and was consequently knighted in 1357. The bells made by Konrád Gaal are still hanging and form an important conlegacy of European Gothic metal foundry. In 1412 Spišská Nová Ves, along with several other Spiš towns, was pawned as loan security by the Hungarian king Sigmund to the Polish king Vladislaus II Jagiełło. This pledge lasted for 360 years. Blacksmiths were the first local craftsmen to unite into a guild, which was given royal privileges in 1436. They smelted their own ore, or built water-driven forges along the rivers Hornád and Dubnica. Coppersmiths made kettles of a specifically defined weight because kettles were widely used as a means of payment. There were charcoal burners and even resin pickers who collected resin from trees to produce tar for greasing wagons. There were wheelwrights, coopers, weavers, joiners, gunsmiths, basketmakers, bakers, furriers, tanners, cooks and millers, hunters, fishermen and beekeepers. There were many Germans living in Spiš and through their influence the town became Lutheran in the 1540s. Between 1569 and 1674 Catholic services were forbidden in the pawned towns. There were many contacts with Poland and this helped to stimulate the national consciousness of the Slovak people. The pawned towns were returned to the Kingdom of Hungary in 1772. In 1778 Spišská Nová Ves became the capital of the "Province of 16 Spiš towns". In the 19th century the manufacture of stoneware was important in the town. The products all bore a trademark formed from the word "Iglo" with two crossed miners' hammers. Other industrial activities included oil production and a weaving plant as well as agricultural machines. The railway provided an important means of communication from 1870. A power station was built in 1894 and living conditions improved. In July 1929 the Podtatranská výstava (Sub-Tatras Exhibition) showed results of economic growth and made the town famous in Slovakia. During World War II, Spišská Nova Ves was taken by Soviet troops of the 18th Army on 27 January 1945. Spišská Nová Ves today Spišská Nová Ves is a tourist destination today, both because of the town itself and because of the natural environment of the nearby Slovak Paradise mountains. The core of the town is a lens-shaped square (a square with bulging sides), typical of medieval towns). It is a cultural, administrative and business centre of the Spiš region, and is rich in art and historical monuments. Foremost is the three-naved Gothic