Senica (; ; ) is a town in

Trnava Region The Trnava Region (, ; ; ) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. It was established in 1996, before which date, most of its districts were parts of Bratislava Region which was established on the founding of Czechoslovakia in 1923. ...

, 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 ...

. It is located in the north-eastern part of the

Záhorie , the Romanian village of Dumbrava, called Erdőhát in Hungarian, Pestişu Mic Záhorie () is a region in western Slovakia between the Little Carpathians to the east and the Morava River to the west. Although not an administrative region, it is ...

lowland, close to 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 ...

Etymology

The name is derived from the word ''seno'' '

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

' with the suffix ''-ica'' used to form a place name.

History

Senica's history is closely related with Branč Castle, built in 1251–1261. It was first mentioned in 1256 and received its city privileges in 1396, confirmed in 1463 and 1492. The city was affected by Turkish wars, anti-Habsburg uprisings and reformation and counter-reformations in the 17th century. In 1746, it became the seat of a district within

Nyitra County Nyitra County (; ; ; ) was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory lay in what is now western Slovakia. Geography Nyitra County shared borders with the Austrian land Moravia and Trencsén County, Turó ...

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the city had 21,253 inhabitants. 96.40% 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 ...

, 1.56%

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 ...

, 0.84%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

and 0.14

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 47.28%

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 ...

, 31.18% people with no religious affiliation, and 17.03%

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 ...

Industry

A significant silk-producing company is based in Senica. The company was established in 1954 under the name "Slovenský hodváb". In 2005 the production of

viscose Rayon, also called viscose and commercialised in some countries as sabra silk or cactus silk, is a semi-synthetic fiber made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has the same molecula ...

rayon Rayon, also called viscose and commercialised in some countries as sabra silk or cactus silk, is a semi-synthetic fiber made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose fiber, cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has t ...

was halted. After the merger of Slovenský hodváb and Kord to the new company Slovkor, it continued only with the production of

Synthetic fiber Synthetic fibers or synthetic fibres (in British English; see spelling differences) are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis, as opposed to natural fibers that are directly derived from living organisms, such as plants like cott ...

for technical purposes. In February 2014 the factory

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typical ...

, which dominated the city more than half century and was visible from long distance, was demolished. OMS lighting, one of the biggest luminaire companies in East-Central Europe, is also based in Senica. With around 1000 employees and exporting 98% of its production to more than 100 countries, the company is a referent in the economy of Senica.

Sport

Senica is one of the locations where

Slovak Bandy Association Slovak Bandy Association (''Slovenská asociácia Bandy'') is the governing body of bandy in Slovakia. It was founded 12 May 2017 and is based in Trenčianske Teplice, Trenčin Region. It was admitted to the Federation of International Bandy the ...

has organised

rink bandy Rink bandy is a variant of the larger sport of bandy. Unlike bandy which is played on a large bandy field, rink bandy is played on significantly smaller ice hockey-sized ice rinks. While a bandy field is about the same size as a football pi ...

sessions. The club is called Športový klub Rytieri Bandy Senica and was founded in 2018.

Twin towns – sister cities

Senica is twinned with: * Bač, Serbia ''(2004)'' *

Herzogenbuchsee Herzogenbuchsee is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Oberaargau (administrative district), Oberaargau administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. The population is 7055 (2 ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

''(2004)'' *

Pułtusk Pułtusk () is a town in Poland, by the river Narew. Located north of Warsaw in the Masovian Voivodeship, it has a population of 19,224 as of 2023. Known for its historic architecture and Europe's longest paved marketplace ( in length), it is a po ...

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 ...

''(2002)'' *

Trutnov Trutnov (; ) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division Trutnov consists of 21 ...

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 ...

''(1998)'' *

Velké Pavlovice Velké Pavlovice () is a town in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,100 inhabitants. Geography Velké Pavlovice is located about north of Břeclav. Most of the municipal territory lies the Ždáni ...

''(2002)'' * Santa Tecla,

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

''(2012)''

References

Notes

External links

Municipal website

Senica at tourist-channel.skSenica – detailed map guide
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Slovakia