Sabinov

Sabinov (Kisszeben, Zeben, Cibinium) is a small town located in the Prešov Region (north-eastern Slovakia), approximately 20 km from Prešov and 55 km from Košice. The population of Sabinov is 12,378.

History
The first written record about Sabinov is from the year 1248. Sabinov was inhabited only by Slovaks until German settlers came in the middle of the 13th century. In 1299 Sabinov received municipal privileges, and in 1405 it was declared a free royal town by king Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor. In the 15th century Sabinov joined the Pentapolitana, an alliance of five towns of northeastern Kingdom of Hungary (Bardejov/Bartfa, Levoča/Locse, Košice/Kassa, Prešov/Eperjes and Sabinov/Kisszeben). The 16th and 17th century was the era of Sabinov's development and economic growth followed by the years of recession. In 1740, an important secondary school was established by the Piarists. The history of Sabinov is very similar to the history of other towns in this region.

Demographics
According to the 1910 census the town had 3288 inhabitants, 1640 Slovaks, 1168 Hungarians, 341 Germans and 120 Romanians. According to the 2001 census, the town had 12,290 inhabitants. 90.62% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 6.40% Roma, 0.48% Czechs and 0.14% Rusyns. Most of the Hungarians were expelled after WWII and their houses confiscated in the "slovakanization" of Sabinov. The religious makeup was 70.48% Roman Catholics, 10.53% Greek Catholics, 5.14% people with no religious affiliation and 4.16% Lutherans.

The Shop on Main Street
The acclaimed Czechoslovak film, The Shop on Main Street, which was shot in Sabinov during 1964, was awarded the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (of 1965) in Hollywood in 1966. In 1967 the film's lead actress, Ida Kaminska, was nominated for the Best Actress in a Leading Role for her screen work in this motion picture. She and the lead actor, Jozef Kroner, were also honored at the Cannes Film Festival in France for their roles in the film.

Famous people
The most important people who lived in Sabinov are:
 * Pavol Peter Gojdič (17. 7. 1888 - 17. 7. 1960), Greek Catholic bishop. Since 1917 worked in Sabinov as an assistant parish priest. In 1951 sentenced by the communists to serve a life sentence and died in 1960 in prison of Leopoldov of ill-treatment. In 2001 was beatified by Pope John-Paul II.
 * Bohuš Nosák-Nezabudov (3. 2. 1818 - 5. 4. 1877), poet, writer, journalist. Member of Ľudovít Štúr's group. Lived with his brother, who was a priest in Sabinov
 * Anton Prídavok (28. 5. 1904 - 12. 5. 1945), poet, writer, playwright, director
 * Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka (5 July, 1853 - 20 June, 1919), famous painter, who was born in Sabinov
 * Ede Bartsch (1796 - 1871), famous Hungarian doctor
 * Károly Wagner (1732 - 1790), Hungarian historian, priest, teacher