Námestovo

Námestovo (Hungarian: Námesztó; Polish: Namiestów) is a town in northern Slovakia. It is the capital and largest town of Námestovo District in the Žilina Region. As of 2018 its population was 7,827.

The name is derived from a word námesta (a representative, a deputy; like modern Slovak námestník or Czech náměstek) referring to a representative of Vlach settlers whose seat was in Námestovo.^[4] Alternatively, it could be derived from a personal name Namest (a less probable theory).^[4]

The municipality lies at an altitude of 620 metres (2,030 ft)^[3] and covers an area of 44.44 km² (17.16 sq mi) (2024).^[5]

The town is located under the Orava Highlands at the shores of the Orava reservoir, not far from the Polish border, around 15 km (9.32 mi) from Tvrdošín and 30 km (18.64 mi) from Dolný Kubín.

The town was mentioned in the 16th century, when the massive colonisation of Orava took place. It was growing quickly, thanks to its favourable location on the trade route to Poland. The town was burned down at the end of World War II. The construction of the Orava reservoir affected the way of life in the town, as two-thirds of the town were inundated, including the town centre. Boom of the industry and the following apartment construction in the 1970s contributed to the growth of the town.

It has a population of 7355 people (31 December 2024).^[7]

In year 2021 was 7722 people by ethnicity 7272 as Slovak, 438 as Not found out, 49 as Czech, 21 as Polish, 15 as Other, 10 as Russian, 5 as Chinese, 5 as Ukrainian, 5 as Rusyn, 4 as Irish, 3 as Italian, 2 as Turkish, 2 as Romani, 2 as German, 2 as Moravian, 2 as Hungarian, 2 as Bulgarian, 1 as Serbian, 1 as Silesian, 1 as Romanian, 1 as Austrian, 1 as Canadian, 1 as French, 1 as English and 1 as Albanian.

Note on population

The difference between the population numbers above and in the census (here and below) is that the population numbers above are mostly made up of permanent residents, etc.; and the census should indicate the place where people actually mainly live. For example, a student is a citizen of a village because he has permanent residence there (he lived there as a child and has parents), but most of the time he studies at a university in the city.

In year 2021 was 7722 people by religion 6250 from Roman Catholic Church, 877 from None, 396 from Not found out, 47 from Evangelical Church, 31 from Greek Catholic Church, 30 from Ad hoc movements, 18 from Christian Congregations in Slovakia, 17 from Other, 14 from Jehovah's Witnesses, 8 from Eastern Orthodox Church, 7 from Other and not ascertained christian church, 7 from Buddhism, 6 from Paganism and natural spirituality, 5 from Islam, 4 from Calvinist Church, 2 from United Methodist Church, 2 from Seventh-day Adventist Church and 1 from Czechoslovak Hussite Church.

According to the 2001 census, the town had 8,135 inhabitants. 98.65% of inhabitants were Slovaks and 0.65% Czechs.^[11] The religious makeup was 92.12% Roman Catholics, 4.95% people with no religious affiliation and 0.84% Lutherans.^[11]

• Summer afternoon at Orava Reservoir
• A sailboat on the Orava Reservoir
• Námestovo in winter
• Winter on the bank of Orava Reservoir
• Námestovo in autumn
• Statue of Anton Bernolák on Slanica Isle
• A memorial plaque to Anton Bernolák on Slanica Isle

• Jozef Kabaň
• Dušan Tittel
• Anton Bernolák

• Namestovo church