The town of Banská Bystrica

Banská Bystrica is beautiful town located in central Slovakia under the hill Urpín. It is the most important historical, cultural and economic centre of the central Slovakia. The first written reference about the city is from the year 1255. Banská Bystrica is situated at the river Hron in the Zvolenská Lowland, close to the Kremnické Mountains, Big Fatra and the Low Tatras. It is a municipal cultural reservation with a complex of objects that create a town's castle. In the centre of the city is Square of Slovak National Uprising. Historical expositions are situated in Thurzo´s house, in the house of Dominik Skutecký and in The State Gallery.

In the centre, there is the Roman Catholic Church of Virgin Mary, originally built in the Roman style in the 13-th century. It was rebuilt in the 14-th, 15-th and 16-th century. After it burned up in 1761. In the church, there is an altar of St. Barbora from Master Paul from Levoča, a stone relief and altars of Maria Magdalena.

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 Plague column of the Virgin Mary was moved from the square of the Slovak National Uprising to the castle area. In the 1993 it was returned back.


Leaning tower

In the upper part of The Square of the Slovak National Uprising is a clock tower. Tower is 35 m high. During the last reconstruction it deviated from the vertical axis by 68 cm. The tower was used as a watch tower and in the basement there was prison with the torture chamber in the past.

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.

Thurzo's House is the most beautiful and most famous house on the square. It is formed from two Gothic houses with some Renaissance elements. In the interior is valuable Gothic portal, wooden beam ceiling and wall paintings Nowadays the building is the seat of the Central Slovakian Museum. The history of the town becomes closely connected with the Thurzo family.


Town´s castle

The area of the town castle dominates the Central Slovakian city. The castle was meant to protect the noble metal (copper and silver) and the royal treasury. It also incorporates the Church of the St. Cross, the castle fortification, the late-roman Church of Translation of the Virgin Mary, Barbican, the late-gothic Matej´s house (a museum depository today) and the Old Town Hall.
The castle was originally situated outside this important medieval mining city, but now lies in the centre and is one of the dominant on the city skyline. It includes a gate with a barbican and round bastions.


Monument of Slovak National Uprising

Today the building is the seat of the museum with weapons, clothing, documents and photographs commemorating the SNP. It is created from two unusual sculptures. In the space between them is memorial hall with symbolic grave of the names soldier and eternel flame.

The museum is surrounded by the large park area with an open-air exhibition of weapons 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 .


Geographical division

Elevation: 362 m above sea level
Area of town: 103,37 km2
The number of inhabitants: 81 281