Handlová
Handlová (, , before 1913 ) is a town in the Prievidza District, Trenčín Region in the middle of Slovakia. It is made up of the three parts Handlová, Nová Lehota and Morovno. Geography. It is located in the "Handlovka" brook valley, surrounded by the mountain ranges of Vtáčnik in the west and Žiar in the south, east and north, in the historical region of Hauerland. It is away from Prievidza and from Žiar nad Hronom. Besides the main settlement, it also has "parts" of Morovno (north-west) and Nová Lehota (south), both annexed 1976. History. The town was established in 1376  and was inhabited by German settlers which were later known as the Carpathian Germans. The first known settler in Handlová was Peter Kricker from Kremnica, who came here together with 200 others to establish a settlement on a site called Krásny les (Beautiful Forest). At first the settlers lived just from crops and pastoral farming. Only much later, in the 18th century, did coal mining begin. Local miners at first worked mainly to supply the needs of nearby Bojnice Castle. In 1945 after World War II, Handlová underwent the biggest upheaval in its centuries-long history. Most of its ethnic  German inhabitants was expelled from the town due to the so-called Beneš decrees. Of the original 12,800 people who lived here as late as in 1943, only 4,000 remained in Handlová by 1945. As a result, Handlová's character changed completely. It received town privileges in 1960. In 2009, the town suffered a major disaster during the 2009 Handlová mine blast, in which 20 people were killed. Demographics. According to the 2001 census, the town had 18,018 inhabitants. 96.14% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 0.85% Hungarian, 0.67% Czechs and 0.24% Germans. The religious make-up was 46.10% Atheists, 44.74% Roman  Catholics and 2.42% Lutherans. Twin towns – sister cities. Handlová is twinned with: Genealogical resources. The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Nitra, Slovakia"