Dobšiná

Dobšiná (German: Dobschau; Hungarian: Dobsina; Latin: Dobsinium) is a town in the Slovenské rudohorie mountains (Slovak Ore Mountains) in Slovakia, on the Slaná River, north-west of Košice. It is situated between Revúcka vrchovina and Volovské vrchy in the Carpathians, and lies to the south of the beautiful Stratená valley, watered by the river Hnilec, and enclosed on all sides by mountains. The well-known ice cave Dobšinská Ice Cave (discovered in 1870) can be found in that valley and belongs to the territory of the village. The first written reference to the settlement occurred in 1326; the text mentions that ethnic German mining experts had settled here. It received a town charter in 1417, becoming a major town for the minority of...