Zvolen (; hu, Zólyom; german: Altsohl) is a town in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of

Hron The Hron ( sk, Hron; german: Gran; hu, Garam; la, Granus) is a long left tributary of the DanubeSlatina rivers, close to

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica ...

. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the West and by Javorie and Štiavnické vrchy from the South. Zvolen is a seat of a county (

Zvolen District Zvolen District (''okres Zvolen'') is a district in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia. Until 1918, most of the present-day district belonged to the Zvolen county, apart from Lešť in the south-west which was part of the county of ...

). It is also an important transportation hub in Slovakia.

Etymology

The name is of Slovak (Slavic) origin meaning "the chosen one, splendid, excellent". The Hungarian ' and the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

' were derived from the Latinized form ' (earliest mention 1135). An adjective "Old" (german: Altsohl, sk, Starý Zvolen, la, Antiquum or Vetus Solium) distinguish Zvolen from

(german: Sohl, Neusohl).

History

Zvolen has been inhabited since the Paleolithic. In the ninth century, a Slavic settlement (today the Môťová neighborhood) became a regional center of what is now central Slovakia. Zvolen remained the capital of

Zólyom County Zólyom county (in Latin: ''comitatus Zoliensis'', in Hungarian ''Zólyom (vár)megye'', in Slovak ''Zvolenský komitát/ Zvolenská stolica/ Zvolenská župa'', in German ''Sohler Gespanschaft/Komitat Sohl'') was an administrative county (comita ...

until the 1760s. In the 11th and 12th centuries, one of the largest medieval castles in Europe,

Pustý hrad Pustý hrad ( hu, Pusztavár) is a castle whose ruins are located on a forested hill in the southern part of Zvolen in central Slovakia. With an area of 76,000 m² it is arguably one of the largest medieval castles in Europe. The original name wa ...

, was constructed. The town, originally built under the castle, lay on an important trade route (''Via Magna'') from

Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...

to Kraków. Zvolen was granted

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

by King

Béla IV Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar ...

in the 1230s - as one of the first towns in the Kingdom of Hungary. The privileges were confirmed on 28 December 1243, after the original document was destroyed in war. Later, King Louis I the Great built a new

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

, which became a popular hunting resort of the Hungarian kings. The future queen regnant

Mary of Hungary Mary, also known as Maria of Anjou (, , ; 137117 May 1395), reigned as Queen of Hungary and Croatia (officially 'king') between 1382 and 1385, and from 1386 until her death. She was the daughter of Louis the Great, King of Hungary and Poland, ...

and emperor

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it '' Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

celebrated their wedding there in 1385. In the

Rákóczi's War of Independence Rákóczi's War of Independence (1703–11) was the first significant attempt to topple the rule of the Habsburgs over Hungary. The war was conducted by a group of noblemen, wealthy and high-ranking progressives and was led by Francis II Rákó ...

the Kuruc army in the battle of Zvolen defeated the enemy forces from Austria, Denmark,

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capita ...

and Hungary. In 1848–49,

Ľudovít Štúr Ľudovít Velislav Štúr (; hu, Stur Lajos; 28 October 1815 – 12 January 1856), known in his era as Ludevít Štúr, (pen names : B. Dunajský, Bedlivý Ludorob, Boleslav Záhorský, Brat Slovenska, Ein Slave, Ein ungarischer Slave, Karl Wi ...

was a member of the Diet, with Zvolen as his constituency. In 1871–1872, two new railways were built and Zvolen became an important railroad hub and important industrial center. Zvolen played an important role during the

Slovak National Uprising The Slovak National Uprising ( sk, Slovenské národné povstanie, abbreviated SNP) was a military uprising organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. This resistance movement was represented mainly by the members of the ...

. Two of its

armored train An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns and autocannons. Some also had slits used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, a facili ...

s, which were made in the local railway manufactory, Hurban and Štefánik can be seen near the Zvolen castle. Zvolen is an important railroad, an important road hub and has a large timber factory and a technical university, the Technická univerzita vo Zvolene. An

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

in nearby

Sliač Sliač ( hu, Szliács) is a small spa town located in central Slovakia, on the Hron river, between Banská Bystrica and Zvolen. The town is known for its healing hot springs and for an airport which has been used for military as well as civil purp ...

offers direct flights to Prague. The town square was modernized in 2002 and local businesses are popular with tourists. In wintertime an ice rink is constructed in the center and festive celebrations run throughout December.

Demographics

Zvolen has a population of 43,147 (as of 31 December 2005). According to the 2001 census, 95.9% of inhabitants were

Slovaks The Slovaks ( sk, Slováci, singular: ''Slovák'', feminine: ''Slovenka'', plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovak. In Slovakia, 4.4 mi ...

and 1.2%

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

. The religious make-up was 52.5% Roman Catholics, 26.4% people with no religious affiliation, and 15% Lutherans.

Sport

The local ice hockey team HKm Zvolen plays in the

Slovak Extraliga The Tipos Extraliga (Slovak Extraliga) is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From the 2018–19 season to the 2020–21 season, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. In 2009, it was ranked by the IIHF as the fifth str ...

Notable people

* Bálint Balassi, poet and nobleman *

Karol Beck Karol Beck (born 3 April 1982) is a male former tennis player from Slovakia, who turned professional in 2001. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 36, achieved in August 2005. Beck reached the fourth round of the 2004 US Open and the qu ...

, tennis player * Jozef Cíger-Hronský, writer * Ján Lašák, ice hockey player *

Vladimír Maňka Vladimír Maňka (born 19 September 1959 in Lučenec) is a Slovak politician and Member of the European Parliament (2004–2019) with the Direction, part of the Socialist Group. In parliament, Maňka sits on the European Parliament's Committee ...

, politician * Vladimír Mečiar, politician *

František Velecký František Velecký (often credited as Fero Velecký, 8 March 1934 – 5 October 2003) was a Slovak actor. Velecký was a very particular figure of Slovak acting, being antipode to venerated mainstream showbiz celebrities. Although he had never ...

, actor *

, politician, linguist, writer

Twin towns — sister cities

Zvolen is a member of the

Douzelage The Douzelage is a town twinning association with one town from each of the member states of the European Union. The name is a portmanteau of the French words "douze" for twelve and "jumelage" for twinning and stands for the twelve founder member ...

, a town twinning association of towns across the European Union. This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals. As of 2019, its members are: * Agros, Cyprus *

Altea Altea (, ) is a city and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain, on the section of Mediterranean coast called the Costa Blanca. At present, the economy of Altea is based on tourism, which started to grow in the 1950s because of ...

, Spain *

Asikkala Asikkala () is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Vääksy, at the shores of the Lake Päijänne. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. Asikkala's neighboring municipalities are H ...

, Finland *

Bad Kötzting Bad Kötzting (; before 2005: Kötzting; Northern Bavarian: ''Bad Ketzing'') is a town in the district of Cham, in Bavaria, Germany, near the Czech border. It is situated in the Bavarian Forest, southeast of Cham. Overview Bad Kötzting has the ...

, Germany * Bellagio, Italy *

Bundoran Bundoran () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The town is located near the N15 road near Ballyshannon, and is the most southerly town in Donegal. The town is a tourist seaside resort, and tourism has been at the heart of the local economy s ...

, Ireland * Chojna, Poland * Granville, France * Holstebro, Denmark *

Houffalize Houffalize (; german: Hohenfels; wa, Oufalijhe) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium.Sven Vrielinck: De territoriale indeling van België 1795-1963 Volume 1. Universitaire Pers Leuven 2000. page 4 ...

, Belgium * Judenburg, Austria *

Kőszeg Kőszeg (german: Güns, ; Slovak: ''Kysak'', sl, Kiseg, hr, Kiseg) is a town in Vas County, Hungary. The town is famous for its historical character. History The origins of the only free royal town in the historical garrison county of Vas ...

, Hungary * Marsaskala, Malta * Meerssen, Netherlands *

Niederanven Niederanven ( lb, Nidderaanwen ; german: Niederanwen) is a commune Luxembourg, located north-east of Luxembourg City, and derives its name from principal town, Niederanven. , it has a population of 6,156. The commune of Niederanven is the inters ...

, Luxembourg *

Oxelösund Oxelösund is a locality and the seat of Oxelösund Municipality in Södermanland County, Sweden with 11,488 inhabitants in 2018. It is located less than south from the city centre of its larger neighbour Nyköping, with the two urban areas form ...

, Sweden *

Preveza Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epi ...

, Greece *

Rokiškis Rokiškis () is a city in northeastern Lithuania with a population of about 14,400. History The legend of the founding of Rokiškis tells about a hunter called Rokas who had been hunting for hares ( Lit. "kiškis"). However, cities ending in " ...

, Lithuania * Rovinj, Croatia *

Sesimbra Sesimbra () is a municipality of Portugal, in the Setúbal District, lying at the foothills of the ''Serra da Arrábida'', a mountain range between Setúbal and Sesimbra. Due to its particular position at the Setúbal Bay, near the mouth of the Sa ...

, Portugal *

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. T ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Sigulda Sigulda (; german: Segewold, pl, Zygwold, russian: Сигулда) is a town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, from the capital city Riga. Overview Sigulda is on a picturesque stretch of the primeval Gauja river valley. Because of the reddish De ...

, Latvia *

Siret Siret (; german: Sereth; hu, Szeretvásár; uk, Серет, Seret; yi, סערעט, Seret) is a town, municipality and former Latin bishopric in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Siret is ...

, Romania * Škofja Loka, Slovenia *

Sušice Sušice (; german: Schüttenhofen) is a town in Klatovy District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administ ...

, Czech Republic *

Tryavna Tryavna ( bg, Трявна ) is a town in central Bulgaria, situated in the northern slopes of the Balkan range, on the Tryavna river valley, near Gabrovo. It is famous for its textile industry and typical National Revival architecture, featuring ...

, Bulgaria *

Türi Türi is a town in Järva County, Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Türi Parish. Since 2000, Türi is known as the "spring capital" of Estonia. It has a railway station on the Tallinn - Viljandi railway line operated by Elron (rail tra ...

, Estonia ;Other twinnings *

Imatra Imatra is a town and municipality in southeastern Finland. Imatra is dominated by Lake Saimaa, the Vuoksi River and the border with Russia. On the other side of the border, away from the centre of Imatra, lies the Russian town of Svetogorsk. S ...

, Finland *

Zwoleń Zwoleń ( yi, זוואלין ''Zvolin'') is a town in eastern Poland, in Masovian Voivodeship, about east of Radom. It is the capital of Zwoleń County. Population is 8,048 (2009). Zwoleń belongs to Sandomierz Land of the historic provinc ...

, Poland *

Prachatice Prachatice (; german: Prachatitz) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. Administrative parts Prac ...

, Czech Republic * Tótkomlós, Hungary *

Rivne Rivne (; uk, Рівне ),) also known as Rovno (Russian: Ровно; Polish: Równe; Yiddish: ראָוונע), is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast ( province), as well as the surrounding Rivne ...

, Ukraine

Gallery

File:Zvolen, zámok, sedile.JPG, File:Pancierovy vlak-Zvolen.jpg, Armored train Hurban File:Zvolen city centre.jpg, City centre of Zvolen File:Zvolen, evanjelícky kostol.JPG, File:Zvolen1596.jpg, Zvolen in 1596 File:Uni zvolen logo.svg, File:Rivero Slatina en Zvolen2.JPG, Slatina river in Zvolen

References

External links

Official municipal website of ZvolenTechnical University in Zvolen
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Slovakia