Bánovce nad Bebravou (, ) is a town in

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 ...

, in the

Trenčín Region The Trenčín Region (, ; ; ) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. It consists of nine districts ('' okresy''). The region was established in 1996: previously it had been a part of the West Slovak Region () and partly the Central S ...

Names

The name is derived from the personal name or title Bán meaning "the village of Bán's people". "Nad Bebravou" means "above Bebrava" (

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

river).Martin Štefánik - Ján Lukačka et al. 2010, Lexikón stredovekých miest na Slovensku, Historický ústav SAV, Bratislava, 2010, . http://forumhistoriae.sk/-/lexikon-stredovekych-miest-na-slovensku The oldest inscription mentioning the town as ''villa Ben'' dates back to 1232. Other recorded names are ''Villa Ban'' (1318), ''Banowitz'' (1389), ''oppidum Banowcz'' (1439), ''Ban'' (1467), ''Banowcze'' (1471).

Geography

It is located at the northernmost edge of the Danubian Hills, at the foothills of the Strážovské vrchy mountains at the confluence of the Radiša and Bebrava rivers. It is 25 km away from Prievidza, 30 km from

Trenčín Trenčín (, also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a List of towns in Slovakia, city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech Republic, Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a populati ...

and 50 km from Nitra.

History

The oldest settlement stems from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. The town was promoted in 1376 into free royal town (until 1389, then landlord township). In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Bánovce became an important trade centre - for shoemakers, carpenters, smiths, butchers, weavers and others. In 1633, the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

encroaching from the south plundered the town. The first elementary school was opened in the 17th century. During the first Czechoslovak republic, it was an agricultural-crafting town. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the town was taken by Romanian troops of the 1st Army on 5 April 1945. After World War II, automobile, furniture and textile industries developed.

Places of interest

* Saint Nicholas Church - an originally Gothic church from the 15th century * Holy Trinity Church * Synagogue - now used as a Lutheran church * Country castle in the Horné Ozorovce borough In total, there are 15 cultural memorials in the town and its boroughs inscribed in the central inventory of cultural memorials in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

. The Bánovská Parenica (the most famous cycling race in the region) is regularly organized every year on the 6th of September and goes through this village. The competition is available for a high range of cyclists. It starts in the town of Bánovce nad Bebravou and is organized by the regional club of tourists and JPL.

Demographics

According to the 2001

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 20,901 inhabitants. 97% of inhabitants were

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

, 1.4% Roma and 0.7%

Czechs The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...

. The religious makeup was 73.9%

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, 11.5% people with no religious affiliation, and 11.3%

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

Boroughs

The city consists of the following boroughs: #Bánovce nad Bebravou #Biskupice #Dolné Ozorovce #Horné Ozorovce #Malé Chlievany

Famous people

* Jozef Forgáč (1904 – 1966), SDB,

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

end

Missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

(

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Twin towns — sister cities

Bánovce nad Bebravou is twinned with: * Kopřivnice, Czech Republic * Milotice, Czech Republic * Lubliniec, Poland *

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

, Hungary

Genealogical resources

The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive in Nitra (). * Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1700-1895 (parish A)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banovce nad Bebravou Cities and towns in Slovakia