Prievidza

Coordinates: 48°46′16″N 18°37′18″E / 48.77111°N 18.62167°E / 48.77111; 18.62167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Prievidza
City
Above: City centre with Saint Bartholomew church
Below: Holy Trinity Church situated at Piarist square
Car plate
PD
Websitewww.prievidza.sk

Prievidza (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈprɪeʋidza] ; Hungarian: Privigye, German: 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'.[4]

Features

As a central city of Prievidza District and Upper Nitra region (in Slovak: 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.

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.

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:[5]

City centre of Prievidza with Holy Trinity Church in background
Holy Trinity Church with Marian column of Holy Mary

Gallery

  • Saint Bartholomew Church with Marian column
    Saint Bartholomew Church with Marian column
  • Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin built in 1260
    Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin built in 1260
  • Baroque trinity column with statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the archangels St. Raphael, St. Michael and St. Gabriel
    Baroque
    trinity column
    with statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the archangels St. Raphael, St. Michael and St. Gabriel
  • Monument to the fallen of the Slovak National Uprising located at the centre of the main square of the city
    Monument to the fallen of the Slovak National Uprising located at the centre of the main square of the city
  • Locomotive depot from 1912
    Locomotive depot from 1912
  • The statue of St. Cyril and Methodius
    The statue of
    St. Cyril and Methodius

Geography

Prievidza lies at an altitude of 280 metres (919 ft)

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.[16]

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[17]
Source 2: OGIMET (July record high)[16]

Demographics

According to the 2001

Education

In the city are twelve

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 sport in the city.

Slovakia Men's Volleyball League. Football has an over 100 years long tradition in the city.[18]

Footballers such as Martin Škrtel, Juraj Kucka, Patrik Hrošovský and Dávid Hancko were raised in local football club Baník.[19]

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

Sports teams in Prievidza

Arenas and stadiums

Twin towns – sister cities

Prievidza is

twinned with:[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic (www.statistics.sk). "Hustota obyvateľstva - obce". www.statistics.sk. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Základná charakteristika". www.statistics.sk (in Slovak). Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  3. ^ Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic (www.statistics.sk). "Počet obyvateľov podľa pohlavia - obce (ročne)". www.statistics.sk. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  4. ISBN 978-80-89396-11-5. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Full text: Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
    .
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Objavujte Prievidzu: Naj pamiatky v Prievidzi" [Discover Prievidza: The best sights in Prievidza]. Prievidza Oficiálna stránka (in Slovak).
  6. ^ "Historic sites: Piarist Roman Catholic Church". Prievidza: Oficiálne stránky mesta Prievidza. 2008.
  7. ^ "Historic sites: St. Bartholomew's Church". Prievidza: Oficiálne stránky mesta Prievidza. 2008.
  8. ^ "Historic sites: Church of St. Mary". Prievidza: Oficiálne stránky mesta Prievidza.
  9. ^ "Historic sites: Triple Column 'plague sculpture'". Prievidza: Oficiálne stránky mesta Prievidza. 2008.
  10. ^ "Historic sites: Memorial to those killed in the Slovak National Uprising". Prievidza: Oficiálne stránky mesta Prievidza. 2008.
  11. ^ "Historic sites: Engine Depot". Prievidza: Oficiálne stránky mesta Prievidza. 2008.
  12. ^ "Historic sites: Burgher Houses". Prievidza: Oficiálne stránky mesta Prievidza. 2008.
  13. ^ "Historic sites: St. Mary's Column". Prievidza: Oficiálne stránky mesta Prievidza.
  14. ^ "Historic sites: Statue of St. Florian". Prievidza: Oficiálne stránky mesta Prievidza. 2008.
  15. ^ a b c "Municipal Statistics". Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Archived from the original on 11 January 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  16. ^ a b "11867: Prievidza (Slovakia)". ogimet.com. OGIMET. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Prievidza Climate Normals 1991–2020". World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Vyvrcholením osláv 100. výročia futbalu v Prievidzi nedeľňajší exhibičný zápas "Kuco" tím vs. "Škrťo" tím".
  19. ^ "Ktorým mestám a klubom ďakujeme za náš národný tím?".
  20. ^ "Partnerské mestá" (in Slovak). Prievidza. Retrieved 2 September 2019.

External links