Sliač is a small spa town located in central Slovakia, on the Hron river, between Banská Bystrica and Zvolen. The town is known for its healing hot springs and for an airport which has been used for military as well as civil purposes. Sliač has a population of less than 5,000. History The town arose through a merger of two villages, Hájniky and Rybáre, in 1959 and was given the name […]
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Šaštín-Stráže is a town in the Senica District, Trnava Region in western Slovakia. Originally two separate villages, now it is one of the youngest towns in Slovakia, having received town privileges on 1 September 2001. Geography The town lies in the Záhorie lowlands, around 18 km (11 mi) from Senica and 65 km (40 mi) from Bratislava. The Myjava River flows through the town, dividing the town’s two parts. History The first written mention […]
Bojnice is a historical town in central Slovakia at the upper Nitra river, near the city of Prievidza. It has a population of around 5,000. Bojnice is best known for its tourist attractions: the oldest zoo in Slovakia, the most visited castle, and one of the oldest spa towns in Slovakia. The town is situated below the Bojnice Castle, which is built on travertine rock with a natural […]
Nesvady is a town and municipality in the Komárno District in the Nitra Region of south-west Slovakia. History In the 9th century, the territory of Nesvady became part of the Kingdom of Hungary. In historical records the town was first mentioned in 1269 as Naswod. After the Austro-Hungarian army disintegrated in November 1918, Czechoslovak troops occupied the area, in the 1920, by the Treaty of Trianon the town became part of Czechoslovakia. Between 1938 and […]
Gbely is a town in the Skalica District, Trnava Region in western Slovakia, close to the Czech border. History The first written record about Gbely was in 1392. It gained town rights in the 16th–17th centuries. Petroleum was discovered in 1912 and extraction started in 1914. Geography Gbely lies at an altitude of 190 metres (623 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 59.945 […]
Sládkovičovo is a town in the Galanta District, Trnava Region in southwestern Slovakia. Geography It is located on the Danubian Lowland, in the region known as Dolné Považie (Lower Váh region) on the Dudváh river, around 45 km east of Slovak capital Bratislava and 8 km from district seat Galanta. History The first written record about the town was in 1252 in a document of King Béla II of Hungary, […]
Kremnica is a town in central Slovakia. It has around 5,300 inhabitants. The well-preserved medieval town built above important gold mines is the site of the oldest still-working mint in the world. Main sights The castle built in the 13th through 15th centuries towers over the town. In the first half of the 14th century, it became the residence of the Chamber Count. […]
Ilava is a town in the Trenčín Region, northwestern Slovakia. Name The name is of uncertain origin. The historic medieval names were Lewe, Lewa (the same historic name as Levice), Lewa de cidca fluviom Vag, later Ilava. The form Illava is known from the 19th century and was used after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. Geography It is located in the Ilava Basin near the Váh river at the foothills of Strážovské vrchy mountains, […]
Gabčíkovo is a town and municipality in the Dunajská Streda District, in the Trnava Region of southwestern Slovakia. It has around 5,100 inhabitants of whom approximately 90% are Hungarians. After the Communist Czechoslovak takeover, the city was named after Jozef Gabčík, an important figure in the Czechoslovakian resistance to Nazi occupation. History In the 10th century, the territory of Gabčíkovo became part […]
Poltár is a town and municipality in the Poltár District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia. Geography The town is located in the Southern Slovak basin near the river Ipeľ, south of the Revúcka Hills, which is part of the Slovak Ore Mountains, around 18 km (11.18 mi) from Lučenec. It is home to a small production bespoke crystal maker called Slovglass Poltar that currently supplies Debenhams plc department stores in […]
Dobšiná is a town in the Slovenské rudohorie mountains (Slovak Ore Mountains) in Slovakia, on the Slaná River, north-west of Košice. History The earliest surviving written reference to the place dates from 1326; it mentions that ethnic German mining experts had settled here. It received a town charter in 1417, becoming a major town for the minority of Carpathian Germans and a center of mining […]
Svätý Jur is a small historical town northeast of Bratislava, located in the Bratislava Region. The city is situated on the slopes of Little Carpathians mountains and surrounded by typical terraced vineyards with more than 700 years of winemaking tradition. In 1990, the intact city center was declared a protected city reservation. Cadastrially, Svätý Jur includes also the natural reserve Šúr, established in 1952 […]
Rajec is a town in the Žilina District, Žilina Region in northern Slovakia. History The first written record about Rajec was in 1193 as Raich, in a document issued by King Béla III. The first mention as a town comes from 1397. Geography Rajec lies at an altitude of 452 metres (1,483 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 31.459 square kilometres (12.1 sq mi). It […]
Vrbové is a town in the Trnava Region of Slovakia. It has a population of about 6,000. The town lies around 8 km (5 mi) northwest from Piešťany. Characteristics The town features an originally Gothic church from 1397, an Evangelical Lutheran church from 1928-1929 (on the site of an older Protestant church of 1784), a baroque curia from the 17th century, an oriental-style […]
Žarnovica is a town and municipality in the Žarnovica District, Banská Bystrica Region in Slovakia. The town is situated in the Hron river valley. It has a population of around 6,000 people. History The first written mention about Žarnovica is dated to 1332. Geography Žarnovica lies at an altitude of 230 metres (755 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 30.4 square […]
Turčianske Teplice is a town in central Slovakia in the Žilina Region. It is about halfway between Martin and Kremnica. The town’s population is around 6,500. The town was the historic center of the Upper Turiec subregion within the Turiec region (comitatus), and now enjoys the status of a capital of the Turčianske Teplice District. History The town is one of the oldest spa towns in Europe, and was […]
Sobrance is a town in Košice Region, Slovakia, around 15 kilometres (9 miles) from Uzhhorod, Ukraine, and 22 kilometres (14 miles) east of Michalovce. Located in the Eastern Slovak Lowland not far from the Vihorlat Mountains, it is the easternmost town in Slovakia. Sights To the north of the town is Sobranecké kúpele, once a popular spa before the First World War. Today it is totally abandoned. […]
Nemšová is a town in the Trenčín District, Trenčín Region in northwestern Slovakia. Geography It is located in the Ilava Basin on the Váh and Vlára rivers at the foothills of the White Carpathians. It is 15 km (9.32 mi) from Trenčín and 10 km (6.21 mi) from the Czech border. History The first written record about Nemšová was in 1246. The present-day town exists since 1989, when it was created by merger of […]
Veľký Šariš is a small town near Prešov in eastern Slovakia. The town is known as the site of the largest brewery in Slovakia – Šariš Brewery. Geography Veľký Šariš lies at an altitude of 269 metres (883 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 25.73 square kilometres (9.9 sq mi). It is located on the Torysa river, 6 kilometres (4 mi) north-north-west from Prešov. There are […]
Medzilaborce is a town in northeastern Slovakia close to the border with Poland, located near the towns of Sanok and Bukowsko (in southeastern Małopolska). Its population is approximately 6,500. Characteristics It is an administrative and cultural centre of the Laborec Region. A train line connects it with the town of Humenné to the south and with Poland to the north. The private sector and service industries are […]
Lipany is a town in the Sabinov District, Prešov Region in northeastern Slovakia. History The first written mention about Lipany comes from 1312. It gained town privileges in the 16th century. Geography Lipany lies at an altitude of 389 metres (1,276 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 12.648 square kilometres (4.9 sq mi).[2] The Torysa River flows through the town. It is 12 km (7.46 mi) away […]
Spišská Belá is a town in the Kežmarok District in the Prešov Region in Spiš in northern Slovakia. History The town was first mentioned in historical records in 1263. The town received town rights in 1271. Scientist and inventor Joseph Petzval was born here in 1807. The town center has been designated an historic district. The church in the center of the square was […]
Želiezovce is a town in Slovakia in the Nitra Region in the Levice District, near the Hron river. History The territory of the settlement was inhabited as early as the Bronze Age, the Quadi period and the Great Moravian period. The town was first mentioned in 1274. It was heavily damaged at the end of World War II. Archeology The town gave name to the archeological Želiezovce group (named after a find […]
Tornaľa, formerly Šafárikovo, is a town and municipality in Revúca District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia, with a population of approximately 7,000. History The first written record of the settlement dates from 1245. It was ruled by Ottoman Empire as part of Filek sanjak (Its centre was Rima Sonbot) during periods of 1554-1593 and 1596–1686. It was made part of Czechoslovakia, and remained as such except for a […]
Šahy is a town in southern Slovakia, The town has an ethnic Hungarian majority and its population is 7,238 people (2018), with an average age of 42.5. Geography It is located at the eastern reaches of the Danubian Lowland on the river Ipeľ at the Hungarian border, on the E77 road from Budapest to Kraków. Besides the main settlement, it also has two „boroughs“ of Preseľany nad […]
Nová Baňa is a small town in the west of central Slovakia and the largest town of the Žarnovica District, located in the Banská Bystrica Region. Geography Nová Baňa lies in right bank of Hron river. Nová Baňa region is surrounded by a ring of volcanic mountains (Štiavnica Mountains on the east, Pohronský Inovec on the south-west and Vtáčnik on the north-west). Seven kilometers from […]
Trstená is a town in Tvrdošín District, Žilina Region, central Slovakia. Landmarks St Martin’s Church The first written reference to St Martin’s church occurred in 1397. The church was rebuilt on its Gothic foundations during the evangelist movement of the 17th to 18th century.[3] The church contains at least two crypts and other burials. Coffins, clothing and textiles found in the […]
Liptovský Hrádok is a town in northern Slovakia, in the region of Liptov. Geography and climate The region of Liptovský Hrádok is bordered by the Low Tatras to the south and partially bordered by the West and High Tatras. The town is situated in the middle of the Liptov Basin created by the Váh River. It is in the centre of northern Liptov and lies on […]
Hurbanovo is a town and large municipality in the Komárno District in the Nitra Region of south-west Slovakia. In 1948, its Slovak name was changed to Hurbanovo, named after Slovak writer Jozef Miloslav Hurban. History In historical records the town was first mentioned in 1329. Geography The town lies at an elevation of 115 metres and covers an area of 59.943 km². Hurbanovo is situated on […]
Hnúšťa is a town and municipality in the Rimavská Sobota District of the Banská Bystrica Region of southern Slovakia. It is the birthplace of the well-known 19th-century Slovak writer and member of the Štúr generation, Ján Francisci-Rimavský. He is commemorated by a statue and a plaque near the town’s main square. History The town was first mentioned in 1334. Geography Hnúšťa lies at an altitude of 298 […]
Hriňová is a town in the Detva District of central Slovakia. Geography The town is located on the Slatina river, under the Poľana mountains. It is located app. 13 km (8.08 mi) from Detva and 40 km (24.85 mi) from Zvolen. A dam is located above the town. History At first, the town was a part of Detva municipality, which arose in the 17th century. In 1891, Hriňová became a […]
Kráľovský Chlmec (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈkɾaːʎɔʊ̯skiː ˈxl̩mɛts]; until 1948 Kráľovský Chlumec, Hungarian: Királyhelmec) is a town in the Trebišov District in the Košice Region of south-eastern Slovakia. It has a population of around 8,000. History The town was first mentioned in 1214 as Helmech. After the break-up of Austria-Hungary and 1918 partitioning of Kingdom of Hungary in the Treaty of Trianon, the town was awarded to Czechoslovakia. It was annexed again by Hungary […]
Turzovka is a town in the Čadca District, Žilina Region in north-western Slovakia. History The present-day town was established in 1598 by a palatine of the Thurzó family. It gained town status in 1968. This town became well known by the Marian apparitions reported by Matúš Lašut between 1958 and 1962. Geography Turzovka lies at an altitude of 471 metres (1,545 ft) above sea level and covers an […]
Vrútky is a town in northern Slovakia, close to the city of Martin. It lies in the historic Turiec region. Geography The town lies at the confluence of Váh and the Turiec, in the Turčianska kotlina, near the Malá Fatra mountain range. It is located 3 km (2 mi) north of the city of Martin, with which it shares a public transport system, and 25 km (16 mi) from Žilina. Etymology […]
Námestovo is a town in northern Slovakia. It is the capital and largest town of Námestovo District in the Žilina Region. As of 2018 its population was 7,827. Geography The town is located under the Orava Highlands at the shores of the Orava reservoir, not far from the Polish border, around 15 km (9.32 mi) from Tvrdošín and 30 km (18.64 mi) from Dolný Kubín. History The town was mentioned in […]
Krupina is a town in southern central Slovakia. It is part of the Banská Bystrica Region and has approximately 8,000 inhabitants. History The territory of modern-day Krupina was inhabited since the Neolithic, based on archaeological findings from the Bronze Age. The first written reference to the towns river dates back to 1135. The first people to inhabit it were the […]