Soľ

Soľ (Hungarian: Sókút) is a village and municipality in Vranov nad Topľou District in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia. It is one of the oldest villages in eastern Slovakia.

The land that is now Sol' was the location of intermittent human settlements ranging from the Stone Age to the foundation of Sol' itself. It was likely settled because of its advantageous position.

The village was first mentioned in 1252. Its name, Sol', which is Slovak for salt, comes from the three salt water springs which are in the vicinity of the village. The salt from the springs was used to salt foods until the beginning of World War I.

In the summer of 1831, the village suffered a cholera outbreak which was followed by a large peasant uprising.

The village had a sizable Jewish community in the 1800s, which had its own synagogue and may have had a religious school.

The municipality lies at an altitude of 143 metres (469 ft)^[3] and covers an area of 10.29 km² (3.97 sq mi) (2024).^[4]

It has a population of 2664 people (31 December 2024).^[6]

In year 2021 was 2629 people by ethnicity 2260 as Slovak, 534 as Romani, 114 as Not found out, 17 as Czech, 12 as Other, 4 as Ukrainian, 4 as German, 3 as Rusyn, 2 as Hungarian and 2 as English.

Note on population

The difference between the population numbers above and in the census (here and below) is that the population numbers above are mostly made up of permanent residents, etc.; and the census should indicate the place where people actually mainly live. For example, a student is a citizen of a village because he has permanent residence there (he lived there as a child and has parents), but most of the time he studies at a university in the city.

In year 2021 was 2629 people by religion 1322 from Roman Catholic Church, 395 from Evangelical Church, 391 from Greek Catholic Church, 195 from None, 189 from Apostolic Church, 77 from Not found out, 15 from Jehovah's Witnesses, 13 from Other and not ascertained christian church, 8 from Eastern Orthodox Church, 8 from Christian Congregations in Slovakia, 6 from Church of the Brethren, 5 from Ad hoc movements, 2 from Calvinist Church, 1 from Paganism and natural spirituality, 1 from United Methodist Church and 1 from Buddhism.

The village has a railroad station in the outskirts, and a bus stop in the center of the village.

There is a school in the village which serves Soľ and some surrounding villages.^[10] The school had an enrollment of 521 5-9 graders in the 2005/2006 school year. The school itself contains two buildings; an older building built in 1957, and a newer addition built in 1975.

There is also a kindergarten with 65 students (as of the 2005/2006 school year).

Joseph Berta has served as mayor of Sol' since 1994.

• Jakob Jakobeus, a famous Slovak poet, historian, writer, and Protestant priest, lived in Sol' from 1626 to 1629.^[11] He served as pastor of the village during his stay and he wrote a collection of Latin poetry.

• Media related to Soľ at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website