Turzovka

Turzovka (Hungarian: Turzófalva) is a town in the Čadca District, Žilina Region in north-western Slovakia.

Turzovka
Municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Turzovka Location of Turzovka in the Žilina Region Show map of Žilina Region Turzovka Location of Turzovka in Slovakia Show map of Slovakia
Coordinates: 49.40°N 18.62°E / 49.40; 18.62
Country	Slovakia
Region	Žilina Region
District	Čadca District
First mentioned	1592
Government
• Mayor	Ľubomír Golis
Area [1]
• Total	34.91 km2 (13.48 sq mi)
Elevation [2]	522 m (1,713 ft)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	6,989
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	235 4[2]
Area code	+421 41[2]
Car plate	CA
Website	www.turzovka.sk

History

The Marian shrine dedicated to the Turzovka apparitions.

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.

The town museum was established on October 1, 2015.^[4]

Geography

Turzovka lies at an altitude of 471 metres (1,545 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 34.911 square kilometres (13.5 sq mi).^[5] It lies in the Kysuca river valley, surrounded by the mountain ranges of Beskydy and Javorníky.

Population

Population statistic (10 years)^[6]

Year	1994	2004	2014	2024
Count	7611	7792	7660	6853
Difference		+2.37%	−1.69%	−10.53%

Population statistic^[6]

Year	2023	2024
Count	6936	6853
Difference		−1.19%

It has a population of 6853 people (31 December 2024).^[7]

Ethnicity

Census 2021 (1+ %)^[8][9]

Ethnicity	Number	Fraction
Slovak	6715	92.83%
Not found out	443	6.12%
Czech	78	1.07%
Total	7233

In year 2021 was 7233 people by ethnicity 6715 as Slovak, 443 as Not found out, 78 as Czech, 69 as Romani, 10 as Russian, 9 as Polish, 6 as Other, 5 as Ukrainian, 4 as Hungarian, 3 as Albanian, 2 as Irish, 2 as Rusyn, 2 as English, 1 as Jewish, 1 as Italian, 1 as Serbian, 1 as Silesian, 1 as Romanian, 1 as German, 1 as Moravian, 1 as Greek and 1 as Croatian.

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	5981	82.69%
None	578	7.99%
Not found out	484	6.69%
Total	7233

In year 2021 was 7233 people by religion 5981 from Roman Catholic Church, 578 from None, 484 from Not found out, 35 from Greek Catholic Church, 31 from Evangelical Church, 28 from Christian Congregations in Slovakia, 26 from Ad hoc movements, 19 from Calvinist Church, 15 from Other, 9 from Other and not ascertained christian church, 8 from Eastern Orthodox Church, 8 from Paganism and natural spirituality, 3 from Buddhism, 2 from Old Catholic Church, 2 from Jehovah's Witnesses, 2 from Czechoslovak Hussite Church, 1 from Islam and 1 from Apostolic Church.

According to the 2010 census, the town had 7,802 inhabitants. The largest minority group were Czech 0.75% and Roma 0.27%.^[11] The religious make-up was 92.74% Roman Catholics and 0.2% Lutherans, most of the others giving no affiliation.^[12]

Notable people

• Ladislav Polka (1952–2025), politician

Twin towns — sister cities

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

Turzovka is twinned with:^[13]

• Frýdlant nad Ostravicí, Czech Republic
• Győrújbarát, Hungary
• Kęty, Poland