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Zvolen
Region (kraj)	Banská Bystrica Region
District (okres)	Zvolen District
Location	48°34′14″N, 19°07′38″E
Altitude	293 m
Population	43,272 (as of 2004)
Area	98.69 km²
Time Zone • Summer DST	CET: UTC+1 CEST: UTC+2
Telephone prefix	+421-45
Postal code	96001
Car registration plate	ZV

Zvolen (German: Altsohl, Hungarian: Zólyom) is a town in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers, close to Banská Bystrica. It is the seat of an okres (Zvolen District). The town has a historical center with an ancient castle.

Contents 1 History 2 City parts 3 Sport 4 Famous people 5 External links 6 Pictures

Zvolen has been inhabited since the Paleolithic. In the 9th century, a Slavic settlement became a regional center of what is now central Slovakia. The territory became part of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Middle Ages and in the 11th and 12th centuries, one of the largest medieval castles in Europe, Pustý hrad, was constructed. The town was granted town privileges by King Béla IV in the 1230s. Later, King Louis I the Great built a new castle, which became a popular hunting resort of the Hungarian kings. Zvolen was the capital of Zvolen county until the 1760s.

In the 1871/1872 years, 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. An airport in nearby Sliač offers direct flights to Prague. The town square was modernized in 2002 and local businesses are popular with tourists. In wintertime an ice rink is constructed in the center and festive celebrations run throughout December.

Zvolen is divided into six city parts: Kráľová, Lukové, Môťová, Neresnica, Zolná and Zvolen.

HKm Zvolen plays in the Slovak Extraliga.

• Bálint Balassi, poet and nobleman
• Karol Beck, tennis player
• Ján Lašák, ice hockey player
• Vladimír Maňka, politician
• Vladimír Mečiar, politician
• František Velecký, actor

• Municipal website

Zvolen Castle	Town center	Town center	Church in Zvolen
Armored train Hurban	Slatina river in Zvolen

edit	Municipalities of Zvolen District
Sliač | Zvolen Babiná | Bacúrov | Breziny | Budča | Bzovská Lehôtka | Dobrá Niva | Dubové | Hronská Breznica | Kováčová | Lešť | Lieskovec | Lukavica | Michalková | Očová | Ostrá Lúka | Pliešovce | Podzámčok | Sása | Sielnica | Tŕnie | Turová | Veľká Lúka | Zvolenská Slatina | Železná Breznica