Zilina Region

Zilina Region is located in the northern part of Central Slovakia. It boarders with Prešov Region in the East, Banska Bystrica Region in the South, Trenčín Region in the Southwest, Czech Republic (Zlín and Moravian-Silesian Regions) — in the Northwest and Poland (Silesian and Malopolska Provinces) — in the North and Northeast.

Ethnical composition of Zilina Region consists mainly of Slovaks (97,5%). Among religious communities Roman Catholics occupy 75,5%, Lutherans — 10,5%.

Geographically Zilina Region consists of 11 districts. Zilina city with population about 86,000 people is the administrative centre of the region.

Up to Xth century the territory of Zilina Region was a part of Great Moravia. After the kingdom collapsed in 907, the lands of Zilina Region were exposed to the neighbouring tribal communities and only from the middle of XIIth century local lands fell under Hungarian influence. A number of castles were built in the XIIIth century on the territory of modern Zilina Region: Hričov, Považský, Košecký, Lietavský, Strečniansky castles. The aim of their construction was to protect the city from Tatar and Mongol invasions. Starting from XVIth and up to XXth century, the tettiroty of modern Zilina Region was a part of the Kingdom of Hungary. In contrast to the settlements in the valley of Danube river, Zilina Region was quite retarded in its development due to the long distance from major trade routes and accumulation of tribal settlements. Prompt socio-economic develompent of the region began only at the end of XIXth century when a railway track was laid along the valley of Vah river to Zilina. From the beginning of XXth century Zilina Region developed as a powerful industrial region of Slovakia.

As a result of historico-ethnographical processes, there formed 4 historico-geographical regions (so called "župans") on the territory of Zilina Region: Kysuce župan, Liptov župan, Orava župan and Turiec župan.

Zilina Region is considered to be a mountainous region belonging to Western Carpathians. The most well-known mountain ranges located on its territory are Javorníkу, Malá Fatra and Veľká Fatra, Oravská Magura, Chočské Vrchy, Nízke Tatry and Západné Tatry. All the territory of the region lies within the basin of Vah river, its left tributaries Turiec and Rajčanka and right tributaries Belá, Orava and Kysuca.

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