Humenné

Humenné stands near the meeting of the Laborec and Cirocha rivers, on an important route between Hungary and Poland. It became the seat of the Drugeth family, whose great estate encompassed many villages in Upper Zemplín. Trade and a royal customs station contributed to the life of the market town beneath their residence.

Around 1610 the Drugeths built a Renaissance manor on the site of an older stone castle. George Drugeth, having become Catholic, invited the Jesuits to Humenné; their school opened in 1613 and the college was formally endowed in 1615. It played a part in the restoration of Catholic influence in the town and its surrounding villages. The college moved to Užhorod in 1640, though Jesuits continued to work in Humenné thereafter.