Žilina,
viewed from Dubeň
Basic facts
ŽILINA is a centre of northeast Slovakia and one of the largest towns of the Slovak Republic. It is a seat of administration of the Žilina Region, one of the 8 regions of the Slovak Republic, with the area of 6,788 sq. km, and with the population of 692 582 (1 January, 2000).
The Region of Žilina involves 4 historical regions: Kysuce, Liptov, Orava and Turiec. It consists of the following districts: Bytča, Čadca, Dolný Kubín, Kysucké Nové Mesto, Liptovský Mikuláš, Martin, Námestovo, Ružomerok, Turčianske Teplice, Tvrdošín and Žilina.
The District of Žilina covers an area of 815 sq. km, and its population is 156,921 (1 January 2000) who inhabit 50 villages and 3 towns - Žilina, Rajec and Rajecké Teplice.
Population of Žilina as to the 1 January 2000 reached 86,818 inhabitants, out of them 98 per cent of Slovak nationality.
Geographic co-ordinates: 49°15´ of Northern Latitude, 18°45´ of Eastern Longitude.
The distance from Bratislava, the capital of the Slovak Republic is 200 km. Žilina is the largest town situated on the river Váh.
Area: 80.03 sq. km.
Location: The city of Žilina is situated in the Váh River Valley, in Žilina Basin, at the confluence of Váh River with the rivers Kysuca and Rajčanka. Filling of the Basin is formed by the Tertiary sediments - conglomerates with the inlayed soft sandstones of the Carpathean early Tertiary. Along with Váh and Rajčanka rivers a rather broad inland flood plains are stretching accompanied on both sides by diluvial gravel terraces up to the relative altitudes of 80-90 m. In Žilina Basin there are 5 terrace grades. The whole basin is situated among the mountain ranges Malá Fatra, Strážovské vrchy, Súľovské vrchy, Javorníky and Kysucká vrchovina.
Elevation: 333 m a.s.l. - the Square of Virgin Mary.
Climate: the average temperature reaches in July +18°C, in January -4°C.
The yearly average of precipitations is 650-700 mm, with maximum in June and in the first half of July. The snow cover lasts 60-80 days per year.
City administration:
the city of Žilina is an independent territorial unit of the Slovak Republic, and a legal entity. The minutes on the legal jurisdiction and competencies of the municipal administration as well as further legal particulars important for city's life are documented in the Statute of the City of Žilina.
The city of Žilina is formed by the following 19 city quarters: Staré Mesto (Old town), Hliny, Hájik, Solinky, Vlčince, Rosinky, Trnové, Mojšova Lúčka, Bytčica, Závodie, Bánová, Žilinská Lehota, Strážov, Budatín, Považský Chlmec, Vranie, Brodno, Zádubnie and Zástranie.
The city of Žilina legally manages its own property, financial resources as well as the legally maintained state property. The municipal organs are the City Council consisting of 45 members, and the city Mayor as the top executive organ of the city elected in direct elections by the citizens. Elections to the municipality administration are held every 4 years.
The first known mayor of the city of Žilina was Ján Petzold (1325), the hereditary mayor. After him a list of more than 200 heads of the city follows quoted under different names (hereditary mayor, elected mayor etc.). Since 1990 the city's head is again an elected mayor, and in the same year winner of the elections was Ing. Ján Slota, who was re-elected also in 1994 and 1998.
The executive organ of municipality administration is the City Administration Office in Žilina. It maintains the administrative and organisation affairs of the city. It is run by the Head City Officer. For the information of citizens about the events in the city and its surroundings the city of Žilina issues since 1991 a weekly The Žilina Evening Paper.
Symbols of the City:
The coat-of-arms of Žilina belongs to the oldest heraldic symbols not only in Slovakia. It was first used on the bill issued on 1 March 1379. The double-armed cross is of Byzantian origin, based on the Christian Cyril-Methodean tradition. The cross and the stars are golden (yellow), the background is of olive-green colour.
The flag and the seal of the City of Žilina
The flag and banner of the City of Žilina consists
of two equally wide stripes - the upper one is of golden (yellow) colour and
the lower one is olive-green. In the upper part is the coat-of-arms of
Žilina.
The seal of Žilina is of round shape bearing the coat-of-arms
of Žilina and at the periphery of the circle is an inscription reading
SIGILLUM, CIVIUM. DE. ZILINA.
The city colours are gold (yellow) and olive-green.
Freedom of the city is the highest honour
granted to persons who had a paramount merit in the development of Žilina.
Freedom of the city (honorary citizenship) was given to the following
personalities: colonel Georges de Lannurien (in memoriam) in
1995, colonel František Hanovec (1996), art bookbinder Ján Vrtílek
(1996), writer Ján Frátrik (1996), and academic painter František
Kráľ (1999), academic painter Mojmír Vlkoláček,
educationist Prof. RNDr. Ladislav Berger (2000), lawyer and Mayor
JUDr. Vojtech Tvrdý (in memoriam - 2000) and educationist and
interpreter Prof. Ján Košecký (in memoriam – 2000).
The sister towns of Žilina are
the following:
Bielsko-Biała (Poland), Corby (Great Britain),
Ferrara (Italy), ChangChun (China), Majkop (Russian
Federation), Nanterre (a Paris quarter, France), Koper
(Slovenia).
