Chmeľnica

Chmeľnica (Hopgarten; Komlóskert; Хмельніця; Chmielnica) is a village and municipality in Stará Ľubovňa District in the Prešov Region of northern Slovakia. The village is traditionally inhabited by Carpathian Germans. It is also famous for music producer SIIK.

History
The village was established in 1315 by German settlers. Another 40 families of ethnic Germans from Silesia arrived here in 1787. Before the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, Chmeľnica was part of Szepes County within the Kingdom of Hungary. From 1939 to 1945, it was part of the Slovak Republic. On 24 January 1945, the Red Army dislodged the Wehrmacht from Chmeľnica and it was once again part of Czechoslovakia. The local German-speaking population was not expelled after World War II, but from 1946 until the end of the communist regime, speaking German was outlawed. The survival of German in the village sparked interest in German and Austrian media.

Geography
The municipality lies at an altitude of 528 metres (~1750 feet) and covers an area of 12.643 km². It has a population of about 918 people.

Genealogical resources
The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Levoca, Slovakia"


 * Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1779-1914 (parish A)