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 Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

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 The Martin Declaration () is the name usually given to the ''Declaration of the Slovak people, Slovak Nation'' () that was proclaimed in the town of Turčiansky Svätý Martin (now Martin, Slovakia) on 30 October 1918. The declaration was effec ...

(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 The Holocaust in Slovakia was the systematic dispossession, deportation, and murder of Jews in the Slovak Republic, a client state of Nazi Germany, during World War II. Out of 89,000 Jews in the country in 1940, an estimated 69,000 were murde ...

, tens of thousands of Jews were deported from Žilina. Žilina was captured on 30 April 1945 by

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

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 The 4th Ukrainian Front () was the name of two distinct Red Army strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The front was first formed on 20 October 1943, by renaming the Southern Front and was involved in the Lower ...

, 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 The Kysuca () is a river in northern Slovakia. It is a right tributary to the Váh. The river gives name to the informal Kysuce region. It is long and its basin size is . Its source is near the village of Makov. At first, the river flows in no ...

, 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 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 ...

. The city is surrounded by these mountain ranges:

Malá Fatra Malá Fatra (; also Little Fatra or Lesser Fatra, , ) is a mountain range in the Western Carpathians in the north-west of Central Slovakia. In the geomorphological system, it is a part of the Fatra-Tatra Area.Craig Stephen Cravens ''Culture And Cu ...

, Súľovské vrchy,

Javorníky The Maple Mountains, Javornik Mountains, or Javorniks (Czech and Slovak: ''Javorníky'') are a mountain range of the Slovak-Moravian Carpathians that forms part of the border between the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Its highest point is Veľk� ...

and Kysucká vrchovina. Protected areas nearby include the

Strážov Mountains Protected Landscape Area Strážov Mountains Protected Landscape Area () is one of the 14 protected landscape areas in Slovakia. The Landscape Area is situated in the Strážov Mountains and the Súľov Mountains, part of the Western Carpathians, in western Slovakia. It ...

, the

Kysuce Protected Landscape Area Kysuce Protected Landscape Area () is one of the 14 protected landscape areas in Slovakia. It is made of two separate parts, the Javorníky mountains in the west, and Kysucké Beskydy mountains in the east, in north-western Slovakia. It is situ ...

, 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 In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

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 Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

, 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 Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

, 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 Trnové () is a city part in the north-western part of Slovakia, approximately 7 kilometres south-east from Žilina. History The city part was first mentioned as a village in 1393. Geography It has population of around 2,600 people. Sights T ...

section (one of the few outside north-eastern Slovakia) * The

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

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 Lesser, from Eliezer (, "Help/Court of my God"), is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolf Lesser (1851–1926), German physician * Aleksander Lesser (1814–1884), Polish painter and art critic * Anton Lesser (born 1952), Bri ...

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 Strečno () is a village and municipality in the Žilina District in the Žilina Region in North Slovakia. It is located by the Váh River in the Malá Fatra Mts. Situated 7 km east from Žilina, Strečno is most famous for its gothic architec ...

, 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 Vlkolínec is a village under the administration of the town of Ružomberok in Slovakia. Historically, however, it was a separate village. The first written mention of the village came from 1376 and after 1882 it became part of Ružomberok. Its n ...

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 MŠK Žilina () is a Slovak football club based in the town of Žilina, that is playing in the Slovak First Football League. Since the league inception in 1993, the club has won 7 titles and comes second in All-time table that makes them one o ...

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 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

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,

, 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 The University of Žilina was established on 1 October 1953 as the College of Railways in Prague. In 1959, the institution changed its name to the University of Transport and moved to Žilina. As a result of the increasing role of communication ...

, 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 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 ...

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 Žilina Airport is an international public airport located in Žilina, Slovakia. Located near the village of Dolný Hričov, the airport is situated approximately 15 km from the city centre of Žilina and 12 km from the city's railway ...

, 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 Pavol Bajza (born 4 September 1991) is a Slovak footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Železiarne Podbrezová. Career Born in Žilina. Bajza began his career with Považská Bystrica, later Pavol joined Dubnica in 2006, aged just 15. Afte ...

* Peter Baláž *

Martin Gamboš Martin Gamboš (born 23 January 1998) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Armenian club Noah. Club career Žilina Gamboš made his Fortuna Liga debut for Žilina against Ružomberok on 4 August 2018. Senica Despi ...

, footballer * Štefan Beniač (1869–1942), Slovak priest, preacher and publicist *

Tomáš Bezdeda Tomáš Bezdeda (born 2 December 1985) is a Slovaks, Slovak singer. Career Bezdeda's popularity rose to fame after placing third in ''Slovensko Hľadá SuperStar'', the Slovak version of ''Pop Idol'', on Radio and Television of Slovakia. Bezde ...

(born 1985, here), singer * Peter Cehlárik (born 1995), Slovak hockey player * Jakab Cseszneky de Csesznek et Visk, medieval magnate *

Martin Dúbravka Martin Dúbravka (born 15 January 1989) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Newcastle United and the Slovakia national team. He is widely considered one of the best Slovakian footballers of all time. After p ...

, footballer *

Martin Ďurica Martin Ďurica (born 11 July 1981 in Žilina) is a Slovak football midfielder currently playing for FK Senica, who has represented the Slovakia national team playing in the qualifiers for Euro 2004. At club level, Ďurica played for MŠK Ži ...

, footballer *

Ľubomír Feldek Ľubomír Feldek (* 9 October 1936, Žilina, Czechoslovakia) is a Slovak poet, writer, playwright, and translator. He is married to Oľga Feldeková. Feldek is the author of several books of poetry (''Kriedový kruh'', ''Paracelsus'', and ''Mi ...

(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 Ľudovít Fulla (27 February 1902, Ružomberok – 21 April 1980, Bratislava) was a Slovak painter, graphic artist, illustrator, stage designer and art teacher. He is considered one of the most important figures of Slovak creative art in the 20th ...

Stanislav Griga Stanislav Griga (born 4 November 1961) is a Slovak football manager and a former player. He played 34 matches for Czechoslovakia and scored eight goals. Playing career As a player of AC Sparta Prague, Griga played at the 1983 European Super Cup ...

(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 Tomáš Hubočan (; born 17 September 1985) is a retired Slovakia, Slovak professional footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He made his senior international debut in 2006. He has gone on to make 73 appearances fo ...

, footballer * Miroslav Hýll, footballer *

Juraj Jánošík Juraj Jánošík (first name also ''Juro'' or ''Jurko'', ; ''Hungarian: Jánosik György'', baptised 25 January 1688, died 17 March 1713) was a Slovak highwayman. Jánošík has been the main character of many Slovak novels, poems, and films. ...

, Slovak national hero *

Michael Kolář Michael Kolář (born 21 December 1992) is a Slovak Enduro mountain bike competitor. Kolář also competed as a road bicycle racer between 2012 and 2018 for the , and teams. For the 2014 season, Kolář joined UCI World Tour team, , from the ...

, cyclist * Karol Križan, ice hockey player * Dušan Kuciak * Martin Kuciak * Branislav Labant *

Gwido Langer Lt. Col. Karol Gwido Langer ( Zsolna, Austria-Hungary, 2 September 1894 – 30 March 1948, Kinross, Scotland) was, from at least mid-1931, chief of the Polish General Staff's Cipher Bureau, which from December 1932 decrypted Germany's milita ...

* Dávid Leimdörfer (1851–1922), rabbi and author *

Vladimír Leitner Vladimir Leitner (born 28 June 1974) is a retired Slovak football defender who last played for the Slovak Corgoň Liga club MŠK Žilina. Leitner played 25 international games for Slovakia and scored one goal. Honours Trnava *Slovak Cup: 19 ...

(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 Ján Mikolaj (born 19 October 1953) is a Slovak politician, a member of Slovak National Party and the Slovak Education Minister from 2006 to 2010. Formerly, he was a member of Mečiar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia Movement may refer to: ...

(born 1953), Minister of Education of Slovakia (2006–2010) *

Marek Mintál Marek Mintál (; born 2 September 1977) is a Slovak professional football coach and a former player who played as a attacking midfielder or forward. Playing career Mintál started to play football in Slovak club MŠK Žilina, with whom he won ...

(born 1977), association football player *

Juraj Okoličány Juraj Okoličány (28 March 1943 – 10 September 2008) was a Slovak ice hockey referee and ice hockey administrator. He officiated from 1962 to 1986, including games in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League, IIHF World Junior Championships, ...

(1943–2008), ice hockey referee * Roman Ondak *

Emil Pažický Emil Pažický (14 October 1927 in Považský Chlmec – 21 November 2003 in Bratislava) was a Slovak football player, who played for Czechoslovakia, for whom he obtained 18 caps (seven goals). He was a participant at the 1954 FIFA World Cup, ...

Peter Pekarík Peter Pekarík (; born 30 October 1986) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Dynamo České Budějovice and the Slovakia national team. Club career MŠK Žilina Born in Žilina, Pekarík played football at the youth ...

, 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 Juraj Sagan (born 23 December 1988 in Žilina) is a Slovak former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 2010 to 2022, for the , , and teams. During his professional career, Sagan took four victories – all of whi ...

(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 Ľuboš Šoška (born 21 December 1977 in Žilina) is a Slovak slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1994 to 2006, specializing in the C2 discipline where he was partnered by his older brother Peter Šoška. The brothers ...

(born 1977), slalom canoeist * Peter Šoška (born 1976), slalom canoeist * Martin Šulík (born 1962), actor and movie director *

Miroslav Šustek Miroslav Šustek (born 1947) was a Slovaks, Slovak Horror fiction, horror and ghost story writer. Despite his forty years of prolific writing, his debut short story collection, ''Nie ste vy náhodou ten chýrny pán Rafin?'' (Are You By Any Chanc ...

, writer * Viktor Tausk, psychoanalyst *

Jozef Vengloš Jozef Vengloš (18 February 1936 – 26 January 2021) was a Slovak professional football player and manager. He held a doctorate in Physical Education and also specialised in Psychology. He was selected by FIFA on various occasions to lecture a ...

* 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, Czech Republic * Grodno, Belarus * Kikinda, Serbia * Krasnoyarsk, Russia * Nanterre, France * Plzeň, Czech Republic * Prague 15, Czech Republic * Třinec, 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 Žilina, Cities and towns in Slovakia Žilina Region Holocaust locations in Czechoslovakia