HISTORY OF THE TOWN
Local archaeological sites confirm that the town of Kechnec was first settled as
early as in the Paleolithic Period. That allows to assume that the nature and
the surroundings offered enough opportunities for the survival.
The first record of the town in writing is dated to the 13th century,
specifically 1220, when it was mentioned as a settlement called Felnemet. Being
on the then Hungarian Queen’s land at the lower stream of the River Hornád, the
territory of Kechnec (Kenyhecz in Hungarian) was settled by German immigrants at
the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. We know that from the Varadin’s
Register of 1220.
In 1295 the Queen Agnes gave the town of Kechnec, together with another
7 small towns to Menne, a surrogate breastfeeder of King Ladislaus IV. An
old document dated to 1338 says that in our town there was a mill, located
near the present town of Seňa, which was preserved to the modern times. This
documents active work and life of local farmers.
The King Sisigmund, another major player in the history of the town, gave
Kechnec to the Marmoss administrator Peter of Perin. It was a gift for his
loyalty and military merits. This fact documents the importance of Kechnec at
that time. The donation and merit document is interesting due to its bilingual
name – Felnemethy alio domine Kemnech.
Although already before the time of arrival of German colonists the town
of Kechnec had had its own Slavic name, which the Germans adopted, it also got
its official Hungarian name Felnémeti. In 1560 the town was named Kenyhecz
Nempty, in 1605 Kenyhecz, in 1808 Kechnec, and the last mentioned name
has been preserved until now. According to the conscriptions of local priests
and churches, in 1746 people in Kechnec spoke Slovak and Hungarian, like it
is nowadays.
The importance of Kechnec is also stressed by the fact that it was on an
important merchant route, called the Buda one or the Pest one. But often it
found itself on a major military route as well.
A number of major landowners were resident in the town, from among
which it is worth to mention the Kenyheczi and Czikovics families. János
Czikovics obtained Kechnec from King Leopold I in 1689 in Vienna.
Religion has a long tradition in Kechnec. During the Counter-Reformation
period and the insurrections led by the Transylvanian Protestant knight Imre
Thököly at the end of the 17th century, the local population was apparently
forced to convert to Protestantism, in line with a slogan: “Adopt your
landowner’s religion.” The Roman Catholic church building was subsequently
levelled to the ground and it was not built up again until 1749, following an
impulse given by the bishop Istvan Kaczer. Its latest reconstruction was made in
1992 – 1993.
Our predecessors well thought about the future and left town chronicles
for future generations. Ours was lost in 1938. In the newer one, which was
started by Imrich Doják, there is an interesting record of the revolutionary
events of 1848 – 1849. Fierce fighting took place around Kechnec, probably
over the control of a major local bridge Hidásnémeti. Austrian soldiers, who
served the Viennese Emperor and his court, executed four local inhabitants in
the yard of the town pub. The pub used to be in the yard of Ms Ráczová, née
Fedorová.
In the 19th century, reputable families of János Mác and of Józef Horváth,
but also Ferdynandy, Pallagi, Teleki, Lejtényi, Vadász and Smith landowner
families lived there. An officer of the Hungarian army Gejza Török also had
property in the town.
The town of Kechnec also got into railway transport history books. The
first train came to the town on 5th July 1860. It started in Miskolz and ended
in Košice. A theatre also enjoys a long tradition in the town.
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