Zvolen ( Slovak pronunciation: [ˈzʋɔlen] ; Hungarian : Zólyom ; German : Altsohl ) is a city in central Slovakia , situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers. It is famous for several historical and cultural attractions. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the West and by Javorie and Štiavnické vrchy from the South.
122-513: The population numbers approximately 40,000, which makes it the twelfth-largest city in Slovakia by population, thirteenth by size. It is the center of the Podpoľanie historical region and the seat of a county ( Zvolen District ). It is also an important transportation hub in Slovakia, being one of the four central train stations in Slovakia (others are Bratislava , Košice and Žilina ). The name
244-472: A conspiratorial network in the garrisons. Against this background, Golian was entrusted by President-in-Exile Beneš with the temporary leadership of military actions in Slovakia in March 1944. Immediately after Golian's appointment by Beneš, the illegal Slovak National Council took steps to win him over to its own platform. By contacting the army as well as subordinating Golian's pro-democracy group of officers,
366-676: A memorial to the Slovak National Uprising which is situated in the park between the Castle and the main Zvolen osobná railway station . It was manufactured in 1944 in the railway workshops of Zvolen. The Historic Technology Club at Zvolen's Locomotive Depot is a non-profit organization founded in 1998. It's dedicated to preserving railway history and showcasing historic vehicles through events like nostalgic rides and exhibitions. The club has restored various locomotives and expanded
488-567: A one-party dictatorship in which only the political representations of the German and Hungarian minorities remained. The other civic parties were pressured into forced unification with the Hlinka Party, and left-wing and Jewish parties were banned. Press censorship was introduced and a concentration camp for actual or alleged opponents of the regime was set up in Ilava . With its organisations –
610-455: A one-party regime of the dictatorial Ludaks . Historians sometimes classify it as fascist or – with reference to the close ties between the government and the Catholic clergy – This as clerical-fascist , but also simply as totalitarian or authoritarian . The Slovak constitution of July 1939 was modelled more on the constitutions of Salazar's Portugal and Dollfuss' Austria than on
732-682: A presidential dictatorship. On the international political scene, the Slovak state initially established itself relatively successfully despite its limited sovereignty. Even before the beginning of the Second World War , it obtained de jure or de facto recognition by 18 states, including Great Britain (de facto, 4 May 1939) and France (de facto, 14 July 1939). After the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of 23 August 1939, de facto and de jure recognition by
854-473: A regional center of what is now central Slovakia. Zvolen remained the capital of Zólyom County until the 1760s. In the 11th and 12th centuries, one of the largest medieval castles in Europe, Pustý hrad , was constructed. The town, originally built under the castle, lay on an important trade route ( Via Magna ) from Buda to Kraków . Zvolen was granted town privileges by King Béla IV in the 1230s - as one of
976-519: A response to the invasion of the German occupation units. In the first days of the uprising, the insurgents' territory covered about 22,000 km², more than half of Slovakia's territory at the time, and with a population of 1.7 million, about 64% of Slovakia's total population. On the recommendation of the London government-in-exile, the leadership of the insurgent army issued an order as early as 30 August declaring its units to be an integral part of
1098-641: A strong defensive line to prevent relinquishing any ground. This was because it hoped that a planned Red Army offensive on the Beskydy front, which ran only 120 km to the northeast, would be a quick success and thus lead to unification. However, the Slovak National Council and the military headquarters were not aware of the changes in Soviet strategic plans, according to which the Red Army
1220-483: A tendency for ever larger sections of the Slovak army not only to sympathise with the liberation organisation but also to defect to it. Although the new commander-in-chief of the army, General Turanec, attempted to restore the government's authority with repressive measures on 26 August, the step was taken too late, as the political leadership in Bratislava had long since lost the loyalty of the army. The activities of
1342-512: A train on which the German military commission in Romania was returning to Berlin after Romania's defection from Bucharest. The 22 German officers were arrested and all of them were shot the next morning by the mutinous government troops on Welitschko's orders. It was primarily the fact that the Slovak army was involved in the Martin incident, but also the increasing disloyalty of many units to
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#17327730975061464-485: Is a district in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia . Until 1918, most of the present-day district belonged to the Zvolen county , apart from Lešť in the south-west which was part of the county of Gemer a Malohont . 48°34′33″N 19°7′32″E / 48.57583°N 19.12556°E / 48.57583; 19.12556 This Banská Bystrica Region geography article
1586-401: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Slovak National Uprising Uprising suppressed Slovak National Uprising ( Slovak : Slovenské národné povstanie , abbreviated SNP ; alternatively also Povstanie roku 1944 , English: The Uprising of 1944 ) was organised by the Slovak resistance during the Second World War , directed against the German invasion of Slovakia by
1708-574: Is a dual-aisle building inspired by ancient temples, featuring a colonnade and a large basilica-style glazing. Zvolen is a member of the Douzelage , a town twinning association of towns across the European Union . This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals. As of 2019, its members are: Zvolen District Zvolen District ( okres Zvolen )
1830-420: Is constructed in the center and festive celebrations run throughout December. Zvolen currently has a population of 39 453. For comparison, in 2005, Zvoled had a population of 43,147. According to the 2001 census , 95.9% of inhabitants were Slovaks and 1.2% Czechs . The religious make-up was 52.5% Roman Catholics , 26.4% people with no religious affiliation, and 15% Lutherans . Zvolen's paramount landmark,
1952-966: Is of Slovak (Slavic) origin meaning "the chosen one, splendid, excellent". The Hungarian Zólyom and the German Sohl were derived from the Latinized form Zolium (earliest mention 1135). An adjective "Old" ( German : Altsohl , Slovak : Starý Zvolen , Latin : Antiquum or Vetus Solium ) distinguish Zvolen from Banská Bystrica ( German : Neusohl meaning New Zvolen ). [REDACTED] Kingdom of Hungary 1000 – 1526 [REDACTED] John Zápolya 's Eastern Hungarian Kingdom 1526 – 1551 ( Ottoman vassal) [REDACTED] Kuruc rebellion 1672 – 1682 ( Ottoman -backed) [REDACTED] Imre Thököly 's Principality of Upper Hungary ( Ottoman vassal) 1682 – 1686 [REDACTED] Francis II Rákóczi 's insurrection 1703 – 1711 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Hungary (crownland of
2074-612: Is the Zvolen Ice Stadium which has a capacity of 5,345 spectators. The Slovak Women's Ice Hockey Extraliga is played by the local club ŽHKm Zvolen, which is a female alternative of the HKM Zvolen. The football club MFK Zvolen is a Slovak football team, based in the town of Zvolen. The club was established in 1902. The club plays home matches at MFK Zvolen Stadium in Zvolen which has a capacity of 1 870 spectators. As of
2196-622: Is why the Slovak government could rely on broad tolerance or even approval of its measures by the population for years. However, the representatives and members of the Protestant Church in particular were dissatisfied with the government. They made up about 17% of the Slovak population, were traditionally Czechoslovak-oriented and felt treated as second-class citizens by the Catholic-dominated Ludak regime. Since December 1938, only four Lutherans were represented in
2318-600: The Austrian Empire ) 1804 – 1867 [REDACTED] Austro-Hungarian Empire 1867 – 1918 [REDACTED] Czechoslovakia 1918–1938 [REDACTED] Slovak Republic 1938 – 1945 [REDACTED] Czechoslovakia 1945–1992 [REDACTED] Slovakia 1993–present Zvolen has been inhabited since the Paleolithic . In the ninth century, a Slavic settlement (today the Môťová neighborhood) became
2440-618: The Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) was formed. The leadership of the Czechoslovak communists defected to Moscow. From the beginning, the Slovak communists were the main force of resistance in Slovakia and, as such, were the most fiercely persecuted. They initially became active by publishing illegal writings and coordinating strikes. Their attitude towards Slovak independence and Czechoslovakia went through several transformations and depended on Moscow's official policy. Until
2562-669: The Czech protectorate , Slovakia had been spared a German occupation, and in terms of domestic and cultural policy it remained largely autonomous. The restriction of civil liberties was considered tolerable (the regime's brutality was concentrated against the Jewish population) and the economy profited greatly from the war. Education, science and culture also experienced a boost. Until late summer of 1944, conditions in Slovakia were better than in neighbouring countries in Central Europe. That
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#17327730975062684-658: The German military , which began on 29 August 1944, and on the other against the Slovak collaborationist regime of the Ludaks under Jozef Tiso . Along with the Warsaw Uprising , it was the largest uprising against Nazism and its allies in Europe . Carried by parts of the Slovak army, the main area of the uprising was in central Slovakia, with the town of Banská Bystrica as its centre. The Slovak insurgent army (officially
2806-556: The Hlinka Guard and the Hlinka Youth – it strove to dominate all life in Slovakia. The emergence of the Slovak state was seen by many Ludaks – despite its shortcomings and limitations under constitutional law – as the completion of Slovak national-emancipatory aspirations. The majority of the Slovak population also took a decidedly positive view of its new state, at least in the first years of its existence. In contrast to
2928-647: The Kampfgruppe Schill, over 2000 strong, had been fighting in Slovakia; in addition, Major Otto Volkmann's Kampfgruppe and the Kampfgruppen Wildner and Wittenmeyer from the 14th Waffen-Grenadier Division of the SS operated on Slovak soil in the first days of September as well. With the completion of the deployment, a ring of German troops had formed around the central Slovak insurrectionary area. The Turčiansky Svätý Martin incident not only had
3050-559: The Nitra Valley, taking Baťovany north of the district town of Topoľčany as early as 5 September, before Slovak resistance made further advance impossible. The battlegroup of Army Group North Ukraine succeeded in capturing Ružomberok one day later, so that the insurgents lost the indispensable weapons factories. Especially in the eastern part of the insurgency area, the military leadership in Banská Bystrica tried to build up
3172-509: The Red Army occupied Slovakia in April 1945. As a result of the uprising, both conflicting parties also committed numerous war crimes . In the areas controlled by the insurgents, up to 1,500 people were murdered (mostly members of the German minority ). The German occupation regime, for its part, claimed up to 5,000 lives (about 2,000 of them being Jews ), especially after the suppression of
3294-704: The Zvolenský zámok Castle, stands as a significant symbol of the city's historical and cultural heritage. Within its venerable walls, the Slovak National Gallery curates a distinguished collection spanning Gothic to modern art, offering visitors an immersive experience in artistic evolution. Notably, since its establishment in 1974, the castle's courtyard has been the esteemed venue for the Zámocké hry zvolenské, an annual outdoor professional theatre festival of great renown. This cultural tradition underscores
3416-468: The communist takeover in Czechoslovakia in 1948, the Slovak National Uprising underwent strong reinterpretations. As a result, the share of communists and partisans in the uprising was exaggerated by official Czechoslovak historiography. The civic resistance and the significance of the insurgent army, whose representatives were persecuted by the communist leadership after 1948, were neglected. With
3538-694: The fall of communism in 1989, a process of re-evaluation began in Slovakia, through which the role of the civic resistance and the insurgent army was emphasised. 29 August is a public holiday in today's Slovakia . On 14 March 1939, under strong pressure from the Third Reich , the Slovak Parliament declared independence from the Czecho-Slovak Republic and proclaimed the Slovak State . Slovakia's political development in
3660-580: The invasion of Poland , not least because the expected that this would prevent further cessions of territory to Hungary and, in addition, that they would be able to regain the territories lost to Poland as a result of the Munich Agreement of 1938. However, since Slovaks of all political camps found it repugnant to attack the closely related Polish people together with the Germans, there were mutinies by Slovak soldiers in many Slovak towns. After
3782-664: The "Military Labour Corps", were concentrated around the High Command of the Land Forces under General Turanec. Last, in Eastern Slovakia, the Eastern Slovak Army took up position, comprising the two active infantry divisions No. 1 and No. 2 with 24,000 men. These men – equipped with weapons and equipment of the latest German production – could be considered the elite of the Slovak armed forces. It
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3904-578: The 1st Czechoslovak Army in Slovakia) was under the overall command of a military headquarters of the opposition Slovak National Council . This represented a coalition of the civic Democratic Party and the Slovak communists and was linked to the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London. The uprising was additionally supported by Soviet and Slovak partisan units. At the beginning of the uprising,
4026-923: The 2022/2023 season it competes in the Slovak Third League (West), the third-tier of Slovak football. The higher degree college was founded in 1952 and initially named the College of Forestry and Wood Technology. In 1991, it attained university status and underwent a name change to become the Technical University in Zvolen. It is a member of the European Forest Institute. In the field of education, it fulfills its mission in study programs such as forestry, wood processing, ecology, and environmental studies, production engineering, as well as in related artistic, economic, natural science, and technical fields, with an emphasis on
4148-512: The Bank of Banská Bystrica. After the fiasco in the attempted coordination of the insurrection plan with Moscow, the situation in Slovakia itself also became more complicated. This was due to the Soviets and the partisans they sent. The partisan movement in Slovakia took two forms – domestic and imported, the latter being clearly more significant. The first domestic attempts to form armed groups in
4270-539: The Czechoslovak Ministry of Defence in London since July 1944, Čatloš's subversion plan, on the other hand, was not politically tied to the government-in-exile (which Čatloš did not recognise) and only to a narrow circle of insiders were privy to it until the end of July 1944. Apart from the two so-called front-line units (1st Infantry Division in Romania and Construction Brigade in Italy), the Slovak army
4392-791: The Czechoslovak armed forces. On 7 September, the US, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom officially recognised this status. Thus, on 30 August, the military headquarters transformed itself into the "Command of the Czechoslovak Army" ( Veliteľstvo československej armády , VČSA for short). The Slovak troops forming the core of the armed uprising were given the name "Czechoslovak Army in Slovakia" ( Československá armáda na Slovensku , ČSAS for short) and on 30 September were renamed "1. Czechoslovak Army in Slovakia" (1st ČSAS). This army
4514-473: The German Reich in its protective obligations became apparent shortly after independence, when Slovakia was invaded by Hungarian troops and subsequently had to cede eastern Slovak territories to Horthy's Hungary. Berlin did not grant Slovakia any protection in this conflict, but merely assumed the role of mediator. In fact, for several months after the formation of the Slovak state, the German leadership
4636-473: The German Reich. Therefore, the German envoy in Bratislava, Hanns Ludin , saw himself forced to request the dispatch of Wehrmacht units to fight the partisans. However, the military situation in all theatres of war did not permit any intervention by the Wehrmacht for the time being, and after a temporary calming of the situation Ludin also withdrew his request for the dispatch of German troops on 27 August, as
4758-475: The Germans was the rapid disarming of the Slovak soldiers of the Eastern Slovak Army, who were probably the best equipped and best trained. In the original insurrection plans, Golian and the Slovak National Council had assigned the main role to these units. The disarmament of the Eastern Slovak divisions, which had been prepared by the command of Army Group North Ukraine since 27 August, lasted two days and
4880-613: The KSS accept the restoration of Czechoslovakia, but demanded its federalisation. The civic and social-democratic resistance was in contact with the Czechoslovak foreign movement and established contacts with the Czech resistance in the Protectorate. From the emergence of independent Slovakia in March 1939, civil servants and politicians who remained loyal to Czechoslovakia and Beneš formed resistance groups. They gathered intellectuals from
5002-619: The Kuruc army in the battle of Zvolen defeated the enemy forces from Austria, Denmark, Vojvodina and Hungary. In 1848–49, Ľudovít Štúr was a member of the Diet, with Zvolen as his constituency. In 1871–1872, 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
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5124-497: The Red Army was only 40 km from the Slovak border when the military action began, by the end of October 1944 it had only managed to conquer Carpathian Ukraine and parts of eastern Slovakia, suffering casualties of 21,000 soldiers killed and 89,000 wounded in the process. Despite initial successes, the balance of the German "cleansing action" was quite meagre in the first ten days. The responsibility for this lay primarily with SS-Obergruppenführer Berger, who had completely misjudged
5246-476: The SS in the person of Gottlob Berger , since the action fell into the area of "partisan combat". Berger initially had just under 9,000 men at his disposal, combined in combat groups newly set up for this operation. The first units to arrive were the Kampfgruppen Ohlen and Junck on 29 August, which had about 3900 men and were combined into the 178th Tatra Division on 5 September. Since 1 September,
5368-456: The Slovak National Council and military headquarters that the Slovak army was preparing for a major uprising and needed all functioning communication routes for this, the partisans continued to destroy roads, railways and bridges. They also attacked Germans living in Slovakia, as well as people who were active in the party and state apparatus of the Ludaks. The increasing partisan actions disrupted
5490-451: The Slovak National Council finally prevailed over other oppositional political groups. On 27 April 1944, after a meeting in Bratislava, two institutions central to the uprising were created: a "Military Council" at the Slovak National Council, to which Golian and another Slovak officer belonged, and a "Military Headquarters" as the supreme commanding body of an illegal insurgent army, of which Lieutenant Colonel Golian became commander. After
5612-553: The Slovak parliament, and only one Protestant, Defence Minister Ferdinand Čatloš , made it into the government and the continued presidency of the Hlinka party. Contributing to the disgruntlement of the Slovak population were the very unpopular wars against the Slavic states of Poland and the Soviet Union, in which Slovakia participated with its own troops, as well as the establishment of German advisory positions in Slovak ministries,
5734-590: The Slovak regime, and the armed groups were isolated from the population. A genuine partisan movement did not develop in Slovakia until August 1944. In May 1944, Klement Gottwald , the chairman of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in Moscow, concluded an agreement with Nikita Khrushchev , then general secretary of the Ukrainian Communists, whereby the partisan movement of Czechoslovakia
5856-575: The Soviet Union also soon followed. In total, the Slovak state was recognised by 27 states over the course of its existence. As a result of the Salzburg Conference of 1940, Slovakia became even more closely tied to the German Reich. In November 1940, Slovakia joined the Axis powers , which led to Slovakia's declaration of war against the Soviet Union in June 1941 and against Great Britain and
5978-409: The Soviet Union and could coordinate his military measures with the Red Army were now all doomed to failure. Added to this was the fact that, on Hitler's orders, because of the acute danger of the Soviet advance, the Eastern Slovak Army had already been assigned to the German Army Group North Ukraine on August 1, 1944. This was a scenario that had not been anticipated at all in the original planning of
6100-430: The Soviet Union were rejected, and the Communist Party had practically no influence on the army, police and gendarmerie. The Slovak army was formally independent, but the Slovak regime had had to give up important areas of organisation, especially with the Military Economic Treaty of 1939 and the installation of the German Industrial Commission in 1943. Slovak politicians had given in to German pressure to participate in
6222-414: The Soviets and Ukrainian partisans in October 1943, the Slovak units proved to be useless for further combat operations on the German Eastern Front. The example of the Slovak soldiers on the Eastern Front, but above all the entire military-political situation and the situation in Slovakia led to a deep differentiation among the cadre officers of the Slovak army. Outwardly, the Slovak army was still loyal to
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#17327730975066344-470: The Soviets through the delegation. They were escorted to the headquarters of the commander of the 4th Ukrainian Front , General Ivan Yefimovich Petrov , where they were first interrogated and then sent to Moscow for further interrogation. On 5 September they were allowed to return to Slovakia, but without having received any indication of Soviet operational plans or a commitment to support the uprising. The military headquarters continued its preparations for
6466-407: The Third Reich, it was Tiso's endeavour to shield Slovak society from German influence. In return, however, Tiso was prepared to cooperate in the economic sphere, in military participation in the wars against Poland and the Soviet Union, and in the deportation of Slovak Jews. In 1942, by introducing the Führerprinzip , Tiso was able to oust Tuka and his radical party wing and subsequently establish
6588-444: The Tiso government, but it was riddled with discontented officers and soldiers. The most active and influential resistance group within the army was formed by four officers, including Lieutenant Colonel Ján Golian , who was transferred in January 1944 to the field army command in Banská Bystrica , where he held the exposed position of Chief of Staff. This position within the Slovak army opened up great opportunities for Golian to form
6710-432: The Ukrainian Partisan Headquarters in Kiev. Since the Slovak communists failed to gain control of the military, headed by non-Marxist officers, they tried to compensate that by forming their own army from the partisan detachments. The conflict between the army and the partisans led to a crisis during the uprising, which the Slovak National Council tried to resolve on 12 September by setting up a "war council" to coordinate all
6832-407: The United States in December 1941. Through its support of the Third Reich, Slovakia fell into ever greater international isolation and reduced its chances of a possible post-war existence, especially when the Allies adopted the restoration of Czechoslovakia as one of their wartime objectives in 1941. Since it had become apparent that the Allies would not recognise an independent Slovakia after the war,
6954-406: The Wehrmacht before the Slovak leadership had asked Berlin for military support. The intervention of German troops in Slovakia, already considered in the weeks before, was now put into action. Just 24 hours after the Martin incident, the first improvised units of the Wehrmacht moved into Slovakia. An extremely complicated situation had arisen for Golian and his co-conspirators. They had no news of
7076-412: The activities of the army and the partisans. However, the council, which included leading democrats and communists, was never able to completely resolve the conflict because of constant communist harassment. In the second phase of operations, which was characterised by successful defensive battles by the resistance units, Gottlob Berger's units made little progress in the period from 8 to 19 September. In
7198-418: The additionally concluded "Confidential Protocol on Economic and Financial Cooperation", Germany also secured its interests vis-à-vis the Slovak economy. In return, the German Reich strived to "protect the political independence of the Slovak state and the integrity of its territory." Nevertheless, at the time of the state's founding, Slovakia's independence was still far from being secured. The flexibility of
7320-434: The advance of all German units slowed down considerably and, in some cases, even came to a complete standstill. While the advances of Kampfgruppe Ohlen got bogged down in the Slovak defences, Kampfverband Mathias was able to advance successfully to the north and north-east towards Ružomberok and threatened the important central Slovak industrial centre with its weapons factories. Kampfgruppe Schill also operated successfully in
7442-436: The army and population on Bratislava radio, according to which the Slovak government had called the German Wehrmacht into the country to fight the partisans and that the Slovak army should not offer any resistance to the Germans. Forty-five minutes later, the military headquarters in Banská Bystrica informed all garrisons scattered throughout Slovakia via telephone to resist the Germans. The Slovak National Uprising thus began as
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#17327730975067564-482: The army was played by Ferdinand Čatloš , who became general, defence minister and commander-in-chief in one person after the establishment of an independent Slovakia. However, the Slovak army did not become a reliable pillar of power for the Ludak regime. In general, the Slovak military was Western-oriented, and the former Czechoslovak officers had been educated in the spirit of the democratic traditions of Masaryk Czechoslovakia . Communism and an orientation towards
7686-408: The castle's pivotal role as a nexus of artistic expression and community engagement in the region. The oldest castle in Zvolen is Pustý hrad Castle. Covering an area of over four hectares, it ranks among the most extensive castle ruins not only in Slovakia but also in Central Europe. Due to the largely concealed state of the preserved ruins from the city of Zvolen, a portion of the hill of Horný hrad
7808-424: The changed war situation, Čatloš had already been considering a change of front since 1943, but he did not involve head of state Tiso in his plans. In early 1944, Čatloš proposed the formation of an Eastern Slovak Army that would act as one of the pillars of the future overthrow. Čatloš's proposal was approved by both the State Defence Council and the German leadership. By securing the north-eastern Slovak border with
7930-404: The conditions for a national uprising were in place. As in several other countries, there were two main lines of political resistance in Slovakia – This one communist and one non-communist. The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) was the first party ever to be banned in 1938 and thus forced into illegality. After the emergence of the Slovak state, the Slovak communists became independent and
8052-400: The coup preparations and drew the attention of the Slovak and German services to the centre of the conspiracy in central Slovakia. Warnings from the Slovak National Council that such actions could lead to a German occupation of Slovakia and thus to a premature outbreak of the uprising were not heeded by the partisans. In addition to the partisan problem, from mid-August onwards there was also
8174-490: The declaration of war against the Soviet Union in 1941, an army of 60,000 men was sent to the Eastern Front. Until the spring of 1943, the reliability of the Slovak units had been satisfactory in German eyes; in 1942, no more than 210 Slovak soldiers had defected to the Soviet Army or the partisans. From the beginning of 1943, however, after the catastrophe of Stalingrad , the number of Slovak defectors increased by leaps and bounds. After two mass desertions of Slovak troops to
8296-408: The dictatorship of the National Socialists. The domestic political situation in Slovakia from 1939 to 1942 was determined by a power struggle between the state president and party leader Jozef Tiso on the one hand and the prime minister and foreign minister Vojtech Tuka on the other. While Tuka, out of his admiration for National Socialism, entered into a voluntary relationship of instruction with
8418-469: The dimension of the Slovak uprising and had therefore tried to solve the problem with an insufficient deployment of forces. However, the German general's unconceptualised combat leadership in Slovakia also contributed to the poor result. The German attack had almost come to a standstill after two weeks as a result of the stabilising Slovak defensive front. As the scope of the insurgents' territory shrank, warfare by partisans became more important. According to
8540-483: The effect of triggering the confrontation between the opponents too early, thus nullifying any calculation on the part of the conspirators, but above all it had the effect of putting the German side in possession of the operational initiative from the very beginning. As a result of the surprise effect, the German combat groups succeeded in almost completely disarming the hardly resisting Slovak units stationed in eastern, and western Slovakia. The greatest initial success for
8662-428: The establishment of the illegal military headquarters on 27 April 1944, the initiative in the preparations for the uprising moved completely from the Slovak National Council to the Slovak Army. Since Golian had been tied to Banská Bystrica since January 1944, the command of the field army in Banská Bystrica came to the fore in the subsequent preparations for the uprising. The military headquarters now set about making all
8784-625: The first towns in the Kingdom of Hungary . The privileges were confirmed on 28 December 1243, after the original document was destroyed in war. Later, King Louis I the Great built a new castle , which became a popular hunting resort of the Hungarian kings. The future queen regnant Mary of Hungary and emperor Sigismund celebrated their wedding there in 1385. In the Rákóczi's War of Independence
8906-432: The following six years was determined by its status as a "protective state" of the German Reich. In the "Protection Treaty" concluded on 23 March 1939, Slovakia strived to conduct its foreign policy and the building of its army "in close agreement" with the German Reich and to make a "protection zone" in the western part of the country available to the Wehrmacht for the establishment of military installations and garrisons. In
9028-443: The forests took place as early as 1942, and was called for mainly by the Slovak communists. The partisan units formed in the mountainous areas of central and northern Slovakia. They were composed of deserters from the Slovak army, escaped prisoners of war, persecuted Jews, as well as Slovak and Carpathian German opponents of the government. However, partisanship did not take on a mass form in the first, "victorious" period for Germany and
9150-546: The future status of Slovakia only after the war. Both the insurrection plan of the military headquarters and Čatloš's overthrow plan relied in principle on the exploitation of the Eastern Slovak Army to open the borders in the Carpathians and the passage of the Red Army into Slovak territory. The insurgency plan of the Military Headquarters had been the subject of continued attention and expert support from
9272-649: The government in Bratislava , that set in motion a swift and harsh reaction by the German Reich . The German Reich Foreign Minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop , asked the German envoy, Ludin, to immediately persuade the Slovak government to give its official consent to the German invasion. Ludin then met (again) with President Tiso and more or less categorically demanded his approval of the German occupation, to which Tiso agreed after much hesitation. Steps toward intervention in Slovakia, however, had already been taken by
9394-516: The government in September 1941 completed the transition from the hitherto customary religious to the racial assessment of the Jewish question and was among the harshest anti-Semitic laws in Europe. On Tuka's initiative, two-thirds of the Slovak Jews (about 58,000) were then deported to German extermination camps between March and October 1942; of these, only a few hundred survived. After
9516-473: The home army, Čatloš wanted to pre-empt an occupation of this area by German units over which he would have had no influence and which would have blocked the passage of the Red Army in the Carpathians. Čatloš planned to overthrow the Tiso government at the appropriate moment, establish a military dictatorship and lead Slovakia to the Soviet side. Unlike the Slovak National Council, however, he proposed to decide on
9638-418: The insurgents controlled over half of what was then Slovak territory, but quickly lost ground as a result of the German advance. After 60 days of fighting, the uprising ended on 28 October 1944. With the fall of Banská Bystrica, the military leadership of the insurgents gave up fighting openly against the Wehrmacht. Without surrendering, the insurgents switched to pure partisan fighting, which they continued until
9760-472: The international Sliač Airport. This strategic positioning enhances its accessibility and connectivity, making it a pivotal hub for transportation and commerce within the region. The Zvolen Railway Junction is one of the four main establishment stations (Bratislava, Košice, Žilina, Zvolen) in the network of Slovak Railways (ŽSR). It comprises multiple stations and stops ( Zvolen osobná railway station , Zvolen City Station, Zvolen Freight Station). The main station
9882-428: The involvement of the general and officer corps was decisive for the success of the action. The Slovak army had emerged from the ruins of the old Czechoslovak army , in which few Slovaks had risen to officer rank due to Czech dominance. The Slovak officer corps was built up between 1939 and 1942 – after the soldiers of Czech, Hungarian or Carpatho-Ukrainian nationality had been demobilised. The central role in building up
10004-485: The late summer of 1944 with nearly 50,000 men, and the "sovereign" and "friendly" state became a theatre of war. The country was divided into two independent military areas: while in the eastern part of the country the Army Group North Ukraine led the implementation of the action, the command over the rest of the country lay with the "German General in Slovakia", who from 1 September 1944 was provided by
10126-546: 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, the Technická univerzita vo Zvolene . An airport in nearby Sliač used to offer direct flights to Prague , but has been used exclusively by the military since 2021. The town square was modernized in 2002 and local businesses are popular with tourists. In wintertime an ice rink
10248-591: The majority of whom were Protestants. However, the relationship between the Slovak agrarians and Beneš was complex, due to the fact that the government-in-exile adhered to the idea of a unified Czechoslovak nation – a position that the agrarians found unacceptable. The Slovak agrarians no longer valued Prague centralism and a unified Czechoslovak nation in their ideas about a renewed Czechoslovakia. The majority of them were in favour of respecting Slovak national autonomy, from which they also derived appropriate changes in Slovakia's status under state law. Before 1943, there
10370-517: The military and politics and helped Czech refugees from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (mostly civil servants and resistance fighters) to escape via Slovakia to the Balkans and then to the West. All these groups rejected the idea of an independent Slovakia and advocated the restoration of Czechoslovakia. The most significant among the non-communist resistance groups were the Slovak agrarians ,
10492-409: The military's plan, the partisan units were to provide effective support for the insurgents and the army, notably by operating in the enemy's rear. Some Slovak partisan groups had even placed themselves under army command before the outbreak of the uprising. Most partisan groups, however, limited the support they gave to the army to the absolute minimum and pursued their own actions, following orders from
10614-542: The museum vehicle park. It also co-organizes the annual Grand Prix steam locomotive races in Zvolen. The ice hockey club HKM Zvolen is the third most successful hockey club in Slovakia. It plays in Slovakia's highest league, the Slovak Extraliga , and has won three titles in 2001, 2012 and 2021. Another noteworthy achievement is winning the IIHF Continental Cup in 2005. Since 1965, their home
10736-536: The name Stredoslovenské divadlo. It was reportedly chosen as one of the region's established institutions due to its contributions during the Slovak National Uprising and to bolster the cultural and industrial fabric of the city. Since 1954, the institution has been known as the Jozef Gregor Theatre. The dominating feature of the eastern part of the town centre is the model of the Hurban armoured train as
10858-443: The necessary preparations for an armed uprising in the months of May, June and July 1944. It was necessary to fill the leading command posts and staffs with reliable officers and to issue general guidelines for the troop units in the event of an uprising. It was decided to concentrate strong troop units in the central Slovak triangle of Banská Bystrica- Brezno - Zvolen . It was an area that they thought they could hold in any case, but it
10980-463: The one-sided orientation towards Hitler's Germany and the exaggerated nationalism. Later, the Slovak regime's policy towards the Jews also met with widespread social disapproval. After the Salzburg Conference in 1940, the strengthened radical party wing of Prime Minister Tuka's Ludaks pushed through a rapid radicalisation of the so-called "solution to the Jewish question". The Jewish Code issued by
11102-615: The other German satellite states of East Central Europe. In Slovakia, Romania's change of front made a great impression, as it was the first time a satellite state in Southeastern Europe had defected from Germany. On August 27, in Martin , Slovakia, an alliance of partisans under the Soviet partisan leader Velichko and the mutinous local garrison of the Slovak Army, without the knowledge of the military headquarters, held up
11224-483: The outcome of the Šmidke mission and did not know the attitude of the Soviet Union. Nor had the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London heard a word from the Soviets about their attitude toward the plans for a Slovak national uprising during more than three weeks that had elapsed since the Šmidke delegation arrived in the USSR. Moscow remained silent. Golian's efforts to delay the day of the uprising until he had news from
11346-448: The partisans became more and more popular. Their exact numbers are disputed among historians: Wolfgang Venohr assumes about 2,000 partisans at the beginning of the uprising, whose count then increased to 7,000 due to influxes. Other historians, however, state 12,000 to 18,000 partisans as the assumed maximum number. The relationship between the partisans and the Slovak National Council was far from ideal. Despite repeated warnings from
11468-410: The partisans, who were often supported by the Soviet Union, and the Slovak army, which was increasingly judged to be unreliable, made Slovakia an unstable variable within the German hegemonic sphere. The precautions taken by the Slovak government against the partisans not only remained ineffective, but the resistance groups even increased their actions against the German minority and the armed forces of
11590-560: The political and military changes in Slovakia did the Red Army correct its operational planning. Although it continued its successful campaign in Romania and on the Balkan Peninsula, it opened its offensive on the Beskid front earlier than intended. However, the attack organised at short notice came at the expense of military strength. The Red Army's Eastern Carpathian Operation lasted from 8 September to 28 October 1944, and although
11712-528: The political situation no longer seemed to justify such a measure. As a result, an incident occurred during the night of 27 August in the central Slovak town of Martin , which led to the escalation of the tense situation and triggered the German intervention. Romania's defection from the German to the Soviet side, successfully carried out by Romanian King Michael I on August 23, caused consternation in Berlin and fear that Romania's example would be imitated in
11834-436: The question was no longer whether Slovakia would become part of Czechoslovakia again, but only under what conditions. The Ludaks of the ruling Hlinka party had already been the strongest political force in Slovakia since 1925, but within Czechoslovakia they never received more than a third of the Slovak electoral votes. In the autumn of 1938 they took over the autonomous Slovak provincial government and by December 1938 imposed
11956-410: The raids and actions against the German forces would be carried out exclusively by partisan groups. However, the attack of Kampfgruppe Ohlen, even before it reached the operational objective of Martin, came to a halt due to stubborn Slovak resistance and unfavourable terrain conditions near Žilina . This first Slovak defensive success had a positive effect on the fighting morale of the insurgents, so that
12078-402: The recognition of Slovakia by the Soviet Union on 16 September 1939, the party leadership favoured the restoration of Czechoslovakia, after which it accepted the idea of an independent Slovakia. After 1940, the Slovak communists again made the establishment of a "Slovak Soviet Republic" their party programme. Only when Stalin recognised Edvard Beneš ' Czechoslovak government-in-exile in 1941 did
12200-429: The representation of second and third-degree study programs, accreditation, and the implementation of programs in foreign languages. The university has the following faculties: The largest town in central Pohronie, Zvolen, boasts a highly advantageous transportation location. Situated at the intersection of key national roadways (R1, R2) and significant railway routes of nationwide importance, it also enjoys proximity to
12322-490: The request of the High Command of the Wehrmacht , in which the Germans enjoyed free right of passage. It thus followed naturally that mountainous central Slovakia became the glacis of the military conspiracy. Simultaneously, but independent of the efforts of the military headquarters to work out a military insurrection plan, the Slovak defence minister Ferdinand Čatloš also developed a subversion plan of his own. Due to
12444-436: The spring of 1944, Slovakia outwardly presented the image of an "oasis of peace", but internally fundamental changes and a radical change of mood had taken place in all strata of the population. Nevertheless, despite growing anti-German sentiment among the population, it took until mid-1944 for the political conditions in Slovakia to change to such an extent (as a result of the dramatic events in all European theatres of war) that
12566-433: The strong garrisons of Bratislava and Nitra did not join the uprising. Only the military garrison of Trnava in western Slovakia defected to the insurrection area with 3,000 soldiers. After the initial successes, the German general in Slovakia was convinced that the "expiatory action" would only take four days to pacify the country in the sense of the "protecting power". Unaware of the actual situation, Berger believed that
12688-401: The uprising while awaiting the return of the two envoys as well as the arrival of the Soviet army. Under the pretext of "increased participation of the Slovak army in the struggle against the Soviets", it managed to get the Tiso government to issue a decree mobilising more age groups. Under the same pretext, some units of the army were quietly transferred to the strategically important triangle of
12810-489: The uprising with targeted "punitive measures" against the civilian population. The German leadership also used the uprising as an opportunity to complete the extermination of the Jews in Slovakia , which resulted in the deportation or murder of more than 14,000 Jews on Slovak territory by the end of the war. A total of about 30,000 Slovak citizens were deported to German prison, labour, internment and concentration camps . After
12932-478: The uprising with the Soviet advance and therefore decided to send a delegation to the Soviet Union. The delegation, consisting of Karol Šmidke and a Slovak officer, managed to land in Ukraine on 4 August by plane. They carried with them both the insurrection plan of the military headquarters and the overthrow plan of General Čatloš ("Čatloš Memorandum"), who had provided them with the plane and also wanted to contact
13054-410: The uprising. For Defense Minister Čatloš, too, the realization of the uprising according to his plans had become unrealistic since he had been deposed as commander-in-chief of the army on August 25. On the evening of August 29 – only a few hours after the first German advance units had crossed Slovakia's northeastern border – Defense Minister Čatloš, on President Tiso's orders, read his proclamation to
13176-407: The uprising. Finally, the military headquarters transported war supplies, food and medicines to the triangle to be defended under the pretext of removing them from areas exposed to Allied bombardment (especially Bratislava). By June 1944, Central Slovakia had a full three months' worth of food supplies, all in all 1,3 million litres of petrol in various storage centres and 3,54 billion Slovak crowns in
13298-512: The war situation turned against the Axis powers in the winter of 1942/43, unrest within Slovakia increased. In 1943, major news of German defeats ( Stalingrad , Kursk , Italy's exit from the war ) and the looming overall German defeat reached the country. Under the impression of the victories of the Red Army, but also of the spreading news of Nazi war crimes in the Soviet Union, a wave of Russophilia and Slavophilia grew in Slovak society. Thus, in
13420-581: The young generation of communists, led by Gustáv Husák , and the young agrarians under Ján Ursíny began to negotiate a common programme. In December 1943, the "Christmas Agreement" was reached between the "socialist block" (communists and social democrats) and the "civic block" (mainly agrarians). They agreed to stage an uprising and to form a "Slovak National Council" as the highest body of the illegal resistance, consisting of three communists (Gustáv Husák, Ladislav Novomeský , Karol Šmidke ) and three non-communists (Ján Ursíny, Jozef Lettrich , Matej Josko ). It
13542-425: Was agreed to fight the Tiso regime and German domination and to re-establish Czechoslovakia as a democratic federation of two nation states in which Czechs and Slovaks would live as equal partners. In addition, political rapprochement with the Soviet Union was sought. The opposition representatives were clear that the realisation of any overthrow or uprising was unthinkable without the army. From this point of view,
13664-473: Was also eminently suitable for an unnoticed deployment for military action. In both western and eastern Slovakia, the Slovak formations were under German observation. The German military mission was located in Bratislava, and the so-called German protection zone with its main base in Malacky extended directly northwest of it. Eastern Slovakia, in turn, had been declared an operational area since August 1944 at
13786-459: Was cleared of trees. Currently, it is possible not only to observe the castle walls' remnants from Zvolen but also to enjoy the panoramic view of the Zvolenská kotlina basin and the surrounding mountain ranges from Pustý hrad. The dominant feature of the main town square in the city center is the isolated building of Roman-Catholic parish Church of St. Elizabeth from the 14th century. The building
13908-413: Was completed on 31 August 1944. Half of the total of 25,000 Slovak soldiers were disarmed and interned, some escaped and fled to their families or joined the partisans. Only about 2,000 soldiers reached the insurgents' territory in central Slovakia. Considerable stocks of weapons and military equipment, including artillery, fell into German hands. The Germans won another early victory in western Slovakia, as
14030-523: Was effectively divided into three in April 1944. In western Slovakia, in Bratislava and the surrounding area, there were the remnants of the Ministry of Defence under General Čatloš: the Bratislava garrison with about 8,000 soldiers and other units with a strength of about 8,000 men, half of which were "military labour corps". In Central Slovakia, in Banská Bystrica and the surrounding area, replacement and training units of about 14,000 men, plus 4,000 men from
14152-618: Was later modified in the late Gothic style around the year 1500, and subsequently in the 16th century and the 18th century in the Baroque style. Another important church is the Lutheran St. Trinity Church. A single-nave originally late Baroque building with a polygonally terminated chancel and a protruding tower from the year 1784. In the years 1856-1857, a tower was built according to the project of František Mikša. The Professional Theatre in central Zvolen commenced operations in 1949 under
14274-496: Was no planned cooperation between the resistance groups due to different objectives, lack of coordination and a lack of acceptance among the population. It was only due to the rapprochement between the Czechoslovak government-in-exile and the Soviet Union, as well as the course of the war, which increased the influence of the Soviet Union in East-Central Europe, that a change also began in the Slovak resistance. In 1943,
14396-535: Was not to advance from the north across the Carpathians into the middle Danube basin, but from the south through Romania and the Danube valley. Thus, while in Soviet war planning the liberation of Slovakia was postponed to the last months of the war, the leadership of the Slovak Insurgent Army assumed that the Soviet invasion would take place in the summer or early autumn of 1944. Only on the occasion of
14518-580: Was particularly important to determine the timing of the outbreak of the uprising. By the end of July 1944, the Soviet army had advanced in a narrow wedge to the Vistula River near Warsaw, thereby hastening the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising on 1 August. However, the Soviets did not advance further into Poland at that time, thus enabling the Germans to prevent the Warsaw Uprising from succeeding. The Slovak National Council wanted to coordinate
14640-554: Was regular from day one, had its command staff, regiments, battalions and companies, carried weapons, uniforms and adhered to international military law. The 1st Czechoslovak Army initially had 18,000 men; after mobilisation on 5 September 1944, their numbers rose to 47,000 and afterwards to around 60,000. At its head was Lieutenant Colonel Ján Golian as professional commander, who was promoted to colonel in early September and then to brigadier general. Their headquarters were in Banská Bystrica. German troops gradually invaded Slovakia in
14762-411: Was still unclear about its continued existence and regarded it as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Hungary and Poland. Since only the German government could give a guarantee of the existence of the independent state, good conduct and compliancy were therefore the order of the day among Slovak politicians, so as not to jeopardise protection by the German Reich." The Slovak state was governed by
14884-721: Was subordinated to the Ukrainian partisan movement, which was directed from Kiev. Groups trained by the Soviets were dropped as paratroopers over Slovakia and some partisans also entered the country via eastern Poland. The first Soviet parachute unit was sent to Slovakia by the Ukrainian Partisan Command on the night of 25–26 July 1944 under Lieutenant Piotr A. Velichko to take command of the Slovak partisan movement and bring reinforcements to its cadres with experienced Soviet partisan fighters. With increasing activity, namely acts of sabotage and raids on police stations,
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