Medieval Prievidza

Early medieval inhabitation of the town is testified not only thanks to archeological findings, but also via the first document ‘Zoborská listina’ from the year 1113 containing references to Prievidza, though its name at the time was ‘Preuigan’. The town got its current name (Prievidza) sometime during the Middle Ages. A kind of predecessor of the privileged medieval towns were  market centers. The Prievidza settlement used its lucrative location at the intersection of several roads by establishing a toll station and organizing Monday markets. 

From the second half of the 12th century, upper Nitra belonged to the Bíň branch of the Hont family. His middle son Kazimír became the heir to the owner Pangrác. Kazimir’s descendant Peter acquired Prievidza and built a residential tower here, which in the 13th century resisted the siege of the royal army.

After the death of Matúš Čák Trenčianský in the beginning of the 14th century, Prievidza fell into the control of the Anjou family, changing it from a market centre into a town. 

In 1383, on January 28, Queen Mary granted Prievidza city privileges. With this document, the city was promoted among other royal cities. The development of the craft sector was also supported by the mile right granted by the queen. A prominent student of this time was Michal from Prievidza. He studied in Vienna and later worked in the services of Queen Elizabeth. In the 15th century, the ethnicity of the population of Prievidza balanced out, however, the Germans still remained the richest citizens amongst the population.