Prievidza

• Name — Prievidza • Settlement Type — City • Subdivision Type2 — Region • Subdivision Name2 — Trenčín • Subdivision Type3 — District • Subdivision Name3 — Prievidza • Leader Title — Mayor • Leader Name — Katarína Macháčková • Established Title — First mentioned • Established Date — 1113 • Elevation M — 309 • Postal Code Type — Postal code • Postal Code — 971 01 • Area Code — +421 46 • Registration Plate — PD • Website — www.prievidza.sk • Area Note —

The name is probably derived from a personal name Previd with possessive suffix -ja, signifying 'Previd's village'. An alternative and less probable derivation is from the word element, vid- (as in vidieť, 'to see'), so, previdieť, 'to see through', thus 'the village which can be seen from all directions', or 'the village in the thin stand'.

The Upper Nitra Basin was inhabited as early as the middle of the Paleolithic period, as evidenced by the rich paleontological findings in Bojnice and Prievidza. Thousands of artifacts have been discovered, including stone tools, animal bone fossils and fireplace remnants.

The first written mention of Prievidza was in 1113, as Preuigan. It was promoted to a royal free town in 1383, on 26 January. This meant that the town obtained privileges such as paying benefits to hold markets, choice of pastor and mayor, building mills, catching fish, the free development of crafts and sale of produce. From the 16th to the first third of the 17th century, the Thurzó family controlled the town. Ottomans approached Prievidza from the south and burned it in 1599, along with other towns in the upper Nitra river valley. In 1666, the Piarists built the baroque church (now known as the Piarist Church) and Monastery, which became a centre of culture and education. During the Kuruc uprising in 1673, Prievidza was burned down again, with fire burning a part of town's archives. In 1870, it had 2,719 inhabitants. • Illustration — View of Prievidza from 1906

Since the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, industry started to grow, as the railways to Prievidza were constructed. During World War II, the city was one of the centres of partisans. On 4 April 1945, Prievidza was captured by troops of the Soviet 40th Army. Since the end of the war, the population has grown enormously from 5,000 inhabitants to around 53,000 inhabitants, as industry grew. Prievidza became the home of many miners and workers that found employment in the coal mines located in nearby village Cigeľ and towns Handlová and Nováky.

The city is near the smaller town of Bojnice, sharing a public transport system. The valley of the Nitra River, in which the city lies, is surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides, in the west Strážov Mountains, in the north Malá Fatra, in the east Žiar and in the south Vtáčnik. Prievidza is the eleventh largest city in Slovakia. It is located around 60 km south of Žilina, 69 km east of the regional capital Trenčín and 158 km from capital city of Slovakia Bratislava (by road).

Prievidza lies in the north temperate zone and has a continental climate with four distinct seasons. It is characterized by a significant variation between hot summers and cold, snowy winters. On 21 July 2022, a maximum temperature of 38.6 °C was registered in Prievidza.

It has a population of people (31 December).

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• Illustration — Basketball is the most popular sport in the city. Basketball is the most popular and successful sport in the city. Basketball club BC Prievidza won two titles in the former men's top Czechoslovak Basketball League (1989, 1993), and, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, four titles in the men's top Slovak Basketball League (1994, 1995, 2012, 2016). Volleyball club VK Prievidza won two titles (2018, 2019) in the top Slovakia Men's Volleyball League. Football has an over 100 years long tradition in the city. Footballers such as Martin Škrtel, Juraj Kucka, Patrik Hrošovský and Dávid Hancko were raised in local football club Baník. From Prievidza are also ice hockey players including Andrej Sekera and Martin Štajnoch.

• Basketball – BC Prievidza – Men Top Slovak league • Volleyball – VK Prievidza – Men Top Slovak league • Ice hockey – HC Prievidza – 3rd Men Slovak league • Football – FC Baník Prievidza – 3rd Men Slovak league

• Niké Aréna (3,400 seats) tenants – BC Prievidza, VK Prievidza • Futbalový štadión Prievidza (7,500/2,500 for sitting) tenants – FC Baník Prievidza • Zimný štadión Prievidza (2,788 seats) tenants – HC Prievidza

Prievidza is twinned with: • Ibbenbüren, Germany • Šumperk, Czech Republic • Luserna San Giovanni, Italy • Valjevo, Serbia • Velenje, Slovenia • Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Poland • Novomoskovsk, Russia