It has a population of  people (31 December ).

Ethnicity

Religion

Economy

thumb|The 8-bit [[PMD 85 personal computer produced in 1985–1990 by the Czechoslovak Tesla company in Piešťany]]

One of the important employers in the city during the communist era was the Czechoslovak electronics maker Tesla Piešťany. It closed down in 1991, and in 1998 its factories were acquired by ON Semiconductor, a former subsidiary of Motorola, keeping a small customer support centre in the town. Delipro, s.r.o., a manufacturer of quartz crystals founded in 1993, is another company building on the legacy of electronics manufacturing in the region.

Other important employers in the town include the Slovak headquarters of the financial services company Home Credit Slovakia.

is an independent certification, testing, and inspection body for conformity assessment of machinery and construction products, and consumer goods. Historically, Technický skúšobný ústav Piešťany is one of the oldest and the largest testing bodies in the Slovak Republic within testing activity.

Culture

right|thumb|A World War I [[biplane of Milan Rastislav Štefánik in the military museum]]

The town is known in Slovakia for its rich cultural programme throughout the year. In the summer tourist season, the town hosts several cultural events. Both the opening (in June) and the closing (in September) of the summer spa season are connected with big street festivals. An annual summer classical music festival, Piešťany Music Festival, established in 1955, takes place in the House of Arts of Piešťany. This venue, with a seating capacity of 622, is currently the largest cinema hall in Slovakia and also offers other concerts and theatre shows. Country Lodenica is a festival of folk and country music established in 1999. It takes place south of the town, on the shores of the Sĺňava water reservoir. Since the 2000s, various festivals have been held at Piešťany Airport, among others, second second-largest music festival in Slovakia - GrapeFestival, rock-centered Topfest, and electronic music-focused BeeFree or Hodokvas. Furthermore, from 2006 to 2009 and since 2019, there have been air shows. There were also regular car-, motorcycle- and truck-races.

Between 1967 and 1993, the city was the site of an annual sculpture exhibition in the Spa Park. This tradition was renewed in 2005 and 2008.

Piešťany also has several museums. The , the only one of its type in the region, focuses on archeology, history and ethnography of the region, as well as the history of Slovakia's spas in general. It was established in 1933 by the Winter family. Another small museum belonging to the Balneological Museum commemorates the life of the Slovak poet Ivan Krasko, who lived in Piešťany from 1945 to 1958. Finally, a new museum at the airport (active since 2004) exhibits a collection related to the Slovak military history from 1945 to 1992.

The House of Arts is the first postwar Slovak theatre building outside Bratislava, being a project of architect . In the first half of September, the annual International Film Festival Cinematik is held in various areas of Piešťany. It is currently the second-largest film festival in Slovakia.

Notable people

  • An art colony established by several Slovak artists, including Janko Alexy, Martin Benka, Miloš Alexander Bazovský, and Zoltán Palugyay, existed in Piešťany in 1932–1937
  • Patrik Vrbovský, also known as Rytmus, born in 1977, rapper, grew up in Pieštany
  • Ivan Krasko, a Slovak poet, lived in Piešťany from 1945 to 1958 (his former apartment houses a small museum)
  • Charles Korvin Hungarian-American actor, born Kárpáthy
  • Ivan Stodola, writer, playwright, and physician, lived in Piešťany from 1953 to 1977
  • Irena Belohorská, politician, former member of the European Parliament, born in Piešťany in 1948
  • Emire Khidayer, diplomat, entrepreneur, and writer, was born in Piešťany in 1971
  • Ľudmila Cervanová, professional tennis player, was born in Piešťany in 1979
  • Róbert Erban, world champion in the kayak K4 was born in Piešťany in 1972
  • Slavomír Kňazovický, a flatwater canoeer, was born in Piešťany in 1969
  • Martina Moravcová, a swimmer with 2 silver Olympic medals, was born in Piešťany in 1976 and grew up in the town
  • Branko Radivojevič, ice hockey player, was born in Piešťany in 1980
  • Michel Miklík, ice hockey player, was born in Piešťany in 1982
  • Shmuel Dovid Ungar, Rabbi, Rosh yeshiva of the Nitra Yeshiva, born in Piešťany in 1886
  • Victor Vasarely, Hungarian artist, father of op-art, grew up in Piešťany
  • Dominika Cibulková, professional tennis player, born in 1989, grew up in Piešťany
  • Filip Hološko, professional footballer
  • Ján Šlahor, professional footballer, born in Piešťany in 1977
  • Ernö Rubik, Hungarian aircraft designer
  • Magdaléna Rybáriková, tennis player, born in Piešťany in 1988
  • Lukáš Lacko, tennis player
  • Filip Horanský, tennis player, born in Piešťany in 1993
  • Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal, the Chief Rabbi of Slovakia, worked in Piešťany from 1920 to 1942
  • Lukáš Babač, professional rower, participant at the Olympics 2004

Twin towns – sister cities

Piešťany is twinned with:

  • Újbuda (Budapest), Hungary
  • Eilat, Israel
  • Hajdúnánás, Hungary
  • Heinola, Finland
  • Luhačovice, Czech Republic
  • Poděbrady, Czech Republic
  • Ustroń, Poland
  • Varaždinske Toplice, Croatia

References

Bibliography

  • Vladimír Krupa (2001) "Kúpele Piešťany". Pamiatky a múzeá 1/2001. Published by the Slovak National Museum.
  • Gabriela Květanová (2001) "Napoleonské kúpele v Piešťanoch". Pamiatky a múzeá 1/2001. Published by the Slovak National Museum.
  • Ondrej Franko (1998).Piešťany-thermal H<SUB>2</SUB>S water and mud. Environmental Geology 36(3–4), 215–218.
  • John W Lund (September 2000) "Geothermal Spas in the Czech Republic and Slovakia". Geo-Heat Center Bulletin 21(3). Oregon Institute of Technology.
  • Piešťany town
  • Piešťany spa