Telkibánya

Telkibánya is a village in Gönc District of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County. Its population in 2024 was 565.

It is located in northern Hungary, in the central part of the Zemplén Mountains, near the Slovak border. Its altitude is 403 meters above sea level.

The directly bordering settlements are: Pányok to the north, Füzér to the northeast, Nyíri to the east, Regéc to the southeast, Fony to the southwest, Gönc to the west, and Zsujta and Abaújvár to the northwest.

Telkibánya was first mentioned in 1270 as Teluky village and a mining settlement, belonging to Füzér village. The earliest written record of gold mining in Telkibánya comes from 1341. Before 1367, there was a wooden chapel in the southern part of Telkibánya.^[1] In 1447, John Hunyadi gave Telkibánya to the Rozgonyi family. Around 1517, the population of Telkibánya was about 150 people. After the near-surface gold veins were exhausted, mining declined, and production stopped between 1574 and 1757. Queen Maria Theresa ordered the mines to reopen. In the early 19th century, the gold and silver mines in Telkibánya were still active, and miners lived in the settlement.^[2] In 1825, Ferdinand Bretzenheim founded a porcelain factory in Telkibánya, using nearby kaolin deposits. This was the first porcelain factory in Hungary.

In 2022, 94.4% of the population identified as Hungarian, 2.4% as Slovak, 0.9% as Roma, 0.6% as Ukrainian, 0.2% as German, and 4.5% as other non-local nationalities (3.9% did not respond; due to dual identities, the total may exceed 100%). Regarding religion, 18.8% were Roman Catholic, 47.7% Reformed, 2% Greek Catholic, 1.1% other Christian, 0.4% Lutheran, and 3.5% non-religious (26.1% did not answer).^[3]

1. ↑ Gabi, Halász (2024-08-15). "Ismerd meg a középkori Alexandriai Szent Katalin-ispotály titkait Telkibányán". CsodalatosMagyarorszag.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2025-03-08.
2. ↑ "A telkibányai Király-hegy fagyos gyomrában". MTSZ (in Hungarian). 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2025-03-08.
3. ↑ Telkibánya