Banská Bystrica

Banská Bystrica is situated in the picturesque Hron river valley, surrounded by Nízke Tatry ( the Low Tatras ), Veľká Fatra ( the Big Fatra ) and Kremnické vrchy ( the Kremnica Moutains ). Banská Bystrica is an important tourist point offering many possibilities for summer and winter recreation. The first report of the town dates from the 13th century. The Hungarian King Belo IV honored the settlement by turning it into a town in 1255 and granted extensive municipal privileges in order to attract German settlers.

Outlanders, together with the original inhabitants Slavs developed the mining of precious metals, copper, silver and iron ores. The mining secured wealth of citizens in the 15th and the 16th century. Since 1989 many positive changes have been carried out in the town. Many fine historic houses, representing various architectural styles, have been renovated and also the main square has regained its old-time charm. Banská Bystrica with a population close to 100 000 residents, became the administrative, economic, cultural and educational center of the Central Slovakia. The city is a seat of Matej Bel University. Banská Bystrica, with its favourable position and the great opportunities for tourism and winter sports, is now an important international tourist centre.

Enjoy the recreational, sporting and tourist facilities in town and you will always be glad to return !The Square of the Slovak National Uprising is a natural centre of the town. In the upper part there is a clock tower dated from the year 1552. During the last reconstruction it deviated from the vertical axis by 60 cm. The tower was used as a watch tower in the past and the bugler's concerts were heard from it in the 18th and 19th century. The Church of St. Francis Xavier with many valuable monuments in its interior, was built in 1715. The building is a duplicate of the church II Gesu in Rome. In the front part of the church two towers were built in 1844.

The most beautiful house on the square is Thurzo's House. It is formed from two Gothic houses completed with some Renaissance elements. Gothic portals, a wooden beam ceiling, wall paintings of "the Last Court" and "Suzanne in the Bath" and two coats of arms of the family of Anjou and Corvin belong to the most precious pieces of art. In present the building is the seat of the Central Slovak Museum. The House No.7 is remarkable for its black and white appearance. In the archway there is a fragment of a medieval wall painting. Nowadays there are exhibition halls of the Central Slovak Gallery there. Benicky's House - one of the most beautiful houses on the square.

The Bishop's Palace was built in 1787 under the reign of Berchtold, the head of the district administration. It was the residence of the catholic bishop Stefan Moyzes, the first chairman of Matica Slovenská (the Slovak Foundation). In recent years a memorial tablet to Stefan Moyzes was placed on the building. No.22 is remarkable for its precious portal and vaults, Renaissance bay from 1636 and for the works of art by the sculptor Jan Weinhardt from Spisske Vlachy. You can see the black obelisk - the monument to the Soviet Army in the lower part of the square, followed by a Fountain in the center and the Plague column of the Virgin Mary in the upper end of the square.The most noteworthy historical relics are in the castle area - the oldest part of Banská Bystrica.

The Church of Assumption of Virgin Mary built in the romanesque style in the 13th century; the most famous chapel by Master Paul of Levoča dedicated to St. Barbora the patroness of miners; the Gothic triptych from the 15th century; metal baptistry from 1475; the ornamental sculptures of St. Andrew; Saints from the Mount of Olives; the decoration of the vaults by J. Schmidt. The carved late-gothic Altarpiece of St. Barbora by Master Paul of Levoča in the Church of Assumption of Virgin Mary The Church of the Holy Cross was gradually built to the city walls in the castle area together with the Mathias's House and the Town hall in the 15th century. Its main altar with the ornamental sculptures of the Virgin Mary and Magdalene by Vavrinec Dunajský is the main eye catcher in the church.

The Mathias's House is a five-storey late-Gothic building with a Gothic portal and stone console balcony. On the Facade are the coats of arms of the King Mathias and the town, dated from the year 1479. In the castle area remained part of the city walls and three bastions - Clerical, Miner's and Parochial are preserved. A tower with the entrance barbican, drawbridge at the entrance to the castle was added to the city walls. There are three heavy bells in the tower.

The biggest of them weighs 9900 kg. The Plague column of the Virgin Mary was moved from the square of the Slovak National Uprising to the castle area in the second half of the 60s, in the 1993 it was returned back. The old Town Hall dated from the year 1500 is decorated by Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements. The buliding is now the town's main art gallery.In the 16th century the whole town was fortified by defensive walls against the threat of the Tartar invasion. The remnants of these fortifications can be found for example nearby the Monument of the Slovak National Uprising, where also two last surviving bastions have been preserved. Fortifications can be seen also in the town castle area and near the Hron river flowing through the town.

A monumental building of the memorial of the Slovak National Uprising is a dominant feature of the modern town since 1969. Today the building is the seat of the museum with weapons, clothing, documents and photographs commemorating the SNP. The museum is surrounded by the large park area with an open-air exhibition of heavy armament from the Second World War - an armoured train, Soviet and German tanks, cannons and a partisan bunker. In the park area a part of the town fortifications and two medieval bastions can be found .Though the town territory had been settled well in the past, its rapid growth started with the beginning of intensive copper and gold mining. The first report of the town dates from 1255.

The Hungarian King Belo IV honored the settlement by turning it into a town. The mining was at the time quite progressive and so the town grew in prosperity and became rich very quickly. Royal privileges attracted new miners - German settlers, who built a Romanesque one-nave Church of the Virgin Mary in the second half of the 13th century. In 1452 old Slavs built the Church of the Holy Cross next to the Romanesque church, under the town walls, nearby Matthias's House. Thus a castle complex with the townhall, barbican (today's tourist office) and fortress was formed. Eloquent testimony of prosperity and the level of material and spiritual culture in the 15th and 16th century are demonstrated by many of important buildings. The most precious are in the historical core, i.e. on the square area and in the main streets.

Luxurious mine proprietor's gothic mansions belong to today's most important Slovak renaissance buildings. The heart of Banská Bystrica was proclaimed the historical town preservation area, and the castle area - national cultural preservation area. Other architectural and artistic monuments are the Matthias's House built in the late Gothic style, the renaissance Town Hall and the Church of Assuption of Virgin Mary with the Chapel of St. Barbora. The altar from the beginning of the 16th century is the work of Pavol, the master of Levoča and it's southern side shows an interesting relief, the Olive Mountains. The rich patricians built showy houses in Gothic and Renaissance style.

Some of them, e.g. Thurzo's House or Benicky' House have high architectural and historical value. In 1589 the town was completely surrounded by stone walls. The remnants of the town fortress and walls witnessed very hard fightings against the invading Turks (in 1526). Only remains of the huge stone walls have been preserved till today. Banská Bystrica, thanks to its position, rich history and many medieval remains, became one of the most important and beautiful mining towns in Slovakia. Another chapter of the history was writen during the World War II. The town served as a centre of anti-fascist resistence and a political and military centre of Slovak National Uprising. A symbol of this event is a architecturally interesting monumental buliding of the memorial of the Slovak National Uprising.