century, the Hornouhliarska mining company had property in Hrubov.

Unfortunately, in 1932 and 1940, the village had burned down. In 1944, for cooperation with the partisans, the Germans burned down the village. However, the village was then restored and the land was further cultivated by farmers after 1945.

Source: Native dictionary of municipalities in Slovakia, part 1 / Vlastivedný slovník obcí na Slovensku, 1. Časť

Names

The village is documented from 1478 as “Rubo”, later as “Hrubo” from 1778, “Hrubová” from 1808, and “Hrubov” from 1920 (in Hungarian Hrubó and Rubó).

Source: Native dictionary of municipalities in Slovakia, part 1 / Vlastivedný slovník obcí na Slovensku, 1. Časť