Prievidza

Prievidza (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈprɪeʋidza] ^ⓘ; Hungarian: Privigye, German: Priwitz) is a city in western Slovakia. With approximately 46,000 inhabitants it is the second biggest municipality in the Trenčín Region and 11th largest city in Slovakia generally.

Prievidza
City
Above: City centre with Saint Bartholomew church Below: Holy Trinity Church situated at Piarist square
Flag Coat of arms
Prievidza Location in Slovakia Show map of Trenčín Region Prievidza Prievidza (Slovakia) Show map of Slovakia
Coordinates: 48°46′16″N 18°37′18″E
Country	Slovakia
Region	Trenčín
District	Prievidza
First mentioned	1113
Government
• Mayor	Katarína Macháčková
Area [1]
• Total	43.06 km2 (16.63 sq mi)
	(2022)
Elevation [2]	309 m (1,014 ft)
Population  (2022)[3]
• Total	43,645
• Density	1,014/km2 (2,625/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	971 01[2]
Area code	+421 46[2]
Car plate	PD
Website	www.prievidza.sk

Name

The name is probably derived from a personal name Previd with possessive suffix -ja, signifying 'Previd's village'. An alternative and less probable derivation is from the word element, vid- (as in vidieť, 'to see'), so, previdieť, 'to see through', thus 'the village which can be seen from all directions', or 'the village in the thin stand'.^[4]

History

Oldest settlement

The Upper Nitra Basin was inhabited as early as the middle of the Paleolithic period, as evidenced by the rich paleontological findings in Bojnice and Prievidza. Thousands of artifacts have been discovered, including stone tools, animal bone fossils and fireplace remnants.

Middle Ages and early modern period

The first written mention of Prievidza was in 1113, as Preuigan. It was promoted to a royal free town in 1383, on 26 January. This meant that the town obtained privileges such as paying benefits to hold markets, choice of pastor and mayor, building mills, catching fish, the free development of crafts and sale of produce. From the 16th to the first third of the 17th century, the Thurzó family controlled the town. Ottomans approached Prievidza from the south and burned it in 1599, along with other towns in the upper Nitra river valley. In 1666, the Piarists built the baroque church (now known as the Piarist Church) and Monastery, which became a centre of culture and education. During the Kuruc uprising in 1673, Prievidza was burned down again, with fire burning a part of town's archives. In 1870, it had 2,719 inhabitants.

View of Prievidza from 1906

19th and 20th centuries

Since the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, industry started to grow, as the railways to Prievidza were constructed. During World War II, the city was one of the centres of partisans. On 4 April 1945, Prievidza was captured by troops of the Soviet 40th Army. Since the end of the war, the population has grown enormously from 5,000 inhabitants to around 53,000 inhabitants, as industry grew. Prievidza became the home of many miners and workers that found employment in the coal mines located in nearby village Cigeľ and towns Handlová and Nováky.

Geography

The municipality lies at an altitude of 309 metres (1,014 ft)^[2] and covers an area of 43.06 km² (16.63 sq mi) (2024).^[5] The city is near the smaller town of Bojnice, sharing a public transport system. The valley of the Nitra River, in which the city lies, is surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides, in the west Strážov Mountains, in the north Malá Fatra, in the east Žiar and in the south Vtáčnik. Prievidza is the eleventh largest city in Slovakia. It is located around 60 kilometres (37 mi) south of Žilina, 69 kilometres (43 mi) east of the regional capital Trenčín and 158 kilometres (98 mi) from capital city of Slovakia Bratislava (by road).

Climate

Prievidza lies in the north temperate zone and has a continental climate with four distinct seasons. It is characterized by a significant variation between hot summers and cold, snowy winters. On 21 July 2022, a maximum temperature of 38.6 °C (101.5 °F) was registered in Prievidza.^[6]

Climate data for Prievidza (1991−2020)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	14.6 (58.3)	18.0 (64.4)	23.9 (75.0)	30.4 (86.7)	32.0 (89.6)	34.6 (94.3)	38.6 (101.5)	38.2 (100.8)	33.4 (92.1)	28.0 (82.4)	23.9 (75.0)	15.9 (60.6)	38.6 (101.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	2.6 (36.7)	5.2 (41.4)	10.2 (50.4)	17.0 (62.6)	21.4 (70.5)	25.0 (77.0)	27.3 (81.1)	27.1 (80.8)	21.4 (70.5)	15.5 (59.9)	9.1 (48.4)	3.3 (37.9)	15.4 (59.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−1.1 (30.0)	0.6 (33.1)	4.7 (40.5)	10.6 (51.1)	15.2 (59.4)	18.8 (65.8)	20.4 (68.7)	20.0 (68.0)	14.8 (58.6)	9.8 (49.6)	5.3 (41.5)	0.2 (32.4)	9.9 (49.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−4.6 (23.7)	−3.5 (25.7)	0.0 (32.0)	4.3 (39.7)	8.7 (47.7)	12.4 (54.3)	13.9 (57.0)	13.5 (56.3)	9.5 (49.1)	5.3 (41.5)	1.9 (35.4)	−2.9 (26.8)	4.9 (40.8)
Record low °C (°F)	−23.8 (−10.8)	−22.0 (−7.6)	−19.4 (−2.9)	−7.3 (18.9)	−3.7 (25.3)	2.2 (36.0)	4.0 (39.2)	3.6 (38.5)	−1.3 (29.7)	−8.9 (16.0)	−16.2 (2.8)	−24.0 (−11.2)	−24.0 (−11.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	46.1 (1.81)	41.0 (1.61)	41.3 (1.63)	40.3 (1.59)	65.9 (2.59)	78.7 (3.10)	84.0 (3.31)	68.4 (2.69)	59.2 (2.33)	58.1 (2.29)	49.9 (1.96)	45.8 (1.80)	678.7 (26.72)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	8.3	7.4	7.4	6.7	9.7	9.5	9.5	7.9	7.6	8.3	8.2	8.4	99.0
Average snowy days	13.0	10.0	6.1	1.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	4.5	10.1	45.9
Average relative humidity (%)	81.6	76.9	70.5	63.3	66.3	65.0	67.0	68.8	73.7	78.2	79.1	82.9	72.8
Mean monthly sunshine hours	65.2	91.7	141.8	195.9	234.3	244.8	260.2	253.9	173.4	126.5	64.9	52.7	1,905.3
Source 1: NOAA[7]
Source 2: OGIMET (July record high)[6]

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1970	28,425	—
1980	40,813	+43.6%
1991	53,424	+30.9%
2001	53,097	−0.6%
2011	48,978	−7.8%
2021	45,017	−8.1%
Source: Censuses[8][9]

Population statistic (10 years)^[10]

Year	1994	2004	2014	2024
Count	54,427	51,596	47,574	42,429
Difference		−5.20%	−7.79%	−10.81%

Population statistic^[10]

Year	2023	2024
Count	42,980	42,429
Difference		−1.28%

It has a population of 42,429 people (31 December 2024).^[11]

Ethnicity

Census 2021 (1+ %)^[12][13]

Ethnicity	Number	Fraction
Slovak	40,614	90.21%
Not found out	3952	8.77%
Total	45,017

In year 2021 was 45,017 people by ethnicity 40,614 as Slovak, 3952 as Not found out, 420 as Czech, 177 as Hungarian, 167 as Other, 141 as Romani, 101 as German, 88 as Russian, 37 as Rusyn, 35 as Ukrainian, 35 as Polish, 34 as Vietnamese, 22 as Italian, 19 as Serbian, 18 as Chinese, 17 as Romanian, 17 as Croatian, 16 as English, 15 as Bulgarian, 14 as Moravian, 12 as Irish, 9 as Albanian, 8 as Jewish, 6 as Greek, 5 as Austrian, 4 as Turkish, 3 as Silesian, 3 as French, 1 as Korean and 1 as Canadian.

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+ %)^[14]

Religion	Number	Fraction
Roman Catholic Church	19,159	42.56%
None	19,119	42.47%
Not found out	4379	9.73%
Evangelical Church	742	1.65%
Total	45,017

In year 2021 was 45,017 people by religion 19,159 from Roman Catholic Church, 19,119 from None, 4379 from Not found out, 742 from Evangelical Church, 280 from Christian Congregations in Slovakia, 266 from Greek Catholic Church, 193 from Ad hoc movements, 191 from Jehovah's Witnesses, 188 from Other, 92 from Buddhism, 89 from Other and not ascertained christian church, 74 from Eastern Orthodox Church, 63 from Calvinist Church, 45 from Paganism and natural spirituality, 30 from Islam, 19 from Old Catholic Church, 19 from Hinduism, 16 from United Methodist Church, 16 from Seventh-day Adventist Church, 11 from Apostolic Church, 7 from Czechoslovak Hussite Church, 6 from Jewish community, 5 from Church of the Brethren, 4 from Baptists Church, 2 from Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and 2 from Bahá'i Community.

Sport

Basketball is the most popular sport in the city.

Basketball is the most popular and successful sport in the city. Basketball club BC Prievidza won two titles in the former men's top Czechoslovak Basketball League (1989, 1993), and, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, four titles in the men's top Slovak Basketball League (1994, 1995, 2012, 2016). Volleyball club VK Prievidza won two titles (2018, 2019) in the top Slovakia Men's Volleyball League. Football has an over 100 years long tradition in the city.^[15]

Footballers such as Martin Škrtel, Juraj Kucka, Patrik Hrošovský and Dávid Hancko were raised in local football club Baník.^[16]

From Prievidza are also ice hockey players including Andrej Sekera and Martin Štajnoch.

Sports teams in Prievidza

• Basketball – BC Prievidza – Men Top Slovak league
• Volleyball – VK Prievidza – Men Top Slovak league
• Ice hockey – HC Prievidza – 3rd Men Slovak league
• Football – FC Baník Prievidza – 3rd Men Slovak league

Arenas and stadiums

• Niké Aréna (3,400 seats) tenants – BC Prievidza, VK Prievidza
• Futbalový štadión Prievidza (7,500/2,500 for sitting) tenants – FC Baník Prievidza
• Zimný štadión Prievidza (2,788 seats) tenants – HC Prievidza

Twin towns – sister cities

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

Prievidza is twinned with:^[17]

• Ibbenbüren, Germany
• Šumperk, Czech Republic
• Luserna San Giovanni, Italy
• Valjevo, Serbia
• Velenje, Slovenia
• Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Poland
• Novomoskovsk, Russia

See also

• St. Andrew's chapel in Kos