Beer cellars and restaurants in Rimavská Sobota (source: Courtesy of B. Chovan )
This is how the centre of Rimavská Sobota, a town in the Gemer region, looked in 1934.
Store signs show that many things could be bought here, for example, sports equipment. Just next to the sports shop was a big store called Szoyka, in which radio-engineering and electric equipment was sold. It is possible that the discreet street lamp hanging above the street was from the store.
Where there were shops, there were also pubs, wineries and beer cellars. Beer production in Rimavská Sobota is connected with the name of Pavol Nagy from Nagyváta, the founder of a family which had a beer-drawing monopoly for more than 200 years.
Pavol of Nagyváta came to the town from the Baranya district in now Hungary when it was threatened by Ottomans. Nagy – like many others, especially the rich– opted to flee northwards.
His name is first mentioned in this Gemer town in 1520. His relatives managed to establish themselves in the town relatively quickly. His son Benedikt was among the area’s wealthiest citizens. The Nagys owned a house, meadows and fields in Rimavská Sobota.
Eventually, the Ottoman threat reached Gemer as well. In 1596 Benedikt, according to records, donated 290 guldens towards the fees to be paid to the Ottomans, one heavy golden chalice and, foremost, all profits and gains from his taproom. He thus helped protect the town that embraced his father fleeing Ottoman attacks.
This article was originally published by The Slovak Spectator on August 3, 2015. It has been updated to be relevant today.
