Brezová pod Bradlom

Brezová pod Bradlom (Birkenhain; Berezó) is a town in the Myjava District, Trenčín Region, western Slovakia, at the western foothills of the Little Carpathians, in the Myjavské Kopanice region.

History
The territory of Brezová pod Bradlom appears for the first time in written records in 1262. The village was permanently settled in the 15th century or in the first half of 16th century. It was granted the town status in 1709, confirmed in 1966. Before the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, it was part of Nyitra County within the Kingdom of Hungary. From 1939 to 1945, it was part of the Slovak Republic. On 7 April 1945, the Red Army dislodged the Wehrmacht from Brezová pod Bradlom and it was once again part of Czechoslovakia.

Demographics
Brezová pod Bradlom has a population of around 5,000. According to the 2001 census, 92.2% of inhabitants were Slovaks and 0.8% Czechs. The religious makeup was 38.5% Lutherans, 24.9% Roman Catholics, and 22.5% people with no religious affiliation.

Sights
The monumental tomb of Milan Rastislav Štefánik is located on the Bradlo hill ( 543 metres (1,781 ft), approximately three kilometres from the town, on the road to Košariská. The monument's construction started in 1924, five years after Štefánik's death and was finished in 1928. The tomb was designed by architect Dušan Jurkovič.

Twin towns — sister cities
Brezová pod Bradlom is twinned with:
 * 🇨🇿 Břeclav, Czech Republic


 * 🇫🇷 Paulhan, France

Genealogical resources
The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Štátny archív in Bratislava, Slovakia"


 * Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1733-1910 (parish A)
 * Lutheran church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1720-1902 (parish A)