Považská Bystrica (; ; ) is žskáa town in northwestern Slovakia. It is located on the Váh river, around 30 km from the city of Žilina. It belongs to Upper Váh region of tourism.
Profile
Považská Bystrica is situated in a fold of mountain ranges Strážovské vrchy (1213 m) and Javorníky (1071 m a.s.l.). Mountains offer an attractive experience to trekkers and mountain-bikers in summer season, cross-country and skiing opportunities in winter season. Veľký Manín mountain (890 m a.s.l.) dominates the town skyline providing views from most places in the town. On the hill next to the town on the opposite side of the river Váh lies the ruins of Považský hrad castle with two manor houses beneath, to which the town's history is closely bounded.
Another popular tourist attraction close to the town is a breathtaking canyon Manínska tiesňava. Canyon splits Veľký and Malý Manín mountains. It is an internationally sought-after place-to-die for rock climbers. It is also less known as one of the filming sites for The NeverEnding Story in 1984. Just a few kilometers away lies another highly challenging reef formation: Súľovské skaly. To sum it up one of the most famous Slovak spas Rajecké Teplice lies about 20 km from the town, few kilometres closer are the youngest spas in Slovakia in Nimnica. Town has mostly postmodern architecture meaning that most of the pre-20th-century buildings were replaced in the 1960s and 1980s.
Považská Bystrica lies on the major traffic route Bratislava - Žilina causing many traffic jams in the recent years. The motorway viaduct was built through the narrowest segment of the town, which was opened on 31 May 2010.
Považská Bystrica has one twin town Rožnov pod Radhoštěm in the Czech Republic.
History
The roots of the settlement of the town roots to Baden culture, also Celtic coins were found on the castle cliff supporting the presence of previous settlers. However, the first written reference to the town comes from 1316, in connection with Matthew III Csák. The next known reference about Považská Bystrica is dated 13 July 1330. In 1432, the town was burned by Hussite troops. The history of the town is very closely connected with the nearby Považský hrad castle, built in the 13th century. The most famous owners of the Bystrica castle and the land were knights Ján and Rafael Podmanitzky, known for their robberies. The family of Podmanicki became rulers of the town in 1458, when King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary donated the castle, the town and 16 surrounding villages to Ladislav Podmanitzky. During their reign, which lasted almost 100 years, the town was flourishing. This was supported by important document Articuli Podmanickyani, which stated the statute of the town and establishing old Slovak language the only official language among congildones. No other town, except Považská Bystrica and Varín, had a statute with such provision regarding language use.
As an example of the language could be used engraving on the tombstone of Rafael Podmanitzky in the Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary in Považská Bystrica.
The next one hundred years were hard for the town and the region, because of upheavals of several Hungarian noblemen. The town was plundered by troops of Stephen Bocskai (1604), Emeric Thököly (1679), Bereczényi and Očkay (1707). Despite the hard times, the town obtained more and more privileges from Hungarian kings during the period, and it had a significantly higher status than the surrounding countryside. This ended in 1886, when a new Hungarian legislation canceled all the privileges.
In 1918, the town became part of the Czechoslovak Republic. In 1929, an ammunition plant Roth transferred its production from Bratislava to Považská Bystrica, which significantly improved the employment situation. Starting in 1937 and continuing until 1945 rifles (vz.24 and K98k) and small arms ammunition were manufactured here. After World War II the munitions factory at Považská Bystrica continued to produce weapons and ammunition for both the military and for commercial purposes.
Since World War II, and especially in the 1970s and 1980s, the town grew significantly. New residential areas were built around the tiny town center. The town center itself was re-built completely, therefore you can hardly find any historical buildings there now. The main employer since the second world war was the engineering plant Považské strojárne. The plant mainly manufactured scooters and industrial bearings. Since the end of socialism, the company has not prospered. This has caused increased unemployment.