Žilina

Žilina is a city in north-western Slovakia, which is the capital of Žilina region and Žilina district. The city is located in the Váh river valley. Total population is more than 85,000 people.

Žilina is one of the oldest cities in Slovakia. The ancient Slavic settlement existed there since the VIth century. In 1321 Hungarian King Charles made Žilina a free royal town. Lately, at the beginning of the XIVth century, the city was settled by German colonists. During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) Žilina was occupied by the Hussites and within the next 5 years it was the centre of the religious movement of the Reformation. At the late XVIIth century Jesuits came to the city. At that time Žilina gained position as a centre of education where many schools and monasteries were built. In October 1938 the First Slovak government was formed in Žilina. Nowadays Žilina is the 5th largest city in Slovakia and an important centre of tourism, science and education of the country.

One of the most remarkable architectural monuments in Žilina is a clock tower (1889). Nearby the tower there is a monument to Andrej Hlinka who was the leader of Slovak People's Patry. The road from the monument leads to Marianske square (Mariánske námestie) which is surrounded by 44 Burgher houses (XVIth century). The most outstanding monument on the square is the Conversion of St. Paul church (Kostol Obrátenia svätého Pavla) with 2 bell towers (1743) in baroque style. Nearby there is a Jesuit monastery, in which former church the branch of Považská art gallery is located nowadays. Its exhibition represents the works of Slovak artists.