Rajec (; ) is a town in the à ½ilina District, à ½ilina Region in northern Slovakia.
Rajec, RajÃÂianka, RajÃÂanka are derived from Proto-Slavic appellative *rajàâ a wet, muddy place (modern Slovak raj â a paradise, "a place with rich vegetation").
The first written record about Rajec was in 1193, as Raich, in a document issued by King Béla III. The first mention of the town comes from 1397.
It is situated between StrÃ¡à ¾ovské vrchy, and Malá Fatra mountains, in the RajÃÂanka river valley, around south-south-west of à ½ilina.
It has a population ofÃÂ people (31 December ).
According to the 2001 census, the town had 6,074 inhabitants. 98.86% of inhabitants were Slovaks and 0.68% were Czechs. The religious make-up was 92.79% Roman Catholics, 3.42% people with no religious affiliation, and 1.89% Lutherans.
The Rajec Marathon, an annual road race, was established in the town in 1984.
Rajec is twinned with: