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History of the first settlement in Púchov

Púchov as a town has a strategic location, which together with the nearness of the Váh, the longest river in Slovakia, contributed to creating the cultural and social relations, which formed a part of its history. The first written reference to the town dates back to 1243 in gift certificate signed by Béla IV, the King of Hungary. In this reference is also mentioned Puch, the landowner of a surrounding region. The word ”puch“ is of Indo-European origin and can be translated as ”puffed up“ or ”haughty“, and ”ov“ is a Slovak possessive sufix. So the name ”Púchov“, means a ”land of Puch“. Another possible explanation of the town’s name originates from the word ”pochov“, which denotes a burial site for the surrounding communities. This claim is supported by many excavations of graves there throughout the centuries. Púchov’s surroundings, especially Púchovská skala, were settled earlier during the Palaeolithoic period. Archaeological digs give evidence of settlements since the early Stone Age to the Roman period. Between 1888 and 1894 baron Emil Friedrich Johannes Hoenning O’Carroll, who was an Austrian Army commissioned officer and also an amateur archaeologist, carried out an exploration of Púchovská skala. His discovery of two bronze swords revealed much about the town’s ancient history and later contributed to the origin of the official archaeological designation ”Púchov culture“. During the 7th and 8th centuries, the town was settled by Slavs and in the 9th century the Moravian settlements expanded the most. In 1469 Matthias Corvinus, the King of Hungary, gave Púchov to the Count of Marczibányi, who had been the lineal descendant of Púchovs since the 13th century.