Nitra

Nitra
Nitra
City
	View from the south side of Nitra Castle
	Flag Coat of arms
	Nitra Location in Slovakia
	Coordinates: 48°18′25″N 18°05′11″E / 48.30694°N 18.08639°E
Country	Slovakia
Region	Nitra
First mentioned	828
Government
• Mayor	Marek Hattas
Area
• Total	100.47 km2 (38.79 sq mi)
Elevation	190 m (620 ft)
Population (2024)
• Total	75,945
• Density	760/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	949 01
Area code	+421-37
Car plate	NR
Website	www.nitra.sk

Nitra (Hungarian: Nyitra / Nyitria [archaic]; German: Neutra (pronunciation (help·info))) is a city in western Slovakia (and the fifth largest urban settlement in Slovakia) at the base of Zobor Mountain in the Nitra River valley.

Nitra is one of the oldest cities in Slovakia. It existed as a town since at least the early 9th century.

History

Nitra is a city with special history. People have lived there for at least 6000 years. It was an important center of the Celts (in the last few hundred years BC), and later the seat of the first known rulers of what is today Slovak territory, i.e. of :

the Germanic Quadi around 396? (disputed)
the Slavic/Slovak Principality of Nitra:
- an independent state (late 8th century - 833)
- Principality of Nitra as part of Great Moravia (833 - ?907)
- Principality of Nitra under Hungarian rule (?925/970 - 1107) [between 1000 and 1030 temporarily under Polish rule ]

Nitra is also site of the first known Church in Central and Eastern Europe, built in 828.