Žilina is located in beautiful region and during summer months the region is visited by many tourists. In Žilina it is worth seeing for example Mariánske square, Church of the Holy Trinity, City Hall in Mariánske square and so on. Žilina is located about 30 km from Vrátna valley.

GPS location: longitude 48.893318, latitude 18.035955

The first written mention about Žilina is from 1208. At that time, Žilina was already inhabited in several places, but today´s city was developed from the original settlement, which was established as an extramural settlement near Žilina castle. This castle existed until 15th century and was discovered in 2008. Žilina received its first city rights about 1290 from Polish city Tešín.

Žilina has its own walls from 15th century – ramparts, which protected today´s historical core around square. This core was declared for the town monument reserve in 1988. 

Development of the city lasted until the end of the 17th century. As a result of the fights, the city was weakened and it started to develop again in the second half of the 19th century after the construction of the railway in 1873 and 1883. In 1891 the largest textil factory in Hungary was built - a cloth, which exported textil products to the whole world. 

Except St. Stephan Church, The Holy Trinity Church, the Franciscan Church of St Barbara, Jesuit Church of St Paul Žilina has many other architectural and cultural monuments. For example Budatín castle from the 13the century, many Art Nouveau and functionalist buildings from the end of the 19th and 20th century and so on.

After 1945 the city went through various changes. Industrial plants and housing estates were established - Hliny, Vlčince, Solinky and Hájik. The University of Žilina is located here since 1960. The city is a center of industry, transport, education and culture. Since 2006 the important car factory KIA started its production. In 1996 the city became the seat of the region and thus gained the same status as other important Slovak towns. Due to its historical development, traditions and present, Žilina is without doubt one of the most important cities in Slovakia.