Fiľakovo

Fiľakovo (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈfiʎakɔʋɔ]; Hungarian: Fülek, German: Fülleck, Turkish: Filek) is a town in the Banská Bystrica Region of south-central Slovakia. Historically it was located in Nógrád County, as part of the Nógrád, Novohrad, "Newcastle" region.

Fiľakovo Fülek
Municipality
Fiľakovo town square
Flag Coat of arms
Fiľakovo Location of Fiľakovo in the Banská Bystrica Region Show map of Banská Bystrica Region Fiľakovo Location of Fiľakovo in Slovakia Show map of Slovakia
Coordinates: 48.27°N 19.82°E / 48.27; 19.82
Country	Slovakia
Region	Banská Bystrica Region
District	Lučenec District
First mentioned	1246
Government
• Mayor	Attila Agócs (MOST-HÍD)
Area [1]
• Total	16.18 km2 (6.25 sq mi)
Elevation [2]	190 m (620 ft)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	9,726
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	986 01[2]
Area code	+421 47[2]
Car plate	LC
Website	www.filakovo.sk

Geography

It is located in the Cerová vrchovina hills, in the valley of the Belina brook, located around 20 km (12.43 mi) from the Hungarian city of Salgótarján, 85 km (52.82 mi) from Banská Bystrica, about 150 km (93.21 mi) from Košice and around 220 km (136.70 mi) from Bratislava.

History

The first written record of the town, along with the Fiľakovo Castle is from 1242, where the castle withstood the Mongol invasions. It is mentioned in 1246 as Filek. In 1423 the town received municipal privileges. In 1553 the town with the castle was conquered by the Turks and was the seat of a sanjak until 1593, when it was reconquered by the Imperial troops. However, it was conquered once more by the Ottomans in 1662 and the town along with the castle was burned down in 1682 by troops of Imre Thököly. It was finally passed to Austrians in 1686. Before the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, it was part of Nógrád County within the Kingdom of Hungary. It again belonged to Hungary from 1938 to 1945 as a result of the First Vienna Award.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1970	7,880	—
1980	9,390	+19.2%
1991	10,165	+8.3%
2001	10,198	+0.3%
2011	10,817	+6.1%
2021	9,949	−8.0%
Source: Censuses[4][5]

Population statistic (10 years)^[6]

Year	1994	2004	2014	2024
Count	10,227	10,329	10,695	9623
Difference		+0.99%	+3.54%	−10.02%

Population statistic^[6]

Year	2023	2024
Count	9683	9623
Difference		−0.61%

It has a population of 9623 people (31 December 2024).^[7]

Ethnicity

Census 2021 (1+ %)^[8][9]

Ethnicity	Number	Fraction
Hungarian	6578	66.11%
Slovak	3222	32.38%
Romani	1122	11.27%
Not found out	639	6.42%
Total	9949

In year 2021 was 9949 people by ethnicity 6578 as Hungarian, 3222 as Slovak, 1122 as Romani, 639 as Not found out, 35 as Czech, 14 as German, 14 as Other, 10 as Chinese, 9 as Romanian, 6 as Polish, 5 as Ukrainian, 5 as Russian, 4 as Italian, 3 as Serbian, 2 as Jewish, 2 as Vietnamese, 2 as Turkish, 1 as Irish, 1 as Austrian, 1 as French, 1 as English and 1 as Albanian.

Note on population

The difference between the population numbers above and in the census (here and below) is that the population numbers above are mostly made up of permanent residents, etc.; and the census should indicate the place where people actually mainly live. For example, a student is a citizen of a village because he has permanent residence there (he lived there as a child and has parents), but most of the time he studies at a university in the city.

Religion

Census 2021 (1+ %)^[10]

Religion	Number	Fraction
Roman Catholic Church	5950	59.81%
None	2478	24.91%
Not found out	902	9.07%
Evangelical Church	157	1.58%
Calvinist Church	130	1.31%
Christian Congregations in Slovakia	103	1.04%
Total	9949

In year 2021 was 9949 people by religion 5950 from Roman Catholic Church, 2478 from None, 902 from Not found out, 157 from Evangelical Church, 130 from Calvinist Church, 103 from Christian Congregations in Slovakia, 84 from Jehovah's Witnesses, 50 from Greek Catholic Church, 21 from Seventh-day Adventist Church, 19 from Other and not ascertained christian church, 16 from Other, 12 from Buddhism, 8 from Ad hoc movements, 7 from Baptists Church, 3 from Paganism and natural spirituality, 3 from Islam, 2 from Jewish community, 2 from Eastern Orthodox Church, 1 from Old Catholic Church and 1 from Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Twin towns — sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Slovakia

Fiľakovo is twinned with:^[11][12]

• Bátonyterenye, Hungary
• Salgótarján, Hungary
• Szécsény, Hungary
• Szigethalom, Hungary
• Ustrzyki Dolne, Poland

People

• Sándor Büchler, rabbi, historian
• Frank Lowy, Australian businessman
• Allan Vilhan, musician
• Vica Kerekes, actress

Gallery

• 
  Aerial photography of the castle
• 
• 
• 
  Fiľakovo castle.
• 
  Fiľakovo viewed from the castle.

See also

• List of municipalities and towns in Slovakia