Nižné Ružbachy

Nižné Ružbachy (Alsózúgó, Unterrauschenbach, Drużbaki Niżne, Нижнї Ружбахы) is a village and municipality in Stará Ľubovňa District in the Prešov Region of northern Slovakia.

History
In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1287. The municipality was founded following the German law by Heinrich from Pudlein and was first mentioned as Rauschenbach. Because of its proximity, the village was part of the estate of the town of Pudlein. In 1412 it was transferred to Poland together with parts of the Spiš County and remained there until 1772.

A paper mill worked in the village from 1755 until the first half of the 19th century. In 1828 there were 120 houses and 880 residents in Nižné Ružbachy.

Before the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, Nižné Ružbachy was part of Szepes County within the Kingdom of Hungary. From 1939 to 1945, it was part of the Slovak Republic. On 25 January 1945, the Red Army dislodged the Wehrmacht from Nižné Ružbachy and it was once again part of Czechoslovakia. Since 1993 it is part of independent Slovakia.

Name
The name of the village throughout history:


 * 1287 - Rauschenbach
 * 1303 - Rusenbach, Ruzenbach
 * 1329 - Antiqua Rusunbach
 * 1408 - Antiqua Rausenbach
 * 1786 - Ruszbach, Nieder-Rauschenbach
 * 1808 - Alsó-Ruszbach, Unter-Rauschenbach, Dolní Rusbachy, Drusbachy
 * 1863 - Alsóruszbach
 * 1873 - Alsóruzsbach
 * 1907 - Alsózúgó
 * 1920 - Nižné Družbachy, Družbachy
 * 1927 - Nižné Ružbachy

The name in Hungarian is Alsozúgó, the German name is Unterrauschenbach or Niederrauschenbach.

Demographics
According to the 2011 census, 609 residents lived in Nižné Ružbachy, of which 572 were Slovaks and others were Hungarian, Czech and Ukrainian; one resident was of a different ethnicity. 33 residents did not provide any information in this regard. 553 residents professed the Roman Catholic Church, five residents the Greek Catholic Church and one resident the Orthodox Church. 3 residents were non-religious and the denomination of 47 residents was not determined.

As a municipality
The municipality of Nižné Ružbachy lies at an altitude of 555 metres and covers an area of 9.794 km2. It has a population of about 639 people.