Žilina (; ; ; ; names in other languages) is a city in north-western

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 ...

, around from the capital

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. ...

, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Slovakia with a population of approximately 80,000, an important industrial center, the largest city on the

Váh The Váh (; , ; ; Wag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich (''in Geograph ...

river, and the seat of a ''

kraj A '' Kraj'' ( ''kraje'') is the highest-level administrative unit in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. For lack of other English expressions, the Slavic term is often translated as "province", "region", or "territory", although it ...

'' (

Žilina Region The Žilina Region (; ; ) is one of the eight Regions of Slovakia, Slovak administrative regions and consists of 11 districts (okresy) and 315 municipalities, from which 18 have a town status. The region was established in 1923, however, in its p ...

) and of an ''

okres Okres (Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak term meaning "district" in English; from German Kreis - circle (or perimeter)) refers to administrative entities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is similar to Landkreis in Germany or " ...

'' (

Žilina District Žilina District () is an ''okres'' (district) of the Žilina Region in north-western Slovakia. The district was first established in 1923. Its present borders date from 1996. The heart of the district is the Váh and Rajec river valleys. Urbaniza ...

). It belongs to the

Upper Váh region The Upper Váh region () is a tourism region in the north-west of Slovakia. Because of its beautiful countryside, it is one of the most visited regions in Slovakia. In the past it was part of Trencsén County. Geography The region lies along th ...

of tourism.

Etymology

The name is derived from Slavic/Slovak word ''žila'' - a "(river) vein". Žilina means "a place with many watercourses". Alternatively, it is a secondary name derived from Žilinka river or from the name of the local people, Žilín/Žiliňane.

History

The area around today's Žilina was inhabited in the late

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

(about 20,000 BC). In the 5th century,

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

started to move into the area. However, the first written reference to Žilina was in 1208 as ''terra de Selinan''. From the second half of the 10th century until 1918, it was part of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. In the middle of the 13th century, ''terra Sylna'' was the property of the

Cseszneky de Milvány Cseszneky is a surname of Hungarian origin. Notable people * Benedek Cseszneky, office holder, diplomat * György Cseszneky, castellan of Tata and Győr * Gyula Cseszneky (1914-ca 1970) poet, translator, Macedonian Voivode * Imre Cseszneky, a ...

family. The city started to develop around 1300, and, according to records in 1312, it was already a town. In 1321, King Charles I made Žilina a free royal town. On 7 May 1381, King

Louis I Louis I may refer to: Cardinals * Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (1527–1578) Counts * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois (1172–1205) * Louis I of Flanders (1304–1346) * Louis I of Châtillon (died 13 ...

issued

Privilegium pro Slavis The ''Privilegium pro Slavis'' ("Privilege for the Slavs") is a privilege granted to the Slovaks in Žilina. (; ), Kingdom of Hungary, by the King Louis I during his visit there in 1381. According to this privilege, Slovaks and Germans each occup ...

, which made the Slav inhabitants equal to the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

by allocating half of the seats at the city council to Slavs. The town was burned in 1431 by the

Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...

s. During the 17th century, Žilina gained position as a center of manufacturing, trade, and education, and, during the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

age, many monasteries and churches, as well as the

Budatín Castle The Budatín Castle () is a castle in north-western Slovakia, near the city of Žilina, where the Kysuca river flows into the Váh river. History It was built as a guarding castle in the second half of the 13th century near the confluence of the ...

, were built. In the

Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, Slovak volunteers, part of the Imperial Army, won a battle near the city against Hungarian honveds and gardists. The city boomed in the second half of the 19th century as new railway tracks were built: the Kassa Oderberg Railway was finished in 1872 and the railway to

(Pozsony in Hungarian) in 1883, and new factories started to spring up, such as the drapery factory ''Slovena'' (1891) and the Považie chemical works (1892). It was one of the first municipalities to sign the Martin Declaration (30 October 1918), and until March 1919, it was the seat of the Slovak government. On 6 October 1938, shortly after the

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...

, the autonomy of Slovakia within Czechoslovakia was declared in Žilina. During the Holocaust in Slovakia, tens of thousands of Jews were deported from Žilina. Žilina was captured on 30 April 1945 by Czechoslovak and

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front, after which it again became part of Czechoslovakia. After the war, the city continued its development with many new factories, schools and housing projects being built. It was the seat of the

from 1949 to 1960 and again since 1996. Today, Žilina is the fourth largest city in Slovakia, the third most important industrial center and the seat of a

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, the Žilinská univerzita (founded in 1953). Since 1990 the historical center of the city has been largely restored and the city has built

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

lines.

Geography

Žilina lies at an altitude of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

and covers an area of . It is located in the Upper Váh region () at the confluence of three rivers: Váh, flowing from the east into the south-west, Kysuca, flowing from the north and

Rajčanka Rajčanka or Rajčianka () is a river in northern Slovakia springing in Strážovské vrchy near Čičmany and pouring into Váh in Žilina. It is long and its basin size is . It forms the border of Lúčanská Malá Fatra Mountains and of Strá� ...

rivers from the south, in the Žilina Basin. The city is surrounded by these mountain ranges: Malá Fatra, Súľovské vrchy, Javorníky and Kysucká vrchovina. Protected areas nearby include the Strážov Mountains Protected Landscape Area, the Kysuce Protected Landscape Area, and the Malá Fatra National Park. There are two

hydroelectric dams Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also ...

on the Váh river around Žilina: the Žilina dam in the east and the Hričov dam in the west.

Climate

Žilina lies in the north temperate zone and has a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

with four distinct seasons. It is characterized by a significant variation between hot summers and cold, snowy winters. The average temperature in July is , in January, . The average annual rainfall is ; most of the rainfall occurs in June and in the first half of July. Snow cover lasts from 60 to 80 days per year.

Symbol

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of Žilina is a golden double-cross (so-called

cross of Lorraine The Cross of Lorraine (), known as the Cross of Anjou in the 16th century, is a heraldry, heraldic two-barred cross, consisting of a vertical line crossed by two shorter horizontal bars. In most renditions, the horizontal bars are "graded" with ...

) with roots and two golden stars on an olive-green background. The double-cross is of Byzantine origin and stems from

Cyril Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek language, Greek name (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various variant forms of t ...

lic- methodic tradition. This is one of the oldest municipal coat of arms, not only in Slovakia, but in Europe. It has been used as the city's symbol since 1378.

Demographics

Žilina has a population of 82,664 (as of September 2020), with the population of the urban area of 108,114 and the population of the metro area of 159,729. 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 ...

, 96.9% 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 ...

, 1.6%

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 ...

, 0.2% Romani, 0.1%

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

and 0.1%

Moravians Moravians ( or Colloquialism, colloquially , outdated ) are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group from the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, who speak the Moravian dialects of Czech language, Czech or Czech language#Common Czech, Common ...

. The religious makeup was 74.9%

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 ...

, 16.7% people with no

religious affiliation Religious identity is a specific type of identity formation. Particularly, it is the sense of group membership to a religion and the importance of this group membership as it pertains to one's self-concept. Religious identity is not necessarily the ...

, and 3.7%

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 ...

Economy

Žilina is the main industrial hub of the upper Váh

river basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...

region, with a fast-growing economy as north-west Slovakia's business center with large retail and construction sectors. By far the biggest and most important employer is Korean car maker

Kia Motors Kia Corporation (, formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry (京城精密工業) and Kia Motors Corporation) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, ...

. By 2009, the plant produced 300,000 cars a year and had up to 3,000 employees. Kia Motors' direct investment in the Žilina car plant amounts to over 1.5 billion

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

. In 2009 the Žilina car plant produced Kia Cee'd, Kia Sportage and Hyundai ix35 car models. Kia Motors is further upgrading its capacity to be ready to produce engines for a sister company,

Hyundai Hyundai is a former South Korean industrial conglomerate ("''chaebol''"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Asan, a real estate construction ...

, located at

Nošovice Nošovice (, ) is a municipality and village in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,000 inhabitants. Etymology The name originates from ''lokator'' Potmienoss, who settled with his people ...

in 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 ...

with a planned investment of US$200 million. Žilina is also the seat of the biggest Slovak construction and transportation engineering company, Vahostav. The chemical industry is represented by Považské chemické závody and Tento, a

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

company.

Siemens Mobility Siemens Mobility GmbH is a division of Siemens. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens Mobility has four core business units: Mobility Management, dedicated to rail technology and intelligent traffic systems, Railway Electrification, ...

also has an engineering center in Žilina.

Main sights

The historical center of the city, reconstructed in the early 1990s is protected as a city monument reserve (). It is centered on the Mariánske námestie and

Andrej Hlinka Andrej Hlinka (born 27 September 1864 – 16 August 1938) was a Slovak Roman Catholic priest, journalist, banker, politician, and one of the most important Slovak public activists in Czechoslovakia before World War II. He was the leader of the ...

squares. The Mariánske námestie square has 106 arcade passages and 44 burgher houses along the whole square. It is dominated by the Church of St. Paul the Apostle, the old building of the city council, and the baroque statue of

the Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loret ...

. Nearby is the Church of the Holy Trinity, a sacral building built around 1400, which is since February 2008 the cathedral of the Diocese of Žilina. The Church of Saint Stephen the King () is the oldest architectural relic of town Zilina, located just southwest from the center. It is one of the first Romanesque churches in Slovakia, dating back to the years 1200–1250, by the experts. The legend goes that the Hungarian King István I himself ordered to build it. Valuable is the inner decoration of the church. Wall paintings originate from approximately 1260; in 1950 they were discovered and later on restored by the Žilina fine artist Mojmír Vlkoláček. Nowadays it is a popular place for wedding ceremonies. Other landmarks around the city include: *

, housing Považie Museum with its tinker trade exhibition * The wooden Roman Catholic church of St. George in the Trnové section (one of the few outside north-eastern Slovakia) * The Orthodox

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, which now houses the Museum of Jewish culture * The New Synagogue, now a cultural centre The city is a starting point for various locations of western and eastern Slovakia, including hiking trails into the Lesser Fatra and

Greater Fatra Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 *Greater Bank, an Australia ...

mountains. Other locations of interest include Bojnice Castle, Strečno, Orava region, and the villages of

Čičmany Čičmany is a village and municipality in Žilina District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia. It contains a folk architecture reserve, which was founded in 1977. Etymology The name is derived from a Slovak word ''čičman'' (a lumber ...

and Vlkolínec.

Culture

Žilina is candidate city for the title o
European Capital of Culture 2026.
Žilina host several cultural institutions:
Mestské divadlo Žilina
(Žilina City Theater)
Rosenfeld Palace
(Žilina city cultural centre Rosenfeld Palace)
Považská galéria umenia v Žiline
(Považie galerie of contemporary art)
Považské múzeum
(Považie museum), situated in the Budatín castle but also running Strečno castle, Palace in Bytča, open-air museum Čičmany, manor-house in Divinka
Bábkové divadlo Žilina
(Žilina Puppet Theatre)
Múzeum židovskej kultúry
(Museum of

Jewish culture Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not simply a faith-based religion, but an orthopraxy and Ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, ...

)
Štátny komorný orchester Žilina
(Slovak Sinfonietta Žilina)
Krajská knižnica v Žiline
(Regional Library in Žilina)
Stanica Žilina-Záriečie
(Cultural Center Stanica)
Nová synagóga Žilina
(New Synagogue Žilina) Žilina is also home of two multi 3D digital theaters, in Mirage Shopping Centre - Ster Century Cinemas and Cinemax MAX in Max Shopping Centre OC Max Solinky. The city host also several cultural events: * Žilina Cultural Summer * Fest Anca - Animated film festival * Žilina Literary festival * KIOSK – festival of new Slovak theater * Allegretto Žilina – International music Festival * Puppet Žilina * Jánošik's Days

Sport

Football (soccer) club MŠK Žilina plays in the top Slovak division Fortuna liga and is one of the most successful teams in recent years, having won five domestic titles and been runners-up three times between 2001 and 2010. The team's colors are the yellow and green, taken from the city's flag. Home games are played at the

Stadium Pod Dubňom A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

which is situated at the edge of city center in the neighborhood of the

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

stadium. They played in the 2010-11 UEFA Champions League in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

for the first time in their history. Ice hockey club MsHK Žilina plays in the

Slovak Extraliga The Slovak Extraliga, known as the Tipsport liga since the 2025–26 season for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From 2018–19 to 2020–21, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. Teams fro ...

. They have won one domestic title so far. Slovak professional road bicycle racer for World Tour team Bora-Hansgrohe, three-time world champion

Peter Sagan Peter Sagan (; born 26 January 1990) is a Slovak former professional cyclist who competed in road bicycle racing and mountain bicycle racing. Sagan had a successful junior cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing career, winning the junior cross-c ...

, was born in Žilina in 1990, and is considered one of cycling's most promising young talents, having earned many prestigious victories in his early twenties. He was the winner of the points classification in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

in 2012 through 2016; as a result, Sagan became the first rider to win the classification in his first five attempts. In 2015, he was also the first Slovak cyclist to win the

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and , a UCI Road World Championships ...

Government

The city is governed by a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

() and a

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

(Slovak: ''mestské zastupiteľstvo''). The mayor is the head of the city and its chief executive, with a four-year term of office. The current mayor is Peter Fiabáne . The council is the city's legislative body, with 31 councillors. The last municipal election was held in 2014 and councillors are elected to four-year terms, concurrent with the mayor's. Žilina is divided into eight electoral districts, consisting of the following neighborhoods: * Staré mesto, Hliny I-IV, Hliny VIII (5 councillors) * Hliny V-VII, Bôrik (4 councillors) * Solinky (5 councillors) * Vlčince (6 councillors) * Hájik (3 councillors) * Bytčica, Rosinky, Trnové, Mojšová Lúčka (2 councillors) * Závodie, Bánová, Strážov, Žilinská Lehota (2 councillors) * Budatín, Považský Chlmec, Vranie, Brodno, Zádubnie, Zástranie (3 councillors) Žilina is the capital of one of eight considerably autonomous

Regions of Slovakia Since 1949 (except 1990–1996), Slovakia has been divided into a number of (singular ; usually translated as "Regions" with capital R). Their number, borders and functions have been changed several times. There are eight regions of Slovakia a ...

. It is also the capital of a smaller

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

. The

(Slovak: ''okres Žilina'') is nested within the Žilina Region. The city also hosts a regional branch of the

National Bank of Slovakia National Bank of Slovakia (, NBS) is the national central bank for Slovakia within the Eurosystem. It was the Slovak central bank from 1993 to 2008, issuing the koruna. Since 2014, it has been Slovakia's national competent authority within Eur ...

Education

The city is home to the University of Žilina, which has seven faculties and 12,402 students, including 625 doctoral students. There are 18 public

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s, one private primary school, and three church primary schools. Overall, they enroll 7,484 pupils. The city's system of

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

(some middle schools and all high schools) consists of eight gymnasia with 3,514 students, ten specialized

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

s with 3,696 students, and nine

vocational school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

s with 4,870 students.

Transport

The city is an important international road junction, and Žilina railway station is a major rail junction. Roads and railways connect the city with

and

Prievidza Prievidza (; , ) is a city in the western Slovakia. With approximately 46,000 inhabitants it is the second biggest municipality in the Trenčín Region and 11th List of cities and towns in Slovakia, largest city in Slovakia generally. Name The ...

in the south,

Čadca Čadca (; until 1918 Čatca, Czača, , ) is a district town in northern Slovakia, near the border with Poland and the Czech Republic. Etymology The name is derived from a word ''čad'' (smoke, soot; Proto-Slavic: ''čadъ'', Slovak/ Czech: ''ča ...

in the north, and

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

in the east. The construction of the D1, and D3

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

s and their feeders continues towards Žilina. The city is also served by international Žilina Airport, which is about away from the city center. Public transport within the city is operated by DPMZ and consists of

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

es (since 1949) and trolleybuses (since 1994). Night bus services started in Žilina in 1970 with the introduction of one route, the 50, which continues to operate as the sole night bus in the city, operating from 22:55 to 04:22. Route 50 makes a circuitous route of all major residential areas, and includes a stop at Železničná stanica, the principal railway station. File:Škoda 14Tr in Žilina, 2006.jpg, Trolleybus transport File:Zilina from above.jpg, Aerial view of Žilina

Notable people

* AYA (band) * Zuzana Babiaková * Pavol Bajza * Peter Baláž * Martin Gamboš, footballer * Štefan Beniač (1869–1942), Slovak priest, preacher and publicist * Tomáš Bezdeda (born 1985, here), singer * Peter Cehlárik (born 1995), Slovak hockey player * Jakab Cseszneky de Csesznek et Visk, medieval magnate * Martin Dúbravka, footballer * Martin Ďurica, footballer * Ľubomír Feldek (born 1936, here), Slovak poet *

Ján Franek Ján Franek (born 14 April 1960 in Žilina) is a retired boxer, who represented Czechoslovakia at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union. There he won the bronze medal in the light middleweight division (– 71 kg), after being de ...

(born 1960, here) * Ľudovít Fulla * Stanislav Griga (born 1961, here), football coach *

Ladislav Hecht Ladislav Hecht (; ; August 31, 1909 – May 27, 2004) was a Jewish Czechoslovak-American professional tennis player. He won the gold medal in singles at the 1932 Maccabiah Games in Mandatory Palestine, and won the 1934 Hungarian Internationa ...

(1909–2004), tennis player * Tomáš Hellebrandt, (born 1982), Slovak economist and politician * Peter Hoferica, footballer * Anton Hrnko (born 1955, here), historian and politician * Tomáš Hubočan, footballer * Miroslav Hýll, footballer * Juraj Jánošík, Slovak national hero * Michael Kolář, cyclist * Karol Križan, ice hockey player * Dušan Kuciak * Martin Kuciak * Branislav Labant * Gwido Langer * Dávid Leimdörfer (1851–1922), rabbi and author * Vladimír Leitner (born 1974), association football player *

Nela Lopušanová Nela Lopušanová (born 26 February 2008) is a Slovak ice hockey winger for the Bishop Kearney Selects under-19 AAA team. She gained the attention of the international ice hockey community at age fourteen with her remarkable performance at the ...

(born 2008), ice hockey player * Ján Mikolaj (born 1953), Minister of Education of Slovakia (2006–2010) * Marek Mintál (born 1977), association football player * Juraj Okoličány (1943–2008), ice hockey referee * Roman Ondak * Emil Pažický * Peter Pekarík, football player * Ronald Petrovický, ice hockey player * Lukáš Pohůnek, conductor * Dárius Rusnák (born 1959), ice hockey player *

Branislav Rzeszoto Branislav Rzeszoto (born 3 November 1975 in Žilina) is a Slovakian former football goalkeeper. Club career Rzeszoto previously played for MŠK Žilina, FC Spartak Trnava and ŠK Slovan Bratislava in the Slovak Corgoň Liga. He also played ...

(born 1975), association football player * Juraj Sagan (born 1988), cyclist *

(born 1990), cyclist * Vanesa Šelmeková (born 2007), figure scater *

Ján Slota Ján Slota (born 14 September 1953) is the co-founder and former president of the Slovak National Party,Ľuboš Šoška (born 1977), slalom canoeist * Peter Šoška (born 1976), slalom canoeist * Martin Šulík (born 1962), actor and movie director * Miroslav Šustek, writer * Viktor Tausk, psychoanalyst * Jozef Vengloš * Radoslav Židek, snowboarder, first Slovak medal winner at the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Žilina is twinned with: *

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; ; , ; ) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 166,765 as of December 2022, making it the List of cities and towns in Poland#Largest cities and towns by population, 22nd largest city in Poland, and an a ...

, Poland *

Changchun Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin, Jilin Province, China, on the Songliao Plain. Changchun is administered as a , comprising seven districts, one county and three county-level cities. At the 2020 census of China, Changchun ha ...

, China *

Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

, Ukraine *

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

, Belgium *

Frýdek-Místek Frýdek-Místek (, ; ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 54,000 inhabitants. The historic centres of both Frýdek and Místek are well preserved and are protected as two Cultural monument (Czech Republic) ...

, Czech Republic *

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

, Belarus *

Kikinda Kikinda ( sr-Cyrl, Кикинда, ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the North Banat District in Serbia. The city's urban area has 32,084 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 49,326 inhabit ...

, Serbia *

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

, Russia *

Nanterre Nanterre (; ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, b ...

, France *

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

, Czech Republic * Prague 15, Czech Republic *

Třinec Třinec (; ; ) is a city in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the least populated Statutory city (Czech Republic), statutory city in the country. The city ...

, Czech Republic

References

External links

*
DPMZ - public transport official site

Žilina official tourist guide

Žilinak.sk - Leading news website

Map and information system of Žilina

Mesto v ktorom žijeme a nieje nám ľahostajné
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zilina Cities and towns in Slovakia Žilina Region Holocaust locations in Czechoslovakia