History of Bardejov

sword-maker's, and many others. The town flourished and was able to acquire 14 serf villages and vineyards in the Tokaj region. Many important structures were built, including the monastery and the church of the Augustinian order. A slaughterhouse was built in close vicinity of the monastery and the town bath was built too. There were also mills, winery, saw-mills, brickwork's, bleaching house, pressing shop, linen warehouse, brewery jail and others. However, by the late 15th century, the town had lost its linen monopoly and the linen trade gradually deteriorated.

In the early 16th century, the city built a Latin school. During the reformation, the acclaimed humanist Leonard Stockel, Martin Luther's disciple (referred to as the Teacher of Hungary), taught at the school beginning in 1539. He gradually turned the school into a significant center of education in what was then north-eastern Hungary. The Reformation and Humanism elevated nationally and culturally not only the German-speaking population, but also the Slovak Protestants. In this spirit, Gutgesell's print shop of Bardejov printed Luther’s Catechism, the first book to be printed in Biblical Czech in 1581.

The early 16th century saw more development: the town hall was rebuilt and a school was built alongside the church. The final phase of fortification took place in the early 16th century, with the modernization of the bastions and digging of a water-filled moat. However, unrest within the Old Hungarian kingdom during the first half of the 16th century saw Bardejov entering into a period of recession. Bardejov’s golden age ended at the end of 16th century, when several wars, pandemics, and other disasters plagued the country. Counter reformation