Krahule

Krahule
Blaufuss
Village
Geographical center of Europe near Krahule
Coat of arms
Country	Slovakia
Region	Banská Bystrica
District	Žiar nad Hronom
Coordinates	48°44′N 18°56′E / 48.733°N 18.933°E / 48.733; 18.933Coordinates: 48°44′N 18°56′E / 48.733°N 18.933°E / 48.733; 18.933
Highest point
- elevation	988.8 m (3,244 ft)
Lowest point
- elevation	872 m (2,861 ft)
Area	10.76 km2 (4.15 sq mi)
Population	198 (31 Dec 2011)
Density	18/km2 (47/sq mi)
Postal code	967 01
Car plate	ZH
Location of Krahule in Slovakia
Statistics: MOŠ/MIS

Krahule (German: Blaufuss; Hungarian: Kékellő, till 1899: Blaufusz) is a village in Žiar nad Hronom District in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia. It is the only municipality in Slovakia that officially uses German along with Slovak.

The town was first mentioned in writing in 1331 as Blaufuß (literally "blue" + "foot") and was created by German miners as a Weiler.

Throughout its history, most of the area legally belonged to the Crown and the village was administered by a local judge. In 1601 there were 39 houses in the village. A 1640-year decree appointed Paul König as Judge, after the death of James König. The first chapel and the first school were built in 1788. In 1806 the Baroque-Classical style Roman Catholic St. John Nepomuk Church was dedicated. In 1828 there were 635 inhabitants, entirely German speakers, mostly local miners and farmers, in 57 houses. From 1895 there was a state funded Bobbin lace making school.

Over 1944 and 1945 many Carpathian Germans fled the advancing Soviet army and never returned. The Communist regime then renamed the town "Krahule" in 1948 and brought in Slovak settlers.

From 1980 to 1992 the town was a part of the Kremnica municipality.

In the 2001 census 35 of the then 144 residents indicated that they were Carpathian Germans (Karpatendeutsche). The Krahule municipality therefore adopted German as the second official language in addition to Slovak.