Many preserved historical buildings are the evidence of the 770 years of its existence. It was mentioned for the first time in 1233 in the deed of donation by KingAndrew II.
Originally, Mošovce was made up of two settlements: The first one, Machyuch, was located in the area of today’s Starý Rad, and the second one, Terra Moys, which gave the village its current name, occupied the place of the present day Vidrmoch. And it is the name of the second settlement meaning The Land of Mojš, which makes us believe that the whole village once belonged to certain Mr. Mojš, whose name might have been an abbreviation of a compound Slavic name Mojtech, similar to the names Vojtech or Mojmír. Throughout history the name of the village has undergone many variations ranging from Mossovych, Mosocz, Mossowecz, villa regia Mayos alio nomine Mossovych, oppidioum Mayus sue Mosocz, Mosocz olim Mayus to the present-day Mošovce.
The name of a separate ancient part of Mošovce, a former settlement Chornukov, has been preserved in the modern form of Čerňakov. Yet another part of the village bears the name of Mazan.
Mošovce first developed as a royal settlement with a free advocacy, and from the middle the 14th century as a privileged town subjected to the royal castle of Blatnica. In 1527 it fell into the hands of the Révay family, who suppressed the town privileges of Mošovce for almost 400 years.
In the past, Mošovce was an important craft center of the Turiecregion. Crafts experienced a surprising expansion, and there were around 15 guilds active in the town; the bootmaker and the most famous furrier guild were the ones to survive for the longest time. Before the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, Mošovce was part of Turóc County within the Kingdom of Hungary. From 1939 to 1945, it was part of the Slovak Republic. The present-day Mošovce can be characterized as an important tourist area with many sights.
Geography
The surroundings of Mošovce are truly unique. A complex of historic tree avenues and groves creates an aesthetic and impressive landscape, which works as an extension to the woodland scenery of the Veľká Fatra Mountains with its peaks of Tlstá, Ostrá and Drienok. This mountain range belongs to the most attractive ones in Slovakia. Limestone and dolomite rock formations of fantastic shapes, as well as the beautiful nature in the nearby Blatnická and Gaderská Valleys attract people from all parts of the world.
A stream called Mošovka flows through Mošovce, and is divided into two distributaries: the main stream, and the so-called Upper Stream, which was in the past used to propel the mill.
The northern part of the town, next to its part Čerňakov, hosts a system of ponds fed by the Čierna Voda stream. Originally the ponds belonged to the Révay manor, while today they are used predominantly for breeding trout.
According to the 2001 census, the municipality had 1,380 inhabitants, confirming a slight 4,7% decrease of the town population in the last 7 years. 98.62% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 0.72% Czechs and 0.14% Hungarian.[5] The religious make-up was 54.78% Lutherans, 30.36% Roman Catholics and 12.97% people with no religious affiliation.[5]
The village hosts the Associated School of Farming and Fishery, which belongs to only a few of its kind in Central Europe. As for annual events, the traditional Michael's Mošovce Fair, which takes place in early October, is one of the largest fairs in Slovakia. In addition to the New Year's fireworks and a classical Maypole celebrations, another event worth mentioning is a Fire Brigadeball organized during the Carnival period and connected to a Mask March. In the past, until the beginning of the 1990s, a half-marathon with the name of The SNP Run was held in the town annually. In addition to that, at the end of August Mošovce becomes the site of the ŠRZ Drienok Cup Volleyball tournament - the largest amateur volleyballtournament in Slovakia, founded in 1977, with the participation of around 90 teams. At the same time, a solemn wreath-laying takes place under the Slovak National Uprising monument.
Town economy
Until the beginning of the 1990s the town had a hide-processing factory together with the connecting fur-processing industry. Later the inhabitants changed focus to provision of tourist services (local thermal springs and nature are used), food industry (baking facilities), construction field (production of concrete prefabricates, house kits, as well as traditional construction industry) and fishery (Mošovce ponds). Agriculture still keeps its importance, with an increasing significance of forestry.
It is, however, necessary to emphasize, that the town's function is still predominantly residential and the majority of economically active inhabitants commute to the nearby Turčianske Teplice or Martin.
