Malacky ( German: ''Malatzka'', Hungarian: ''Malacka'') is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in 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 north of Slovakia’s 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. ...

. 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 ...

. It is one of the key cities of the region " Záhorie", between the

Little Carpathians The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', ; ; ) are a low mountain range, about 100 km long, and part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slovakia, covering the area from Bratislava to Nové Mesto n ...

in the east and Morava River in the west and a cultural and economic hub for nearby villages such as Gajary, Kostolište, Veľké Leváre and Jakubov. The town is located on the large Prague-Brno-Bratislava highway, and many residents commute daily to Bratislava. The

mountain range provides excellent opportunities for recreational activities like hiking or mountain biking, with its wide array of signposted trails.

Etymology

The origin of the name is uncertain. According to the first theory, the name refers to the Hungarian word ''malacka'' which means "piglet" in Hungarian and because the town seal features a pig. A drawback of this theory is that the Hungarian ''malacka'' is only a later borrowing from Slovenian and the name is older than the borrowing ( Slovene ''mladec'' – a young man, in wide meaning also a young animal; Slovak equivalent is ''mládenec''). Other theories derive the name from Slovak ''mláky'' (fens, swamps), ''mlátiť'' (to flail, to smash, thus a placename derived from ''mlátiť'' was ''Mlaky'' > ''Malacky'') or from the name of the Malina creek (recorded as ''Maliscapotoca'').

History

The name of the city was first mentioned in writing in 1206. During

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

, Malacky was captured on 5 April 1945 by troops of the

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 ...

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943, the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In mid-May 1944 Malinovsky took over the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During t ...

Famous Buildings and Sites

The most prominent sites in Malacky include the Franciscan church of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the so-called "Palffy Palace" and the renovated synagogue. The church includes a precise from 1653 of the so-called Holy Stairs ( Scala Sancta) that Christ ascended to the Pretorium of Pilate. The Palffy Palace until recently was used as a hospital and is currently unoccupied. It has recently been acquired by the local municipality. Located in the center of Malacky is also a large renovated synagogue built in 1886 in

Moorish Revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticism, Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mi ...

style which is now being used a cultural center. Adjacent to it there is sport arena "MALINA" containing two indoor swimming pools (25m and 12m) and a multifunctional hall used for handball, basketball, volleyball and indoor football.

Economy

Swedspan, a subsidiary of

IKEA IKEA ( , ) is a Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells , household goods, and various related services. IKEA is owned and operated by a series of not-for-profit an ...

, operates a large lumber plant just south of the city. Additionally the Kuchyňa airbase, which is occasionally used by the US Air Force and other NATO air forces for training purposes, is located approximately east of the city. In September 2008,

Slovak National Party The Slovak National Party (, SNS) is an ultranationalist political party in Slovakia. The party characterizes itself as a nationalist party based on both social and European Christian values. Since 1990 SNS has won seats in every Slovak pa ...

(SNS) President Ján Slota facilitated the erection of a large Slovak cross near Malacky as a demonstration of Slovak nationalism.

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 18,063 inhabitants. 96.68% 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 ...

, 1.02%

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 0.51%

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 ...

. The religious makeup was 70.35%

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 ...

, 19.48% people with no religious affiliation, and 1.98%

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 ...

. According to the 1910 census, 75% were Slovaks.

People

* István Friedrich, prime minister of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

for three months in 1919, was born here. * Ernst Wiesner, modern architect who designed buildings in Brno, was born here. * Martin Benka, a Slovak painter and illustrator, was born near here and died here in 1971. * Ádám Liszt, the father of composer and pianist

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

, was born here in 1776. * Ivan Dérer, a Slovak politician, lawyer and journalist, was born here in 1884. * Ludwig Angerer, an Austrian photographer, was born here in 1827. *

Karol Machata Karol Machata (13 January 1928 – 3 May 2016) was a Slovak actor. He appeared in more than 40 films and television shows between 1951 and 1992. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 8th OTO Awards in 2007. Selected filmography * ' ...

, a Slovak actor, was born here in 1928. * Štefan Lux, a Slovak Jewish journalist, was born here in 1888. * Samuel Mráz, (born 1997) footballer * František Lukovský, small business owner, who committed a suicide in 2002 in front of the tax office using self-made guillotine.

Twin towns — sister cities

Malacky is twinned with: * Veselí nad Moravou,

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 ...

* Żnin,

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 ...

''(since 2001)'' * Albertirsa,

''(since 2000)'' *

Szarvas Szarvas (, ; ) is a town in Békés County, Hungary. Name Placename Szarvas originated from the old Hungarian language, Hungarian word ''szarvas'', which means deer. Deer also can be found in the coat of arms of the town. Location Szarv ...

* Gänserndorf,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

References

External links

Municipal website

Map of Malacky
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Slovakia Villages and municipalities in Malacky District