Szakáll Sándor - Papp Gábor: Az Esztramos-hegy ásványai (Topographia Mineralogica Hungariae 5. Miskolc, 1997)

Az Esztramos és környéke középkori történeti földrajzához (Dénes György)

Topographia Mineralogica Hungáriáé Vol. V. 15-30. Miskolc, 1997 AZ ESZTRAMOS ÉS KÖRNYÉKE KÖZÉPKORI TÖRTÉNETI FÖLDRAJZÁHOZ Historical geography of the Esztramos Hill and its surroundings in the Middle Ages DÉNES György Abstract: South-west-north-eastwards from Rudabánya, crossing the Bódva there is an ore-bearing mountain range through the Esztramos as far as Hídvégardó. From the Prehistoric Age and also in the Middle Ages iron ore was mined here, as well as in Ruda Hill at Rudabánya, west of the Bódva, in the mines of the Rednek Valley at Martonyi, east of the Bódva, and in the ore outcrops of the Esztramos and perhaps on the Ruda-side at Hídvégardó, too. There may have been some more smaller beds of iron ore, like the place west of the Bódva on the confines of Teresztenye (former Kovácsi), which was mentioned as Rednek in a document of 1272. There may also have been a deposit of iron ore or an oredressing plant in Rednek-áű\ő, north of Szalonna. The names Ruda and Rednek originate from the Slavonic word "ruda" meaning "iron ore". Wyhniche, a settlement before the middle of the 13th century not far from the Esztramos, may also have been an ore-dressing plant. Its name comes from the Slavonic word "vihne" meaning "forge, smithery". The "blacksmiths" settlement may have been on the territory of today's Tornabarakony, where the existence of typical slag-remains prove that there was smithery there in the Middle Ages. So Ruda, Rednek, and Vihne are Slavonic names, and so is the name of the Esztramos (probably of Southern Slav origin), coming from the Slavonic word "sztrm " meaning "steep". So it denotes the most characteristic feature of the hill. These Slavonic names are supposed to have come from the Old-Slav-speaking people who were resettled from the Balkans to the Carpathians Basin by the khans of the Bulgarian empire in the 9th century. On the basis of the findings of archaeological excavations carried out on three different sites west of the Bódva, it can be assumed that the period of smithery characterized by Slavonic names was the 10th and 11th centuries AD. In the course of the 12th century there was centrally organized smithery in the royal forest domain of Torna on both sides of the Bódva. The names of the mining villages have not changed, but some villages where royal blacksmiths used to work had the Hungarian name Kovácsi. There was a village with the same name not far from Rudabánya on the west side of the Bódva, one east of the Bódva, at the northern foot of the Esztramos, and one at the eastern confines of Hídvégardó. The Hungarian kings of the time settled privileged German miners' families to the ore-mining district, like Rudabánya and probably to Szentandrás at the northern foot of the Esztramos, too. A document from the Middle Ages proves that the inhabitants of Szentandrás used to be foreign settlers, and the name of one of them, Ilbrand (Hildebrand), makes it probable that they were German people. It is also proved by the fact that the small church in Szentandrás, which dates back to the end of the 12th century, has double sanctuary, which is unique in Hungary but typical in South Germany, especially in the mining districts of Tyrol. Besides, St. Andrew apostle, the patron saint of both the church and the village is generally respected as the patron saint of miners on German-speaking territories. All in all it is highly probable that German mining families from South Germany or from Tyrol settled down at the iron ore beds of the Esztramos in the course of the 12th century. However, at the beginning of the 13th century there was no more considerable ore-mining or smithery in this area, the blacksmiths and the miners must have moved northwards, probably to Szepesség (now Spiä in Slovakia), to areas with richer ore deposits. However, the ore mines of this area were active, as proved by a royal deed of gift of 1474. Owing to the Turkish invasion and devastation in the middle of the 16th century, Szentandrás and Kovácsi, the former settlements of ore-miners and blacksmiths at the foot of the Esztramos became depopulated. It was only Szentandrás that got inhabited again by the end of the 17th century. Iron ore mining started again in the Esztramos at the end of the 18th century. Összefoglalás: Rudabányától délnyugat-északkeleti irányban, a Bódvát keresztezve, érces hegyvonulat húzódik az Esztramoson át Hídvégardóig. Ebből az őskor óta és a középkorban is vasércet bányásztak, a Bódva nyugati oldalán a Rudabánya mellett emelkedő Awöfa-hegyből, a Bódvától keletre pedig a