Spišská Stará Ves
town in Slovakia
Spišská Stará Ves (; German: (Zipser) Alt(en)dorf; Hungarian: Szepesófalu or Hungarian: Ófalu; Rusyn: Спіська Стара Вес; Polish: (Stara) Spiska Wieś; Latin: Antiqua Villa; Goral: Golembarg) is a small town and urban municipality in Kežmarok District in the Prešov Region of north Slovakia.
History
In historical records the town was first mentioned in 1272. Before the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, Spišská Stará Ves was part of Szepes County within the Kingdom of Hungary. From 1939 to 1945, it was part of the Slovak Republic. On 26 January 1945, the Red Army dislodged the Wehrmacht from Spišská Stará Ves and it was once again part of Czechoslovakia.
Geography
The municipality lies at an altitude of 487 metres (1,598 ft) and covers an area of 17.56 km2 (6.78 sq mi) (2025). Spišská Stará Ves is the centre of Zamagurie region and is close to the Dunajec River.
Population
It has a population of 2131 people (31 December 2025).
Ethnicity
In year 2021 was 2202 people by ethnicity 2069 as Slovak, 235 as Not found out, 105 as Romani, 25 as Polish, 15 as Rusyn, 7 as Ukrainian, 5 as Czech, 2 as Hungarian, 2 as Other, 2 as English, 1 as Russian, 1 as Austrian, 1 as German, 1 as Canadian, 1 as French and 1 as Bulgarian.
Note on population: The difference values of population numbers in the table "Population statistic" and in the sections "Ethnicity" & "Religion" is caused by the use of various statistical methods.
“Spišská Stará Ves” enters the record as town in Slovakia. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Spišská, Stará and town can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Spišská Stará Ves” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Spišská, Stará and town provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q592301. The first chronological checks are 1272, 1918, 1939 and 1945.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Spišská Stará Ves”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Spišská Stará Ves primary sources, Spišská Stará Ves archive and Spišská research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Spišská Stará Ves”?
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- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Spišská Stará Ves” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.