Modern history

The modern history of the town was to a great extent influenced by the national importance of engineering factory “Podpolianske strojárne” between the years 1950 – 1955. The enterprise together with its branch plants in Hriňová, Krupina, Tisovec, Lučenec, Rimavská Sobota, Vlkanová, Cinobaňa and research institute in Zvolen, in their greatest expansion, was employing app. 13 000 workers. The former village was experiencing a boom. People from all around Slovakia were moving in into new-built blocks of flats. The number of inhabitants was rising rapidly. However, the visual appearance of the old part of the town did not change very much. The new settlements were built at a distance and the difference is still clearly visible. In the 1965 Detva became a town. Together with the rising number of the people, everything was on a move. Many new buildings and institutions, such as the culture centre Dom kultúry Andreja Sládkoviča (1954), open air stadium, ice-hockey stadium, health care centre, taxing authority, banks, were built within the next few years. In the year 1996 Detva became a district town. There are 5 primary schools, a grammar school, a secondary technical school, Primary School of Arts of Svetozár Stračina. The nearest university is in Zvolen, Technical University, and in Banská Bystrica, Matej Bel University.