Lower Metzenseifen
| Medzev (Nižny Medzev) | ||
| German: Metzenseifen, Hungarian: Mecenzéf | ||
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| Country | Slovakia | |
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| Region | Košice | |
| District | Košice-okolie | |
| Elevation | 313 m (1,027 ft) | |
| Coordinates | 48°41′59″N 20°53′36″E / 48.69972°N 20.89333°ECoordinates: 48°41′59″N 20°53′36″E / 48.69972°N 20.89333°E | |
| Area | 31.88 km2 (12.31 sq mi) | |
| Population | 4,261 (May 21, 2011) | |
| Density | 134/km2 (347/sq mi) | |
| First mentioned | 1359 | |
| Mayor | Valeria Flachbartová | |
| Timezone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| - summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Postal code | 044 25 | |
| Area code | +421-55 | |
| Car plate | KS | |
   Location in Slovakia
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  Location in the Košice Region
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 This map shows the relative location and distances from Metzenseifen/Medzev to larger cities in Slovakia and Vienna in Austria.
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| Statistics: MOŠ/MIS | ||
| Website: www.medzev.sk | ||
Medzev, also known as Metzenseifen (particularly to Americans and the native German-speaking community) is a town and large municipality in Košice-okolie District in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia. It is one of several towns in Bodva Valley. Other towns in Bodva Valley include: Jasov, Lucia Bania, Vyšný Medzev (Upper Metzenseifen), and Stos. Historically, It belonged to one of the original mountain towns in the Lower Zips/Dolný Spis: Gelnica/Göllnitz, Smolník/Schmöllnitz, Nálepkovo/Wagendrüssel, Krompachy/Krompach, Mníšek nad Hnilcom/Einsiedel, Švedlár/Schwedler.
Any official documents regarding the founding of Metzenseifen have yet to be found and were likely destroyed in the Counter-Reformation. Much of the historical records obtained regarding the history of Medzev come from the monastery in Jasov. As shown in the timeline, the departure of the Mongols in 1241 prompted King Béla IV to rebuild Hungary as quickly as possible. It is known that he invited Germans as part of his recolonization effort. Whether he directly invited the particular settlers of Metzenseifen remains unknown, but possible. The first official document from the Bodva Valley is that of a legal document from 1272, which describes the litigation of forestry rights between Vyšný Medzev/Upper Metzenseifen and Jasov. It could be extrapolated that Metzenseifen was founded sometime between 1241 and 1272.
Until now, any documents that would have been submitted to Vienna or Budapest regarding Medzev's specific date of establishment have not been found. Therefore, we must draw information from reliable sources in the timeline like demarcation, into which the colonists would have entered upon arriving in the area called Metzenseifen. The timeline, as well as official documents and historical data were wiped out by the end of the Counter-Reformation. The monastery in Jasov and the neighboring townships could help us via documents, in which the name "Metzenseifen" was mentioned.
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Wikipedia