My home town

My home town

I live in a small city with a population  of about 42 000 people.  This town is called Považská Bystrica and it is situated  in the nort-west of Slovakia on the Váh river, around 30 km from the city of Žilina. Považská Bystrica is situated in a fold of mountain ranges Strážovské vrchy and Javorníky.

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 ( obzor) 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.

Manínska tiesňava is the narrowest canyon in Slovakia, lying 6 kilometres from Považská Bystrica. It is place of great tourist interest, because of its wild and rare flora and fauna. It is frequently visited by rock climbers. It is also less known as one of the filming sites for The Never Ending Story (film) in 1984.

Považský hrad is a landmark ( pamiatka )  of the town and witness ( svedok ) of the history . It went through many reconstructions, therefore it represents many different architectural movements. Nowadays some minor works are done on the castle by voluntary organization Zdruzenie hradu Bystrica, but castle needs more complex reconstruction.

Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary in Povazska Bystrica is the main church in the town, situated in the heart of the town.

Chapel of Saint Helena was built in 1728 by count Peter Szaparay on the hill above the town, is surrounded by lindens of which one is more than 250 years old. The chapel was robbed and became a ruin until it was renewed in 1990s.
 
Považská Bystrica has 9 boroughs. 75% of population live inside the town itself, most of them in the apartment blocks. 25% of the population live in the villages. Boroughs:

•  Centrum
•  Dedovec
•  Hliny
•  Kolónia
•  Lány
•  Rozkvet
•  Stred
•  SNP
•  Zákvašov

Villages near Považská Bystrica: Dolny and Horny Milochov, Jelšové, Industrial zone, Šuvarovce. Other settlements within the district: Belažská Kopanica, Cingelov laz, Dvorského laz, Galanovce, Chodnické, Krekáčov laz, Líškovie laz, Matúšsky laz, Rybárikov laz, Tomankovci a Trnovie laz.

Notable people

•  Štefan Podmanitzky (1480–1530) Arcibishop of Nitra Coronated both János Szapolyai and Ferdinand I as the kings of the country.
•  Ján Podmanitzky (16th century) Arcibishop of Zagreb
•  Dominik Tatarka (1913–1989) – Writer born in Plevník-Drieňové (Považská Bystrica district)
•  Imro Weiner-Kráľ (1901) – Painter
•  Michal Maximilián Scheer (1902–2000) – Functionalist architect
•  Peter Holka (1950) – Writer
•  Ján Kroner (1956) – Actor
•  Dorota Nvotová (1982) – Actress and singer
•  Marián Vajda (1965) – Tennis player, coach
•  Michal Mertiňák (1979) – Tennis player
•  Andrej Meszaros (1985) - Professional Hockey Player