The Group of Zipser Friends was founded during 2009-2010. It is not an association; we have chosen to function as a group, a circle of friends. The members of the group are about 180 people of Spiš/Szepes origin and those who are interested in the region. Members mainly keep in touch online or through email correspondence. Our goal is to rediscover and introduce the largely forgotten Zipser and Hungarian culture and society of Spiš/Szepes.

We seek contact with people whose family comes from the Spiš/Szepes region, wherever they live now. At the same time, we find it most important to keep in touch with the Hungarian- and German-speakers still living in the area.

The former website of the community (locseitemeto.eoldal.hu) operated from 2009. During the years, a large amount of interesting, relevant material was added to the site, which attracted over half a million visitors.   Most of the contents of the old website have been updated and transferred to the current one.  Those interested in the history of Spiš/Szepes county are invited to join our public Facebook group (with over 1500 members, mainly from Hungary and Slovakia).
 
Personal gatherings, at the same time, are equally important for our community. Since 2010, a Spiš Evening (Szepesi Est) is being held each year. All of these events are documented on this website in detail, with photos. What is more, we have organized three meetings in the region itself (in the years 2011, 2015 and 2019). All of these events were extremely successful and attended by many participants. With an aim to involve the younger generations, we occasionally organize hiking tours in the Tatra mountains (so far in 2016 and 2020).
 
Our group cooperates as partners with Domus Scepusiensis foundation (run by engineer Gyula Greschik from Budapest) whose objective is also the preservation of the Spiš/Szepes culture. In addition, we cooperate with the Dr. Genersich Antal Foundation under the auspices of the Semmelweis University of Budapest, on topics related to the Spiš/Szepes region.

Another aim of this website is to evoke the life and traditions of the former citizens and nobility of the region with the help of historical records, written documents, artifacts and photographs, some of which can be found in public collections, others are of family property.
Special attention is paid to the beautiful and valuable local cemeteries, such as the Lutheran cemetery in Levoča/Lőcse or the historical gravestones in the cemetery of Kežmarok/Késmárk.
Also, we keep track of and draw attention to books and publications on the history of the Spiš/Szepes region.

Our members participate in the implementation and promotion of exhibitions introducing the history of Spiš/Szepes and its settlements, its notable personalities and events.
We seek contact with Hungarian and non-Hungarian people, local patriots and experts focusing on the region.

Also, we follow the activities of non-Hungarian (German, Slovak, English or Polish) organizations, as well as websites, films and publications which address Spiš/Szepes.

Check out our website for latest news and information of interest. To help you navigate, the articles are categorized in 14 themes. Browse the site index for the names of people, families and places, or use the search window to find words or phrases.

Chief Editor:
Gábor Bethlenfalvy / S-men Bt.
Email: bethlenfalvy[dot]gabor[at]yahoo.com

Contact the editors:
Ildikó Hollóházy– tmihil[at]t-online[dot]hu
Miklós Czenthe – mczenthe[at]gmail[dot]com
Gábor Bethlenfalvy– bethlenfalvy[dot]gabor[at]yahoo[dot]com

Visit our Facebook group:  
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