Mezei István: Urban development in Slovakia (Pécs-Somorja, 2010)
4. Towns in Slovakia after 1993
Towns in Slovakia after 1993 strengthening Slovak national consciousness, accepted the German ‘suggestion’ of developing the munitions industry. Therefore, industrialization was started in the Váh Valley, and this laid the foundations o'f Slovak industrial development. During the decades of communism the centres for the working class had to be established, which again increased the significance of towns and cities both in the Váh Valley, which was being industrialized rapidly, and in other places, too. For the sake of balance, the neglected eastern section of the country, which was rather poor in raw materials, also had to be developed. This was how Košice became the centre for the steel industry. After 1945 administration became again a means of centralization, but this time in a more rigid way, since, unlike in previous years, there was no chance for different political forces and interest groups to give their opinions in public life. The state machinery and administration were controlled by one single party. In 1960, in accordance with the administrative reform, the number of regions was reduced to three, and that of the districts was also reduced to 32. This extremely simplified system, which was created for the aim only of carrying out the central will, operated up until 1991. In 1969 the only change made was that Bratislava itself also became an independent region, so the number of regions increased to four, and within the administrative boundaries of Bratislava and Košice, the two big cities, several districts were marked out, which increased the number of the 32 districts. These changes, however, did not have any effects on crucial aspects, and neither did control become more democratic. Although the three cities of Bratislava, Košice and Banská Bystrica, were of utmost importance as centres and administrative regions, central control was a more important feature of the age. The centre was Prague and all the other regional centres only executed and transmitted central instructions. The only benefit the three cities had from this situation was that they had priority over other cities and towns. Their service providing facilities were increasing, which was an obvious advantage over other towns. In a political sense, it also meant better-balanced control, since the three large areas of Western, Central and Eastern Slovakia each had their own centres for three decades. The same is true, even if to a smaller degree, of the 32, and after some years, the 38 district centres, because, in the development plans for settlements between 1961 and 1991, smaller centres were also granted some development resources. 102
