Prievidza in the prehistoric period

Despite the first mention of Prievidza dating back to the year 1113, its land and further reaching territory were already actively inhabited since the stone age. The Hornonitrianska basin (a depression, or dip, in the Earth’s surface shaped like bowls, with sides higher than the bottom.) represented an important intersection of a number of key trade routes, one of them called ‘jantárová cesta’ (amber route), through which passed the branch of transcontinental communication, connecting the Mediterranean and Baltic.

In the years 250-40 thousand B.C. the first occurrence of a neanderthal group was registered on what is now the location of Bojnice castle. Towards the end of the middle palaeolithic period there is evidence of the presence of neanderthals located directly in the territory of Prievidza. Their presence has been confirmed with the findings of objects located on the ‘Mariánsky vŕšok’ (Mariansky hill). Amongst these artefacts are stone instruments showing characteristics of the Levallois and Mousterian culture. 

The neolithic revolution brought groundbreaking changes in technology and society. Homo sapiens, the direct predecessor of modern day people, raised cattle, grew grain and built firm/sturdy buildings from wood. The most inhabited regions were mainly the lower area of river flow near Nitra, travertine pile and Prepoštská cave in Bojnice. 

In the Eneolithic period, the new technique of processing copper ores was already in use in the upper Nitra region. In the bronze age it has been recorded that gold was used in jewellery making. The possibility of the first gold miners/diggers being Celts cannot be excluded. 

In the 1st century A.D. the heart of settlement became the castle Hradec. 

In the years 166-180 Marcomanese wars were taking place during which Romans penetrated the territory of what is now Slovakia, resulting in the depopulation of entire regions, including upper Nitra. 

During the migration period a culture connected with Slavicism begins to emerge. In the period of Great Moravia, in the 9th century, Prievidza was already inhabited with numerous settlements and 2-3 fortified castles. A specific characteristic of this region was the expanded production of tar in Bojnice and Koš. Upper Nitrian tar was a part of trade as a predecessor of coin currency. This liquid substance has its uses in many crafts. It was obtained by the processing of wood through tar furnaces of many shapes. The end of Great Moravia did not halt the inhabitation of the Ponitrianska region.