Skalica (, ,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Sakolcium'') is the largest town in

Skalica District Skalica District (''okres Skalica'') is a district in the Trnava Region of western Slovakia. It lies in the northern part of Záhorská nížina, a lowland between Bratislava and Czech Republic. The district was established in 1923 and its current ...

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 ...

in 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 ...

region. Located near the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

border, Skalica has a population of around 15,000.

Etymology

The name is derived from Slovak word ''skala'' (a rock) referring to the cliffs the inhabitants built their settlement over. The first written record of Skalica was made in 1217 as ''Szacholca''.

History

The site has been inhabited since 4000 BC and was part of the Great Moravian Empire. 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 ...

. The settlement developed around a triangular

plaza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

, which was rare during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Its

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 ...

were conferred in 1372 by King

Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great (; ; ) or Louis the Hungarian (; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. He was the first child of Charles I of Hungary and his wife, Elizabeth of ...

. In 1428 Skalica became a

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

for the

Hussites upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century upright=1.2, The Lands of the Bohemian Crown during the Hussite Wars. The movement began during the Prag ...

; during the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

, the majority of its then predominantly German-speaking populace fled or was exiled. Many

Habaners Hutterites (; ), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptism, Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the early 16 ...

(adherents of a sect similar to

Anabaptism Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

) settled in Skalica in the 16th century. On 6 November 1918 Skalica became the seat of the Temporary Government of Slovakia, for ten days de facto capital of Slovakia. The Temporary Government led by Vavro Šrobár declared here a sovereignty of the Czechoslovak state, published a newspaper ''Sloboda'' (Liberty) and unsuccessfully tried to negotiate the removal of Hungarian troops from

Upper Hungary Upper Hungary (, "Upland"), is the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been called ''Felső-Magyarország'' ( literally: "Upper Hungary"; ). During the ...

''(today Slovakia)''. After

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 ...

, the town tried to take advantage of its position as a district town, and many new works, schools and apartments blocks were built, while successfully preserving its historical city centre. In 1960, Skalica became part of

Senica Senica (; ; ) is a town in Trnava Region, western Slovakia. It is located in the north-eastern part of the Záhorie lowland, close to the Little Carpathians. Etymology The name is derived from the word ''seno'' ' hay' with the suffix ''-ica'' us ...

district. This lasted until 1996, when Skalica became a separate district again.

Didaktik The Didaktik was a series of 8-bit home computers based on the clones of Intel 8080 and Zilog Z80 processors produced by Didaktik in Skalica, in the former Czechoslovakia. Initially the company produced PMD 85 compatible machines aimed at school ...

computers were produced in Skalica during the 1980s. The 2006

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an Table Hockey Championships were held in the town. A popular pastry called

trdelník Trdelník (; or rarely trdlo or trozkol) is a kind of spit cake and variant of Kürtőskalács. It is made from dough that is wrapped around a stick, then baked and topped with sugar and walnut mix. Origin Trdelník has its origins in the no ...

is made in Skalica. Now sold all over Slovakia and Czechia, this unusual "stove-pipe" shaped pastry has its origins in

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. Today, it is economically the strongest town in the

region, bypassing its rival town

for this position, and is becoming a tourist destination thanks to its preserved town centre and historical monuments.

Sights

Near the remnants of one of Skalica's

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...

s is one of Slovakia's oldest works of construction, the Romanesque Rotunda of

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

. Although its exact date of origin is unknown, it was constructed by the 12th century at the latest. A

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 ...

dome was attached to it in the 17th century. The city has several churches, including a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

church and

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

, the 15th century Parish Church of St. Michael, and the 15th century

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

church and monastery. Other sights are Skalica's Late

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

and the Skalica Culture House built in the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

with elements of Czech and Slovak folklore. Skalica st george

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 15,013 inhabitants. 94.84% 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 ...

, 3.61%

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 0.61% Roma. The religious make-up was 70.15%

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 ...

, 19.92% people with no religious affiliation and 6.67%

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 ...

Sports

HK 36 Skalica HK Skalica is a professional ice hockey team based in Skalica, Slovakia. It has been a member of the Slovak Extraliga since 1997–98 season, when the squad was promoted from the Slovak 1.Liga. Team is currently playing in the second highest lea ...

, ice hockey club from the town and MFK Skalica, football club in the

Slovak Super Liga The Slovak First Football League (), officially known as Niké liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Slovakia and the highest level of the Football in Slovakia, Slovak football league system. It was formed ...

. * ŠK Bandy hokej Skalica is one of three

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

clubs in Slovakia. In 2019 it won the

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 ...

league.

Notable people

Béla II of Hungary Béla the Blind (; ; ; – 13 February 1141) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1131 to 1141. He was blinded along with his rebellious father Álmos on the order of Álmos's brother, King Coloman of Hungary. Béla grew up in monasteri ...

(c.1109–1141), king of Hungary * Sebastián Čederle (born 2000), ice hockey player * János Csernoch (1852–1927),

primate of Hungary Prince-primate (German: ''Fürstprimas'', Hungarian: ''hercegprímás'') is a rare princely title held by individual (prince-) archbishops of specific sees in a presiding capacity in an august assembly of mainly secular princes, notably the foll ...

Ján Hollý __NOTOC__ Ján Hollý (contemporary orthography: Gán Hollí; 24 March 1785, Borský Mikuláš, Bur-Szent-Miklos – 14 April 1849, Dobrá Voda, Trnava District, Jókő) was a Slovakia, Slovak poet and translator. He was the first greater Slovak ...

(1785–1849), poet, studied in Skalica * Gyula Juhász (1883–1937), poet * Miroslav Jureňa (born 1954), politician * Radoslav Malenovský (born 1986), sport shooter *

Milan Mišík Milan Mišík (3 November 1928 in Skalica, Czechoslovakia – 7 May 2011 in Bratislava, Slovakia) was Slovak geologist and Professor, university professor. He excelled particularly as an expert in microfacies analysis, stratigraphy, sedimentology, ...

(1928–2011), geologist, university professor * Žigmund Pálffy (born 1972), ice hockey player * Dobroslav Trnka (1963-2023), lawyer * Marián Varga (1947–2017), musician * František Krištof Veselý (1903–1977), actor and singer *

Miroslav Zálešák Miroslav Zálešák (born January 2, 1980) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League for the San Jose Sharks. He is currently working as a European scout for the Colorado Avalanche. Playing c ...

(born 1980), ice hockey player

Twin towns — sister cities

Skalica is twinned with: *

Schwechat Schwechat () is a city southeast of Vienna known for the Vienna International Airport and Schwechater beer. The city is home to the Oil refinery, refineries of the Austrian national oil company OMV. Geography Schwechat is named after the river S ...

, Austria * Freyburg, Germany *

Gladbeck Gladbeck () is a town in the district of Recklinghausen (district), Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Gladbeck is quite a young town, first recognised 21 July 1919 when it was given town rights. The town established itself aroun ...

, Germany *

Strážnice Strážnice () is a town in Hodonín District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,300 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, u ...

, Czech Republic *

Uherské Hradiště Uherské Hradiště (; ) is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. The agglomeration with the two neighbouring towns of Staré Město (Uherské Hradiště District), Staré Město and Kunovice has over ...

, Czech Republic *

Slaný Slaný (; ) is a town in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 17,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, ur ...

, Czech Republic *

Arcueil Arcueil () is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero#France, center of Paris. Name The name Arcueil was recorded f ...

, France

Gallery

File:Skalica dom kultury 02.jpg, Culture house File:Skalica main square 01.jpg, Main square File:Skalica city walls 02.jpg, City walls File:Skalica calvary 01.jpg, Calvary File:Skalica jesuite church.jpg, Jesuit church File:Skalica lutheran church 02.jpg, Lutheran church File:Skalica pauline monastery 01.jpg, Pauline monastery File:Skalica trinity church 02.jpg, Trinity church File:Skalica franciscan monastery 02.jpg, Franciscan monastery File:Skalic rotunda 01.jpg, Romanesque rotunda File:Rotunda in skalica -1.JPG, Rotunda at night File:Wineyeard in skalica -2.JPG, Garden in Skalica

References

Portrayed in the Warhorse Studios ' Kingdom Come Deliverance' as 'Skalitz' set in 1403

External links

Official page

Municipal website

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Slovakia

Etymology

History

Sights

Demographics

Sports

Notable people

Twin towns — sister cities

Gallery

See also

References

External links