Prievidza

Prievidza (Privigye, Priwitz) is a city in the central-western Slovakia. With approximately 46,000 inhabitants it is the second biggest municipality in the Trenčín Region and 11th largest city in Slovakia generally.

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'.

Features
As a central city of Prievidza District and Upper Nitra region (in Horná Nitra), Prievidza is a seat for many institutions of regional importance – governmental as well as commercial.

Because of its relatively high percentage of planted trees, Prievidza is commonly called the "green city".

Prievidza has six boroughs: Staré mesto (meaning 'Old Town'), Píly, Necpaly, Kopanice, Zápotôčky and Žabník. Three adjoining villages are an administrative part of Prievidza: Hradec, Malá Lehôtka and Veľká Lehôtka.

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.



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.

Sights
Although the most visited place of interest in the region is undoubtedly Bojnice Castle located in nearby town of Bojnice, Prievidza also has several historical sights which are visited by tourists. These include:




 * The Piarist Church of the Holy Trinity and the Assumption: Possibly the most famous is the Holy Trinity or Piarist Church, commenced in 1666 and built in baroque style by Italian architect Biberelli. Construction of the church finished in the middle of the 18th century. Situated in Piarist square, it is one of the most beautiful baroque monuments in Central Europe;
 * Saint Bartholomew Church: Also called the Parish Church (in farský kostol), built in gothic style late in the 14th century, and extended in the 17th century. It is situated at Pribina square and beside it is a Marian column built in 1693, one of the oldest in Slovakia;
 * Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin: The oldest church in the city, built in 1260, located on Mariánské hill. The original church was Late Romanesque style but was rebuilt in baroque style by the Carmelites in the 16th century. The only interior monument in the church preserved to the present is a medieval sculpture of Holy Mary from the middle of the 15th century;
 * Plague trinity column: A baroque Marian and Holy Trinity column erected 1739 on Freedom Square (Námestie Slobody), the main square of the city, to protect the city from plague and war. Surmounting the column is a statue of the Virgin Mary, and statues of the archangels Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel stand encircling the column near its base, above the plinth. On the front face of the column, towards the mid-point of its height, a high-relief of St Rosalie, a saint traditionally invoked against plague, is shown. The stone sculptures are by Dionýz Stanetti.
 * Other visited monuments in Prievidza include:
 * Monument to the fallen of the Slovak National Uprising built in the 1950s in the centre of Freedom Square;
 * The 1912 locomotive depot is one of the best-preserved buildings of this type in Slovakia;
 * Statue of St. Cyril and Methodius by sculptor Stanislav Mikušat, unveiled at its location on Andrej Hlinka street in July 1998;
 * Burgher houses dating from the 18th and 19th centuries stand on Freedom Square. They are registered on the Central Register of Cultural Monuments;
 * An 18th-century Marian column in honour of Holy Mary at Piarist square, close by the Piarist Church of the Holy Trinity;
 * A 1793 statue of St. Florian, the patron saint of fire fighters, at Pribina square.

Geography
Prievidza lies at an altitude of 280 m above sea level and covers an area of 43.06 km2. The city is situated very near the smaller but more famous town of Bojnice, actually sharing the 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 km south of Žilina, 69 km east of the regional capital Trenčín and 158 km 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 was registered in Prievidza.

Demographics
According to the 2001 census, the town had 53,097 inhabitants. 96.65 per cent of inhabitants were Slovaks, 0.95 per cent Czechs, 0.48 per cent Hungarian and 0.29 per cent Roma and Germans. The religious make-up was 61.91 per cent Roman Catholics, 29.01 per cent people with no religious affiliation and 2.29 per cent Lutherans.

Education
In the city are twelve kindergartens, eight primary schools (elementary schools) and eight middle schools (high schools) consisting of two gymnasiums, one commercial-business academy and five secondary professional schools.

The Faculty of Management Science & Informatics of the University of Žilina has in Prievidza a branch providing bachelor's degree study.

Sport


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.

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

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
Prievidza is twinned with:


 * 🇩🇪 Ibbenbüren, Germany
 * 🇨🇿 Šumperk, Czech Republic
 * 🇮🇹 Luserna San Giovanni, Italy
 * Valjevo, Serbia
 * Velenje, Slovenia
 * 🇵🇱 Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Poland
 * 🇷🇺 Novomoskovsk, Russia