Žilina
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Žilina | |
|---|---|
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| Region (kraj) | Žilina Region |
| District (okres) | Žilina District |
| Location | |
| Altitude | 342 m |
| Population | 86,137 (2005) |
| Area | 80.03 km² |
| Time Zone • Summer DST |
CET: UTC+1 CEST: UTC+2 |
| Telephone prefix | +421-41 |
| Postal code | 01001 |
| Car registration plate | ZA |
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Žilina (German: Sillein, Hungarian: Zsolna, Polish: Żylina, Latin: Solna) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around 200 km from the capital, Bratislava. It is the fifth largest town of Slovakia, important industrial centre, the largest town on the Váh river and the seat of the Žilina region (kraj) or a Higher Territorial Unit (VÚC), and of the Žilina district (okres).
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[edit] Geography
Žilina is located at the confluence of Váh, Kysuca and Rajčanka (or Rajčianka) rivers, in the Žilina basin. It is surrounded by these mountain ranges: Lesser Fatra, Strážovské vrchy, Súľovské vrchy, Javorníky and Kysucká vrchovina. There are two hydroelectric dams on the Váh river around Žilina: the Žilina dam east of the town and the Hričov dam west of the town.
[edit] Climate
Average temperature in July is 18°C, in January -4°C. Average annual rainfall is 650 - 700 mm, most of rainfall is in June and in the first half of July. Snow cover lasts from 60 to 80 days in year.
[edit] Symbol
The coat-of-arms of Žilina has golden double-cross (so-called cross of Lorraine) and two golden stars on the olive-green undercoat. The double-cross is of Byzantine origin and stems from cyrillic-methodic tradition. The coat-of-arms is one of the oldest town coat-of-arms not only in Slovakia. It has been used as a town symbol since 1378.
[edit] History
Regions around today's Žilina were inhabited in the late Stone Age (around 20 000 BC). Slavs started to move into area in the 5th century. The first record about Žilina as a town was in 1208, when it was a small Slovak town. Nearly everything from the old Žilina was destroyed at the end of the 13th century, just to be rebuilt by the German colonists from the area around Těšín. In 1321, King Charles I made Žilina a free royal town. On 7 May 1381 King Louis I issued Privilegium pro Slavis which made Slovak inhabitants equal to the German colonists by occupying half of the seats in the city council. The town was burned in 1405 by the Hussites and it declined for some time. It was slowly regaining its position again in the 17th century as a centre of manufacturing, trade and education. At the times of baroque many monasteries, churches were built, as well as the Budatín Castle. During the revolution years of 1848/1849 it was place of victory of Slovak volunteers against Hungarian troops. The town boomed in the second half of the 19th century, as new railway tracks were built: the Košice-Bohumín Railway was finished in 1872 and the railway to Bratislava in 1883, and new factories started to sprung up, for example drape-producing factory Slovena (1891) or Považie chemical works (1892). It was one of the first towns to sign the Martin declaration (30 October 1918), and it was until March 1919 seat of the Slovak government. On 6 October 1938, an autonomy within the Czechoslovakia was declared in Žilina. After the World War II, the town experienced boom, many new factories, schools, and house estates were built. It was seat of Žilina region in 1949-1960 and again in 1996. Today Žilina is the fifth largest town of Slovakia, third most important industrial centre in Slovakia, and the seat of an university named Žilinská univerzita (founded 1953). Since 1990 the historical centre of the city has been largely restored, the town built at its own expenses trolleybus lines and the construction of D1, D3 motorways and their feeders continues towards Žilina.
[edit] Demographics
Ethnic groups (2001 census):
- Slovaks (96.90%)
- Czechs (1.61%)
- Roma (0.23%)
- Hungarians (0.12%)
- Moravians (0.11%)
[edit] Travel
From Žilina bus station (Slovak: autobusová stanica), it is possible to reach interesting locations in Western/Central Slovakia by bus. Such places include Bojnice, Orava, Strečno and the Malá Fatra mountains.
[edit] Culture and sights
[edit] Theatres and museums
There are two theatres in Žilina: the City Theatre [1], and the Puppet Theatre [2]
There are three museums in Žilina:
- Považská galéria (Považie gallery)
- Považské múzeum (Považie museum), in the Budatín castle
- Múzeum židovskej kultúry (Museum of Jewish culture)
[edit] Landmarks
The historical centre of the city is the Mariánske námestie, with the Church of St. Paul, old building of the city council, baroque statue of Virgin Mary and so on. Other landmarks include:
- The Budatín castle
- Wooden Roman Catholic church of St. George in the city part of Trnové (one of the few outside north-eastern Slovakia)
- Church of St. Stephen the King, the oldest architectonic landmark in Žilina
- Orthodox synagogue, now houses the Museum of Jewish culture
[edit] Sport
- Football - MŠK Žilina plays in the Slovak Corgoň Liga
- Ice hockey - MsHK Žilina plays in the Slovak Extraliga
[edit] Economy
Žilina is the main business and industrial hub of the Váh river basin. The biggest employer is the car producer Kia Motors. By 2007, the plant plans to produce 300,000 cars per year and employ around 3000 people. Kia's investment in Žilina amounts to over 1 billion dollars. Another big employer is Tento, a paper mill company. Žilina is also seat to some major Slovak companies, particularly from construction sector.
[edit] Transport
The town is an important international road and rail junction. Connecting West of Slovakia : Bratislava, North Čadca and East Martin and Prievidza. Žilina is also served by international Žilina Airport, which is some 10 km away from the city centre.
Public transport vehicles:
[edit] City parts
City parts: Bánová, Brodno, Budatín, Bytčica, Celulózka, Mojšova Lúčka, Považský Chlmec, Strážov, Trnové, Vranie, Zádubnie, Zástranie, Závodie, Žilina and Žilinská Lehota.
Apartment blocks city parts: Hájik, Hliny I-VIII, Solinky, Vlčince I-IV.
Other parts: Bôrik, Frambor, Hruštiny, Kálov, Malá Praha, Nová Žilina, Nový Chlmec, Rosinky, Rudiny, Šašvárka, Šibenice, Veľký diel, Závažie.
[edit] Twin towns
Žilina has several twin towns:
Bielsko-Biała, Poland
Corby, England
Ferrara, Italy
Changchun, China
Maykop, Russia
Nanterre(part of Paris), France
Piatra Neamţ, Romania
[edit] Interesting facts
There is also a small village in the Czech Republic called Žilina.
[edit] Pictures
 Mariánske námestie, the main square |
 Church of the Holy Trinity and Burian Tower (belltower) |
 Church of st. Pavol apostol, Mariánske námestie |
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 Mariánske námestie |
 Town hall, Mariánske námestie |
 Mariánske námestie |
 City square |
[edit] People
- Tomáš Bezdeda, singer
- Mikuláš Dzurinda, former Prime Minister of Slovakia
- Ľubomír Feldek, Slovak poet
- Juraj Jánošík, Slovak national hero
- David Leimdörfer, rabbi
- Marek Mintál, football (soccer) player
- Karol Križan, ice hockey player
- Ronald Petrovický, ice hockey player
- Stanislav Griga, football coach
- Martin Šulík, actor
- Viktor Tausk, psychoanalyst
- Radoslav Židek, snowboarder, first medal winner at the Winter Olympic Games from Slovakia
- Ján Slota, Slovak nationalist politician and former mayor of Žilina
[edit] External links
- Official site (Slovak)/(English)
- Unofficial site(Slovak)
- Žilina travel guide from Wikitravel
- Žilina information
- 3D map of the city
- Photo gallery of Žilina (Slovak)
- Považie museum in Žilina (Budatín castle) (Slovak)
| edit | Municipalities of Žilina District |  |
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Rajec | Rajecké Teplice | Žilina |
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