TheSlovak name Banská Bystrica includes two roots: the adjectiveBanská fromSlovakbaňa – "mine",[7] and the name of the local riverBystrica (from Slavicbystrica – "swift stream").[8] The name of the town inHungarian:"Besztercebánya" also comes from theBeszterce stream (from the Slavic name of the stream,Bystrica), and the suffixbánya is connected to the mines of the town.[9] The river lent its name to the town as early as 1255 when theLatin nameVilla Nova Bystrice (meaning "New Town ofBystrica") was recorded[10] in the document in which KingBéla IV of Hungary granted the town royal privileges.[11][12]
Several variations ofBystrica (Byztherze, Bystrice, Bystrzice, etc.) were then regularly used without the adjective identifying it as a mining town until the late 16th century. Although the first written record of the nameByzterchebana dates from 1263, it was rarely used afterwards.[13][unreliable source?] TheOld German nameNeusohl ("New Zvolen") (first recorded in 1300) and later its Latin version (Neosolium) reflected the fact that some early settlers came from the nearby town ofZvolen (at the time known in German asAltsohl, literally "Old Zvolen"). The two names[vague] have been used in parallel and even together (as inNovizolii Bistriciensis) throughout the history of the town. In the late 16th century, the use of the mining adjective became more frequent (as inBystrzicze na baniech orBystricze Banska, both from 1530).[13] This evolution resulted in the current form of the name, first recorded in 1773 asBanska Bystrica. In theAustrian Empire, the German nameNeusohl was used until thecompromise of 1867, when the Hungarian nameBesztercebánya became the official one.[14] The parallel use of Slovak or German names in the written record did not, however, cease in this period.[15]Banská Bystrica became the official name of the town in 1920.
The town centre of Banská Bystrica (seen from above)
The town centre of Banská Bystrica (seen from above)
The town barbican (seen from above)
The town centre of Banská Bystrica (seen from above)
Town barbican (close-up view)
The earliest history of Banská Bystrica was connected to the extraction of its abundant deposits of copper (and to a lesser extent of silver, gold, and iron). The tools used by prehistoric miners at the locality calledŠpania Dolina have been dated to 2000–1700 BC.[16] People of theLusatian culture built their settlements at Špania Dolina,Horné Pršany,Malachov, andSásová. Ancienthill fort locations are still reflected in the localtoponymHrádok, meaning "a small fort (later: castle)".[17] The territory was inhabited by theCeltic tribe of theCotini (Púchov culture) in the 3rd century BC. TheGermanic tribe of theQuadi took over the place during theRoman Era, leaving for instance ahoard of silver artifacts inNetopierska jaskyňa (Bat Cave).
The present city was built upon a former Slavic settlement.[17] After theHungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin it was incorporated intoZólyom county of theKingdom of Hungary. The first known stone church was built bySaxon immigrants in the then still independent settlement ofSásová in the first half of the 13th century, when the area belonged to the king.[6] According to Slovak archaeologists, Banská Bystrica started as a permanent settlement in the 9th century. Other sources claim that due to theattack of Mongols, in 1243–44, the town ceased to exist.[dubious –discuss] In 1255, KingBéla IV granted Banská Bystrica extensive municipal privileges to attract more skilled settlers.[6][18] Descendants of the German immigrants to this and other counties later became known as theCarpathian Germans. The city flourished as a regional mining center.[18][19] It built the LateRomanesque Church of the Virgin Mary in the second half of the 13th century. During the same period, Banská Bystrica obtained its owncoat of arms inspired by the coat of arms of the ruling dynasty of theÁrpáds, also used as the historical flag of the Kingdom of Hungary.[10][20] The local craftsmen were organized in fiftyguilds, with the butchers' guild being the oldest.[15]
The affluentFugger andThurzo families founded the prosperousUngarischer Handel company (German for "Hungarian Trade") in 1494. Depending mainly on the mines around Banská Bystrica, the company had become a leading world producer of copper by the 16th century.[19] With the most sophisticated mining technologies in Europe, an advanced accounting system, and benefits includingmedical care for its 1,000 employees,Ungarischer Handel was one of the largest and most modern early-capitalist firms.[19][21] An early record of the miners' industrial action is from 1526 when the City Council needed to take refuge within the confines of City Castle. TheOttoman Empire'sthrust northwards led themagistrate to improve the city's fortifications with modern stone walls in 1589, but the Turks never occupied the region.[15] Banská Bystrica became one of the foremost centers of theProtestant Reformation in theKingdom of Hungary in the 16th century.[22] Later on, the city had to fight for itsreligious freedom, guaranteed by theRoyal Charter, against the Austrian ruling dynasty of the Roman CatholicHabsburgs, for its physical independence againstthe Ottoman Turks and for its self-governance against the Kingdom of Hungary's powerfulmagnates.[22] In 1620, PrinceGabriel Bethlen ofTransylvania, a Protestant, waselected King of Hungary by theDiet meeting at Banská Bystrica.
The village ofRadvaň, now a borough of Banská Bystrica, was granted the economically important right to hold annual fairs (Radvanský jarmok) in 1655. The fair was transferred to Banská Bystrica's main square in the 20th century. The copper deposits had been all but depleted by the 18th century, but new industries, such astimber, paper, and textiles, developed. In 1766, the city became the capital ofZólyom county[18]; Banská Bystrica also became the seat of aRoman Catholic bishopric in 1776 and of several institutions of higher education.[15]Public services expanded in the 19th century with the foundation of a permanent municipal hospital (1820), a municipal theater (1841), and a municipal museum (1889). The railway reached the town from Zvolen in 1873.[18]
During World War II, Banská Bystrica became the center of anti-Nazi opposition in Slovakia when theSlovak National Uprising, one of the largest[23] anti-Nazi resistance events in Europe, was launched from the city on 29 August 1944.[18] The insurgents were defeated on 27 October,[24] and Banská Bystrica was briefly occupied by German forces before it was liberated by Soviet and Romanian troops on 26 March 1945.[15] After the war, Banská Bystrica became the administrative, economic, and cultural hub of central Slovakia. It has been auniversity town since the 1950s. Its largest,Matej Bel University, was founded in 1992.
Banská Bystrica lies at an altitude of 362 metres (1,188 ft)above sea level and covers an area of 103.37 square kilometres (39.9 sq mi).[4] It is about halfway between Slovakia's two largest cities, 208 kilometres (129 mi) north-east from Slovakia's capitalBratislava and 217 kilometres (135 mi) west ofKošice. A chain of discrete suburbs and villages connects it with Zvolen, another major town 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the south.
Banská Bystrica is situated in the Hron River valley (Slovak:Pohronie). The Hron River curves through the city from the east to the south. The city nests among three mountain chains: theLow Tatras to the north-east, theVeľká Fatra to the north-west, and theKremnica Mountains to the west. All three areprotected areas because of their environmental value. Banská Bystrica hosts the headquarters of theLow Tatra National Park. Despite the proximity of thesemountain ranges, the local landscape is dominated by the much lowerUrpín Mountain, 510 metres (1,673 ft), which is a popular place of recreation.[25]
Banská Bystrica lies in thenorth temperate zone and has acontinental climate with four distinct seasons. It is characterized by a significant variation between hot summers and cold, snowy winters.[26]
Climate data for Banská Bystrica (Sliač Airport) 1991−2020, extremes 1961–2020
In 2013, the city had a total population of 79,368, making it the 6th-largest municipality in Slovakia in 2005.[4][5] The population density was 790 per square kilometer in 2005.[29]
The lavish gate of the Beniczky House, owned by the Hungarian noble Beniczky family,[30] (in Slovak Benický[31]) on SNP Square displays a coat of arms of one of the aristocratic families from Banská Bystrica
The population was spread out, with 13.2% under the age of 15, 68.2% in the so-called productive age (15–54 years for women and 15–59 years for men), and 18.6% in the so-called post-productive age (over 54 years for women and over 59 years for men). For every 100 women, there were 89.5 men. The population was slightly decreasing (by 423) in 2005, with the number of deaths (727) higher than the number of live births (673) and a negative migration rate.[4] Thelife expectancy at birth was 75.1 years (as of 2001), which is a figure close to themedian life expectancy in theEuropean Union.[5]
According to the 2001 census, the religious composition was 46.6% Roman Catholics, 30.2% people with no religious affiliation, and 13.9%Lutherans. People's ethnic self-identification was 94.7%Slovak and 1.4%Czech.[4] Before World War II, the population of the city also included significantGerman,Hungarian, and Jewish minorities and many people were trilingual, mastering the Slovak, German, and Hungarian languages.[32] The Jews resided for a long time in Radvaň because they used to be prohibited from entering the city. The synagogue in Banská Bystrica was built in 1867 and demolished in 1983.
Banská Bystrica's economic growth, exemplified here by the construction of the Europa Business and Shopping Center (2007), mirrors theeconomic growth of Slovakia
While Banská Bystrica's prosperity used to be derived from copper mining in the distant past, the most important sectors of the local economy are now tourism, timber, and the mechanical industry.[5] Two of the largest employers in Slovakia,Slovenská pošta (the public postal service, ranked as the 3rd largest employer) and Lesy SR (the national forest service, ranked as 13th).[34] have their headquarters in Banská Bystrica. In the period 2007–2013, the city intended to work withZvolen and other municipalities in the vicinity to jointly develop one of Slovakia's majormetropolitan areas.[35] The municipal strategy ofeconomic development envisages Banská Bystrica as a regional center of tourism, services, administration, and entrepreneurship.[35] The proclaimed three pillars of the future development are the natural andcultural heritage,information technologies, and infrastructure.[35]
GDP per capita in 2001 was €3,643, which was below Slovakia's average (€4,400).[5] GDP per capita for theBanská Bystrica Region (Banskobystrický kraj) in 2004 wasPPS €10,148.70 (current euros), which was below Slovakia's average of PPS €12,196.20.[36] More recent data disaggregated to the level of districts or municipalities are not available, but all of Slovakia's regional seats have per-capita GDPs above their regional averages. Theunemployment rate in Banská Bystrica was 6.2% in December 2006,[37] below the country's average of 9.4% at that time.[38] The unemployment rate in the whole country has been decreasing since then, reaching 7.8% in November 2007.[39]
The city has a balanced budget of more than one billionSlovak korunas (almost €33 million, as of 2007[update]), with a small deficit of 37 million korunas.[40] More than one-fifth of the budget was used for investment.[40] The highest revenue comes from theincome tax of persons (437 million korunas in 2006).[40]
Námestie SNP is the natural center of the citySt. Francis Xavier Cathedral
Most of the historical monuments are concentrated near its central, picturesqueSNP Square (Slovak:Námestie SNP). The square is named after theSlovak National Uprising. It is dominated by aclock tower built in 1552. Although less known than its famouscounterpart in Pisa, it is aleaning tower with the top 40 centimetres (16 inches) off the perpendicular.[15] Aplague column (Slovak:Morový stĺp) was erected in the square in the 18th century in gratitude tothe Virgin Mary for ending a deadlyplague. The column was temporarily removed before a visit of theSoviet leaderNikita Khrushchev in 1964 because a religious symbol was considered too embarrassing a background for the Communist leader's speech.[32] TheSt. Francis Xavier Cathedral (Slovak:Kapitulský kostol, "Chapter Church") is a copy of theJesuitChurch of the Gesu in Rome and is since 1776 the seat of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Banská Bystrica.[15] Other major monuments on the square include anArt Nouveau fountain from the beginning of the 20th century and a blackobelisk raised to honor the Soviet soldiers killed during the liberation of the city in 1945.
Most buildings enclosing the square and in the nearby streets are well-preservedGothic,Renaissance, andBaroque noblemen's mansions and wealthyburghers' residences. The most interesting among them are the Benicky House[31] and the Thurzo House, the latter hosting a museum with a regional archaeological collection and Gothicfrescos.[15] Most of the buildings in the center have been transformed into luxury stores, restaurants, and cafes.[32] SNP Square itself was completely reconstructed in 1994.[32]
Banská Bystrica also has a large network of marked hiking trails all around the city. In wintertime, it attracts fans ofcross-country skiing anddownhill skiing, as there are several ski resorts close to the city, including theDonovaly resort famous fordogsled racing.
The oldest part of Banská Bystrica is the towncastle at the edge of SNP Square. It is enclosed within what has remained of its original fortifications − abarbican protecting the main gate, threebastions, and part of the walls. The town castle served as the town's administrative center, and it also protected the king's treasury.[41] TheParish Church (Slovak:Farský kostol) of the Assumption of theVirgin Mary built in theRomanesque and Gothic styles contains precious Gothic altars and sculptures.[15] One of the altars was carved by the famousMaster Paul of Levoča. The church was built in the 13th century. It is still surrounded by remnants of its ancient cemetery. The neighboringChurch of the Holy Cross was built in 1452 by the Slovak burghers as a counterpart to the Church of the Virgin Mary that then acquired the attributeGerman.[41] TheMatthias House (Slovak: Matejov dom) was built in 1479 as a five-story late-Gothic structure with a Gothic portal and stone console balcony. It served as a temporary residence of KingMatthias Corvinus and hisQueen Consort Beatrix. The Renaissance Old Town Hall, dating from 1500, has been transformed into an art museum.[42]
There are four theaters in Banská Bystrica. The StateOpera (Slovak:Štátna opera v Banskej Bystrici) was founded in 1959.[43] It has given the opera world severaldivas,Edita Gruberová being the most famous one.[43] Every summer, the State Opera organizes a popular open-air festival atZvolen Castle.[43]Štúdio tanca is a professionalcontemporary dance theater established in 1998.[44] A professionalmarionette theater,Bábkové divadlo na Rázcestí (Puppet Theater at the Fork in the Road) founded in 1960, organizes the only marionette festival in Slovakia.[45] Theatre from the Passage (Slovak:Divadlo z Pasáže) is Slovakia's only theater with amentally disabled cast[46] whose mission is to help integrate mentally disabled people in society.
The oldest museum in the city is the Museum of Central Slovakia (Slovak:Stredoslovenské múzeum), founded in 1889.[47] Its historical exposition is located in the Thurzo House on SNP Square, while the natural history exposition is in the Tihányi Mansion inRadvaň. The Old Town Hall building at City Castle hosts the State Gallery (Slovak:Štátna Galéria) specialized incontemporary Slovak art.[48] TheMuseum of the Slovak National Uprising (Slovak:Múzeum Slovenského národného povstania) features a collection of 203,000militaria, including an open-air exhibition of World War II heavy weapons.[49] Other noteworthy museums are the regional Literature and Music Museum (Slovak:Literárne a hudobné múzeum)[50] and Slovakia's only Postal Museum (Slovak:Poštové múzeum Slovenskej pošty).[51]
The town is the setting for the bookSt Peter's Umbrella byKálmán Mikszáth, published in 1895. The book was part of a large increase in Hungarian writing at the time, which was symptomatic of the rise in Hungarian separatism against what was seen as the oppression of the German Habsburgs.[citation needed]
From 22 to 28 February 1959, the first festival of Czechoslovak cinema was presented in Banská Bystrica. While it was planned byČeský film as a showcase of the national film production, it turned into a tribunal for those films that did not fit the ideological guidelines of the Communist Party. Several films were banned, among them:Tri prání directed byJán Kadár andElmar Klos,Zde jsou lvi byVáclav Krška,Hvezda jede na jih byOldrich Lipský andKonec jasnovidce byVladimír Svitáček andJán Roháč.[52]
There are fourfolklore ensembles for adults and three for children.[53] Their aim is to preserve and present Slovak folklore traditions, especially thetraditional music. The oldest one is the award-winning Urpín Folklore Ensemble, founded in 1957.[54] Mladosť Folklore Ensemble is affiliated with University ofMatej Bel.[55]
The regional branch of the National Bank of Slovakia in Banská Bystrica
The city is governed by a mayor (Slovak:primátor) and acity council (Slovak:mestské zastupiteľstvo). The mayor is the head of the city and its chief executive. The term of office is for four years. The current mayor, following the 2014 municipal elections, is Ján Nosko, an independent. Banská Bystrica is divided into fourelectoral districts, consisting of the following neighborhoods:[56]
Staré mesto, Uhlisko, Prednádražie, Šalková, Senica, Majer (7 councilors)
Banská Bystrica is the capital of one of eight largely autonomousRegions of Slovakia.[57] It was the capital of an even larger region encompassing the whole of central Slovakia from 1960 until 1990, but the territory was subdivided in 1996 between theBanská Bystrica andŽilina regions, and a part ofTrenčín region. Banská Bystrica is also the capital of a smallerdistrict. TheBanská Bystrica District (Slovak:okres Banská Bystrica) is entirely contained within the Banská Bystrica Region (Slovak:Banskobystrický kraj).
Several national public institutions have their headquarters in the city, the most prominent are the Tax Directorate of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak public postal service (Slovenská pošta).[5] The city also hosts a regional branch ofNational Bank of Slovakia.
There are 15 public primary schools, two private primary schools, and two religious primary schools.[60] Overall, they enroll 7,029 pupils.[60] The city's system of secondary education (somemiddle schools and all high schools) consists of fivegymnasia with 3,280 students,[61] seven specialized high schools with 2,873 students,[62] and sixvocational schools with 1,884 students.[63][64]
The largest library is the State Scientific Library with 2 million volumes.[65] The geological institute of theSlovak Academy of Sciences has a branch in Banská Bystrica, and the small Banská Bystrica RegionalAstronomical Observatory is located on Urpín Mountain.
Terminal Shopping Center Bus station in Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica has bus and train connections to the rest of the country, as well as to many other European cities.
TheR1 expressway connects the city to Zvolen and to Slovakia's capital, Bratislava. Other roads of state importance connect the city toBrezno (No. 66), toRužomberok (No. 59) and toTurčianske Teplice (No. 14).
Public transport in the city is managed by two different companies.[66]Dopravný podnik mesta Banská Bystrica is a public service run by the municipality. It operatestrolleybuses andminibuses. Theprivate company SADZvolen has a fleet ofbuses. In addition to regular lines, it also offers express and night lines. 30% of people use their private cars for journeys to work, and the average commute time is 35 minutes.[5]
^Klíc k našim mestum' by Karel Liška and Ludvík Mucha, ed. Práce in Prague, 1979
^Žuffa, Milan (April 2003). "Banskobystrický mediarsky podnik (Banska Bystrica Copper Company)".Bystrický Permon.1 (1):6–7.
^abTibenský, Ján; et al. (1971).Slovensko: Dejiny. Bratislava: Obzor.
^Pynsent, Robert B (1994).Questions of identity: Czech and Slovak ideas of nationality and personality. Budapest; New York: Central European University Press.
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^abcdBitušíková, Alexandra (1998). "Transformations of a city centre in the light of ideologies: the case of Banská Bystrica, Slovakia".International Journal of Urban and Regional Research.22 (4):614–622.doi:10.1111/1468-2427.00165.
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Kto bol kto v histórii Banskej Bystrice, 1255–2000; zostavili Anna Klimová, Mária Némethová. [Banská Bystrica]: Štátna vedecká knižnica v Banskej Bystrici, 2002.
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