Bojnice (; ) is a historical town in east

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 ...

located on the

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra (river), Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of ...

river, near the city of

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 ...

. The town is situated just below the

Bojnice Castle Bojnice Castle (, ) is a medieval castle in Bojnice, Slovakia. It is a Romanesque castle with some original Gothic and Renaissance elements built in the 12th century. Bojnice Castle is one of the most visited castles in Slovakia, receiving hund ...

. It has a population of around 5,000. Bojnice is best known for its popular tourist attractions, among them being the largest zoo in Slovakia and the

Bojnice castle Bojnice Castle (, ) is a medieval castle in Bojnice, Slovakia. It is a Romanesque castle with some original Gothic and Renaissance elements built in the 12th century. Bojnice Castle is one of the most visited castles in Slovakia, receiving hund ...

, and generally for being one of the oldest

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

s in Slovakia.

Geography

Bojnice lies in the upper

Nitra river The Nitra (Slovak language, Slovak: Nitra, , ) is a river in western Slovakia. It flows into the Váh river in Komoča. Its source is in the Malá Fatra (Lesser Fatra) mountains north of Prievidza. The river Nitra passes through the towns of Bojni ...

valley, under the

Strážov Mountains The Strážov Mountains (, ) are a mountain range in northwestern Slovakia, being part of Inner Western Carpathians, and of the Fatra-Tatra Area. They are situated between the towns of Trenčín, Považská Bystrica, Rajec, Prievidza and Bánovce ...

. It is located very near the city of Prievidza with which it shares a common public transport system. Other major cities nearby include

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

60 kilometres to the north and

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

65 kilometres to the west.

History

The town's history is closely connected to that of Bojnice Castle. The town was first mentioned in writing in 1113, when it was mentioned as a settlement under the castle. Bojnice 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 ...

in 1366.

Landmarks

The town is most known for the

, first mentioned in 1113 and originally built as a wooden fort, it was over time built as a stone castle and in the 20th century in the Romantic style. Today, it is a popular tourist attraction. The castle has appeared in many international films and a well-known international festival of spectres takes place there every year. It is built on

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...

rock with a natural cave. The Bojnice zoo was founded in 1955. In 2006 it had 355 different species and more than 1,800 animals. Bojnice is also known for its spa. The therapeutic springs were mentioned in 1549 for the first time. Today they treat patients with disorders of the locomotor system, with

rheuma Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including ar ...

tic diseases, post traumatic conditions, conditions after orthopaedic disturbances of the spine of adolescents, neurological diseases and

occupational disease An occupational disease or industrial disease is any chronic ailment that occurs as a result of work or occupational activity. It is an aspect of occupational safety and health. An occupational disease is typically identified when it is shown th ...

Demographics

According to the 2001

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

, the town had 5,006 inhabitants. 97.06% 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 ...

, 0.68%

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 ...

and 0.24%

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 ...

(

Carpathian Germans Carpathian Germans (, or ''felvidéki németek'', , , ) are a group of Germans, ethnic Germans in Central and Eastern Europe. The term was coined by the historian :de:Raimund Friedrich Kaindl, Raimund Friederich Kaindl (1866–1930), originally ...

). The religious make-up was 74.55%

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 ...

, 19% people with no religious affiliation and 2%

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 ...

Notable people

Karina Habšudová Karina Habšudová (; born 2 August 1973) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as 10 in the world (1997). Together with Karol Kučera, she won the 1998 Hopman Cup, Hopman Cup in 1998. Her best performance at ...

, tennis player *

Miloslav Mečíř Miloslav Mečíř (; born 19 May 1964) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. He won the men's singles gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games, representing Czechoslovakia, and contested two major singles finals. In 1987 he won the WCT Fi ...

, tennis player, Olympic winner *

Andrej Sekera Andrej Sekera (born 8 June 1986) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Born and rai ...

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...

(

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

) defenseman *

Mirka Vavrinec Miroslava "Mirka" Federer (born Miroslava Vavrincová on 1 April 1978, later Miroslava Vavrinec) is a Swiss former professional tennis player of Slovak origin. She is married to tennis player Roger Federer, having first met him at the 2000 Summ ...

, tennis player *

Zuzana Paulechová Zuzana is a common female given name in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is often translated to other languages as Zuzanna ( Polish), Zsuzsanna (Hungarian), Suzanne, Susan, or Susannah – all commonly derived from the Hebrew language name Sho ...

, classical pianist *

Antonia Liskova Antonia Liskova (born 25 March 1977) is a Slovak Italian actress. Career Liskova lived in Slovakia until her 17th birthday. After she graduated in pharmacology and medicinal chemistry, her father offered her a trip to Italy, where she worked a ...

, Italian actress * Erika Pochybova Johnson, artist *

Juraj Kucka Juraj Kucka (; born 26 February 1987), also known by his nickname Kuco (), is a former Slovak professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Slovak club Slovan Bratislava. Club career Early career Kucka made his Corgoň Liga debut ...

, footballer *

Anna Záborská Anna Záborská (born 7 June 1948) is a Slovakia, Slovak politician of the Christian Union (Slovakia), Christian Union party, living in Bojnice. From 2004 to 2019 she was a Member of the European Parliament, where she was a member of the Group o ...

, Member of the European Parliament *

Ján Vlasko Ján Vlasko (born 11 January 1990) is a Slovak professional Association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder, attacking midfielder for MFK Skalica, Skalica. Club career Born in Bojnice, Vlasko began playing youth football for FC Ban� ...

, slovak footballer

Twin towns — sister cities

Bojnice is twinned with: *

Jeseník Jeseník (; until 1947 Frývaldov (); , ) is a spa town in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 10,000 inhabitants. Administrative division Jeseník consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 202 ...

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 ...

Bad Krozingen Bad Krozingen (; Alemannic: ''Bad Chrotzige'') is a spa town in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 15 km southwest of Freiburg. In the 1970s, the previously independent villages Biengen, ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

* Rosta,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

* Zator,

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

References

Genealogical resources

The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Nitra, Slovakia" * Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1668-1912 (parish A)

External links

Official municipal websiteInformation Center of BojniceBojnice CastleBojnice Spa

Bojnice photos
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Slovakia Villages and municipalities in Prievidza District Spa towns in Slovakia