The green area is the Przeworsk culture in the first half of the 3rd century. The red area is the extent of the Wielbark culture, the yellow area is a Baltic culture (Yotvingian?), and the pink area is the Dębczyn culture. The purple area is the Roman Empire

The Przeworsk^[1] culture is part of an Iron Age archaeological complex that dates from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. It was located in what is now central and southern Poland, later spreading to parts of eastern Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia ranging between the Oder and the middle and upper Vistula Rivers into the headwaters of the Dniester and Tisza Rivers. It takes its name from the village near the town Przeworsk where the first artefacts were found.

Influences[link]

Scholars view the Przeworsk culture as an amalgam of a series of localized cultures. Continuity with the preceding Pomeranian culture is observed, albeit modified by significant influences from the La Tene and Jastorf cultures.

The Przeworsk culture is sometimes associated with the Vandals named by ancient geographers, as well as other "eastern" peoples.^[2] To the east, in what is now northern Ukraine and southern Belarus, was the Zarubintsy culture, to which it is linked as a larger archaeological complex. Much of this area was subsequently absorbed by the Wielbark culture^[3].

Ethnicity[link]

Roman-era writers report this area as being occupied by Veneti, as well as Lugians, to the south. The Burgundians and Vandals are known to have been settled in portions of the area, prior to their outmigration, toward the end of this cultural period.

Early twentieth century scholars often engaged in heated debates as to the bearers of the Przeworsk culture. A substantial effort has been expended in the past to characterize the latter as an early Slavic-speaking community, whilst German scholars attributed it to Vandals and Burgundians. However, it is impossible to believe that a Unified single people could lie behind such a territorially wide and culturally varied zone. Therefore, modern thinking leans towards assigning the culture to an association of tribes of proto-Slavic, Germanic and Celtic origins.

Features[link]

The main feature of the Przeworsk culture are burials. These are mostly cremations, with occasional inhumation. Warrior burials are notable, which often include horsegear and spurs. Some burials are exceptionally rich, overshadowing the graves of Germanic groups further west, especially after 400 AD.^[4] Pottery and metalwork are often rich and show a great variety ^[5]

Decline[link]

The culture's decline in the late 4th century coincides with invasion of Huns and subsequent westward movement of Germanic groups^[6]. Others, on the other hand, argue that there was considerable population continuity. They instead emphasize the role of the social crisis which occurred as a result of the collapse of the Roman world and the trade contacts it maintained with peoples beyond its borders.^[7] In the late 5th century, the Prague-Korchak culture appears in the Vistula basin.

See also[link]

Ancient Germanic culture portal

• Vandals
• Burgundians
• Chernyakhov culture
• East Germanic tribes

Notes[link]

Resources[link]

• Mallory, James P.; Adams, Douglas Q. (1997), Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 1-884964-98-2 
• Todd, Malcolm, The Early Germans, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN 0-631-19904-7 
• Heather, Peter (2006), The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-515954-3 
• Cunliffe, Barry; Todd, Malcolm (2001), The Oxford Illustrated History of Prehistoric Europe, Oxford, ISBN 0-19-285441-0 

Przeworsk
—  Market Town  —
Przeworsk Palace
Flag Coat of arms
Przeworsk
Coordinates: 50°4′N 22°30′E / 50.067°N 22.5°E / 50.067; 22.5
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Subcarpathian
County	Przeworsk County
Gmina	Przeworsk (urban gmina)
Government
• Mayor	Maria Dubrawska-Lichtarska
Area
• Total	21.98 km2 (8.49 sq mi)
Elevation	200 m (700 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	15,747
• Density	720/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	37-200
Car plates	RPZ
Website	http://www.przeworsk.um.gov.pl

Przeworsk [ˈpʂɛvɔrsk] (Ukrainian: Переворськ Perevors'k, Yiddish: פּרשעוואָרסק-Pshevorsk) is a town in south-eastern Poland with 15,675 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009.^[1] Since 1999 it has been in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, and is the capital of Przeworsk County.

The ancient Przeworsk culture was named after the town.

Przeworsk was a settlement since the 10th century, though evidence of human settlement in the general area is even older. It is first mentioned in historical records from the 13th century century, and was granted its town charter in 1394. From 1772 the town was part of the Habsburg Monarchy where it remained until 1918 when an independent Poland was created. Przeworsk is located on the European route E40, it also is an important railway junction, with trains going into three directions - east (towards Przemyśl), west (towards Rzeszów) and north (towards Stalowa Wola).

The Pshevorsk Hasidic dynasty, which originated in Przeworsk, is now mainly located in Antwerp, Belgium.

Tourist attractions[link]

• Basilica, built in the 15th century with a unique chapel - Tomb of Jesus Christ (the same as in Jerusalem)
• Church of the Bernardine Order
• Palace and park of Lubomirski family
• The only truly "vivid" open air museum in Poland, with wooden houses from Przeworsk and the surrounding region.
• The Wąskotorówka Train (narrow gauge railway) going from Przeworsk to Dynów.

International relations[link]

Twin towns — Sister cities[link]

Przeworsk is twinned with:

References[link]

Notes

See also[link]

• Official site (pl)

Coordinates: 50°04′N 22°30′E / 50.067°N 22.5°E / 50.067; 22.5

v t e Gminas of Przeworsk County Seat: Przeworsk (urban gmina) Urban-rural gminas Gmina Kańczuga Gmina Sieniawa Rural gminas Gmina Adamówka Gmina Gać Gmina Jawornik Polski Gmina Przeworsk Gmina Tryńcza Gmina Zarzecze

This Przeworsk County location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Ján Slota
Member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Slovak National Council until December 31, 1992
In office July 4, 2006 – April 4, 2012
In office June 25, 1992 – October 15, 2002
Mayor of the city of Žilina
In office 1990–2006
Preceded by	office created
Succeeded by	Ivan Harman
Member of the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia
In office June 23, 1990 – June 25, 1992
Personal details
Born	(1953-09-14) September 14, 1953 (age 58) Lietavská Lúčka, Czechoslovakia
Political party	Slovak National Party

Ján Slota (born September 14, 1953 in Lietavská Lúčka) is the co-founder and President of the Slovak National Party,^[1][2] an extremist^[3][4][5][6] nationalist party.^[7] Slota as the leader of SNS entered into a coalition with Robert Fico's Smer in 2006. He was the mayor of the city of Žilina from 1990 to 2006.

Political career[link]

Slota became involved in politics after 1989 when the Communist party fell from power in Czechoslovakia in the Velvet Revolution. In 1990 he co-founded the SNS and was elected as a member of the Federal Assembly. Later, he was elected into the National Council of the Slovak Republic. From 1994 to 1999 he served as the leader of the SNS. After an internal crisis in the SNS in 2001, he left the party and set up his own party, the Genuine Slovak National Party. As a result of this split, none of the nationalist parties received the required 5% minimum of votes in the 2002 election. In 2003, the nationalist parties merged again, after heavy quarrels, with Slota as chairman.^[8]

Slota served as the mayor of Žilina between 1990 and 2006, overseeing the modernization of the city. He was reelected in 1994, 1998 and 2002. He was succeeded by Ivan Harman in 2006.

In the 2006 parliamentary election, Slota became an MP and his SNS joined the ruling coalition with Robert Fico's Direction - Social Democracy party and Vladimír Mečiar´s People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia.

Controversial views, statements[link]

Slota is frequently criticized for arrogance, nationalism,^[9] and extremism^[10] and being "a xenophobic politician who has stirred anti-Hungarian sentiments."^[11] The Slovak Spectator reports that most of the media attention Slota receives is because of statements that cross "the line not just of political but also human decency."^[12] Slota says he is protecting Slovaks, especially those living in southern Slovakia. According to Der Spiegel Slota said the best policy for dealing with the Roma was "a long whip in a small yard."^[1][2] According to him: "70 percent of the Roma are criminals."^[13] He is quoted as saying "we will get into our tanks and level Budapest"^[2] and questioned whether homosexuals were normal people.^[14] After this statement, a map was published on the official SNS webpage showing Hungary as a part of Slovakia.^[15][16][17] He also said about Hungarians that "Even in 1248 a Frankish bishop was amazed after visiting the Carpathian Basin that God could have given such a beautiful country to such ugly people. He was referring to the old Hungarians, who were Mongoloid types with crooked legs and even more disgusting horses. Somehow these people have vanished. Who civilized them? Probably us, the Slovaks". He is also quoted as saying that Slavic blood had civilised the ugly, Mongolic Hungarians^[2] and associated homosexuals with pedophiles.^[18] He believes 200 members of the Hungarian intelligence are spying in Slovakia.^[19] Slota said that the country's ethnic Hungarian minority "is a tumour in the body of the Slovak nation."^[20][21] While Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico were meeting in Brussels, he called the Turul, a Hungarian mythological falcon an "ugly parrot",^[22] and insulted the first Hungarian king (Stephen I of Hungary) by calling him a "clown on a horse" (he was referring to the statue of king Stephen I which is standing in the Buda Castle).

Slota called the fascist leader Jozef Tiso "one of the greatest sons of the Slovak nation"^[23] and on February 17, 2000, 40 of the 41 city council members in Žilina, where Slota is mayor, voted to dedicate a plaque honoring Tiso.^[23]

Criminal past[link]

Slota had illegally emigrated to Austria in 1971, where he participated in multiple auto thefts, until he fled Austria fearing prosecution.^[24] He went back to Czechoslovakia, where he committed some store robberies in the Prievidza region^[24] before fleeing the country. After returning, his father, Milan, voluntarily entered the Czechoslovak communist secret police, the StB to save his son from prison.^{[25][26][27][28]}

In 1982 Slota worked in the Nováky Power Plant, where during the demolition of a wooden cooling tower he gave the order to burn it down. The flames reached 70 meters and the wind blew the cinders as far away as 500 meters.^[29] Slota was convicted of arson and sentenced to one year in prison, and suspended for two years. Documents detailing Slota's criminal past were broadcast by Markíza, the leading private television station in Slovakia, which resulted in a court case Markíza v Slota.^[30][31][32] During the court proceedings Slota admitted to some of the crimes and even said he was proud of assaulting and beating a Hungarian saying "I am proud of giving that Hungarian a black eye" (Slovak: Na to, že som tomu Maďarovi urobil monokel, som tiež hrdý.)^[33][34][35]

Since his party returned to the parliament in 2006, Slota has rarely been seen at parliamentary sessions. The Slovak daily SME has revealed that his signature on the parliamentary attendance sheets was forged by his fellow party member Rafael Rafaj.^[36] When confronted with this charge, both of them have denied it.^[37]

Tabloid claims[link]

Slota supposedly reported a total yearly income of 311 400 SKK^[38] (about €10,000 or US$14,000) in his 2006 annual tax return, however he himself supposedly confirmed that he had bought a Bentley Continental GT^[39][40] for 2.6 million SKK in that year.^[39] In his ATR he also supposedly confessed that he has a luxury villa^[39] on the Croatian riviera^[39] as well as a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S^[41] "lent to him by one of his friends for his personal use".^[41]

See also[link]

• Hungary–Slovakia relations
• 2006 Slovak-Hungarian diplomatic affairs

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ján Slota

• (Slovak) Official site