Zvolen, Banská Bystrica Region, Slovakia

🇸🇰 Zvolen is a town in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers, close to Banská Bystrica. Is is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the West and by Javorie and Štiavnické vrchy from the South. It is the twelfth-largest city in Slovakia. It is the centre of the Podpoľanie region and the seat of a county (Zvolen District). It is also an important transportation hub in Slovakia.

History Zvolen has been inhabited since the Paleolithic. In the ninth century, a Slavic settlement (today the Môťová neighborhood) became a regional centre of what is now central Slovakia. Zvolen remained the capital of Zólyom County until the 1760s. In the 11th and 12th centuries, one of the largest medieval castles in Europe, Pustý hrad, was constructed. The town, originally built under the castle, lay on an important trade route (Via Magna) from Buda to Kraków. Zvolen was granted town privileges by King Béla IV in the 1230s - as one of the first towns in the Kingdom of Hungary. The privileges were confirmed on 28 December 1243, after the original document was destroyed in war. Later, King Louis I the Great built a new castle, which became a popular hunting resort of the Hungarian kings. The future queen regnant Mary of Hungary and emperor Sigismund celebrated their wedding there in 1385.

In the Rákóczi's War of Independence the Kuruc army in the battle of Zvolen defeated the enemy forces from Austria, Denmark, Vojvodina and Hungary.

In 1848–49, Ľudovít Štúr was a member of the Diet, with Zvolen as his constituency. In 1871–1872, two new railways were built and Zvolen became an important railroad hub and important industrial center. Zvolen played an important role during the Slovak National Uprising. Two of its armored trains, which were made in the local railway manufactory, Hurban and Štefánik can be seen near the Zvolen castle.

Zvolen is an important railroad, an important road hub and has a large timber factory and a technical university, the Technická univerzita vo Zvolene. An airport in nearby Sliač used to offer direct flights to Prague, but has been used exclusively by the military since 2021.

The town square was modernized in 2002 and local businesses are popular with tourists. In wintertime an ice rink is constructed in the centre and festive celebrations run throughout December.

Demographics According to the 2001 census, 95.9% of inhabitants were Slovaks and 1.2% Czechs. The religious make-up was 52.5% Roman Catholics, 26.4% people with no religious affiliation, and 15% Lutherans.

Sport The local ice hockey team HKm Zvolen plays in the Slovak Extraliga.