Zilina

It is the fourth largest city in northwestern Slovakia and the capital of Žilina Voivodeship . It is considered a representative industrial city in Slovakia, and is the city where Kia 's European production base is located.

Items believed to have been inhabited by humans since the Stone Age have been unearthed. In literature, it first appears in 1208 under the name 'terra de Selinan', but it was already incorporated into the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary around the 10th century. It achieved rapid development in the 14th century, and its status as a city was recognized in 1321 when Robert Caroi approved the city law . In 1381, King Louis I allocated half of the city council seats to Slovaks , making it one of the few cities where Slovaks were treated equally with Germans .

Entering the 17th century, it established itself as a center of manufacturing, trade, and education, and was ruled by the Habsburg family . During the reign , the Baroque -style Budatin Castle (Budatínsky zámok)[1] In addition, several monasteries and churches were built. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Slovaks sided with the Austrian Empire and defeated the Hungarians who were revolting against the Habsburgs near the city.

In 1918, it was incorporated into the newly formed Czechoslovakia , and until March 1919 the Slovak government was in Žilina rather than Bratislava . After the Munich Agreement of 1938, Slovakia 's autonomy was declared in Žilina. After World War II, many factories, schools, and houses were built, and development accelerated. After the Velvet Revolution separated Czechoslovakia, it became the capital of Žilina Province in 1996.

As of 2023, the population is 81,219, with approximately 160,000 people living in the metropolitan area. Most are Slovaks who speak Slovak , but there are also small numbers of Hungarians and Czechs . Religion is mostly Roman Catholic, but in the wake of the communist era , a quarter are non-religious .

The Budatin Castle is famous and the Old Town, which was rebuilt in the 1990s, is worth seeing. On the outskirts of the city, the oldest building in Zilina, the King St. Stephen's Church (Kostol svätého Štefana Kráľa), said to have been built by order of the first Hungarian King Stephen I, remains.

It is the home of MŠK Žilina, a professional football team in the Slovak Superliga .

The coat of arms of the city depicts a golden double Lorraine cross , and the coat of arms of Zilina is said to be the oldest coat of arms in Europe along with the coat of arms of Kosice .