Fiľakovo

Fiľakovo (Fülek, Fülleck, Filek) is a town in the Banská Bystrica Region of south-central Slovakia. Historically it was located in Nógrád County, as part of the Nógrád, Novohrad, "Newcastle" region.

Geography
It is located in the Cerová vrchovina hills, in the valley of the Belina brook, located around 20 km from the Hungarian city of Salgótarján, 85 km from Banská Bystrica, about 150 km from Košice and around 220 km from Bratislava.

History
The first written record of the town, along with the Fiľakovo Castle is from 1242, where the castle withstood the Mongol invasions. It is mentioned in 1246 as Filek. In 1423 the town received municipal privileges. In 1553 the town with the castle was conquered by the Turks and was the seat of a sanjak until 1593, when it was reconquered by the Imperial troops. However, it was conquered once more by the Ottomans in 1662 and the town along with the castle was burned down in 1682 by troops of Imre Thököly. It was finally passed to Austrians in 1686. Before the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, it was part of Nógrád County within the Kingdom of Hungary. It again belonged to Hungary from 1938 to 1945 as a result of the First Vienna Award.

Demographics
According to the 2001 census, ethnic groups included 64.40% Hungarians, 30.19% Slovaks, and 4.03% Roma. The religion make-up was as follows: 77.52% Roman Catholic, 11.82% without denomination, 3.21% not specified and others.

Twin towns — sister cities
Fiľakovo is twinned with:


 * 🇭🇺 Bátonyterenye, Hungary
 * 🇭🇺 Salgótarján, Hungary
 * 🇭🇺 Szécsény, Hungary
 * 🇭🇺 Szigethalom, Hungary
 * 🇵🇱 Ustrzyki Dolne, Poland

People

 * Sándor Büchler, rabbi, historian
 * Frank Lowy, Australian businessman
 * Allan Vilhan, musician
 * Vica Kerekes, actress

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


 * Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1700-1893 (parish A)
 * Lutheran church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1783-1895 (parish B)
 * Reformated church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1800-1895 (parish B)