Čadca (; until 1918 Čatca, Czača, , ) is a district town in northern

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, near the border with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Etymology

The name is derived from a word ''čad'' (smoke, soot;

Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium BC through the 6th ...

: ''čadъ'', Slovak/ Czech: ''čad'', Polish: ''czad'' ). The form ''Čadca'' is a toponymic appellative. The name was probably motivated by the burning glades.

Geography

It is located south of the Jablunkov Pass, surrounded by the Javorníky, Kysucké Beskydy and Turzovská vrchovina mountain ranges. It lies in the valley of the Kysuca river, around north of

Žilina Žilina (; ; ; ; Names of European cities in different languages: U-Z#Z, names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the List of cities ...

and is part of the historic region of Kysuce. A Goral minority lives in the surroundings.

Climate

Čadca has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dfb'').

History

The town was established in the 17th century; the first written reference dates back to 1565 as ''Tzaczcka''. The town charter was granted in 1778.

Demographics

According to the 2010

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, the town had 24,959 inhabitants with 2.2% Czech and 0.4% Roma. The religious make-up was 82.97% Roman Catholics and 0.36% Lutherans; most of others stated no religious affiliation.

Industry

One of the world's largest (and last) producers of

vacuum tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, thermionic valve (British usage), or tube (North America) is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric voltage, potential difference has been applied. It ...

s, JJ Electronic has a factory in Čadca.

Transport

Čadca railway station is the town's main station. It forms part of the cross-border Žilina–Čadca–Svrčinovec zastávka–Mosty u Jablunkova railway (to the Czech Republic), and is also a junction station for two other lines, one of them also cross-border (to Poland). The station offers services to several destinations in the two cross-border countries. For the Czech Republic, there are many trains to

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

, Bohumín or

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, operated by trains of the

České dráhy České dráhy (English: ''Czech Railways''), often shortened to ČD, is the major Rail transport, railway operator in the Czech Republic providing regional and long-distance services. The company was established in January 1993, shortly after ...

and LEO Express companies, and to Poland, there are trains towards Zwardoń.

Notable people

* Karin Ann (born 2002), singer and songwriter * Ľubomír Michalík (born 1983), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Čadca is twinned with: *

Valašské Meziříčí Valašské Meziříčí (; ) is a town in Vsetín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monum ...

, Czech Republic *

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

, Poland *

Żywiec Żywiec () is a town on the River Soła in southern Poland with 31,194 inhabitants (2019). It is situated within the Silesian Voivodeship, near the Żywiec Lake and Żywiec Landscape Park, one of the eight protected areas in the voivodeship. H ...

, Poland

References

Genealogical resources

The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Bytca, Slovakia" * Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1742-1902 (parish A)

External links

*
of living people in Cadca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cadca Villages and municipalities in Čadca District Cities and towns in Slovakia