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Banská Bystrica
City in Slovakia

Banská Bystrica

Banská Bystrica is a city in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains.

Plan a trip to Banská Bystrica→From Mošnov

With approximately 76,000 inhabitants, Banská Bystrica is the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia. The present-day town was founded by German settlers who were invited by the Hungarian Árpád kings during the Middle Ages, but it was built upon a former Slavic/Slovak/Avar settlement. It became a part of Zólyom County after Hungarian conquest. In 1255, during the reign of Béla IV of Hungary, it obtained the municipal privileges of a free royal town of the Kingdom of Hungary and was resettled by Germans from Thüringen. The copper mining town acquired its present picturesque look in the late Middle Ages when the prosperous burghers built its central churches, mansions, and fortifications. It is the capital of the kraj and the okres. It is also the home of Matej Bel University. As a historical town with easy access to the surrounding mountains, Banská Bystrica is a popular winter and summer tourist destination.

Get in

Getting to Banská Bystrica

The closest international airports are Poprad (120 km), Budapest (200 km), Bratislava (205 km) and Vienna (260 km).

  1. 01
    Sliač Airport
  2. 02
    Main
  3. 03
    Banská Bystrica -

    A station that is closer to the town centre.

  4. 04
    Main

    There are bus connections to all major Slovak cities, and international routes to Vienna, Czech Republic and many other cities in Western Europe.

See

Worth seeing

Banská Bystrica has a beautiful position between the mountains. Therefore, it's a popular summer and winter resort. The heart of the old city is the SNP square (Námestie SNP) which dates back to the 13th century. You can find a lot of renaissance and jugendstil buildings here. These sights include:

  1. 01
    The Town Hall

    This house belonged to a medieval miner who built this enormous house beside the town square.

  2. 02
    Central Slovakia Museum

    Set in a beautiful renovated renaissance house, it also has expositions in two other historical buildings in the city.

  3. 03
    Marian`s Pillar

    The baroque pillar was built in 1719 as a sign of gratitude to the Virgin Mary after the end of the plague.

  4. 04
    The Black Obelisk

    Monument in honour of soldiers of the Red Army and the Romanian Army.

  5. 05
    The Clock Tower

    Built around 1552 as a part of the Town market.

Do

Things to do

Three parks for relaxation near city center are available:

  1. 01
    At SNP
  2. 02
    Tajovského
  3. 03
    Zahrada CNK

    This park at a "center of independent culture" may be closed or used for different happenings.

Eat

Where to eat

Healthy food, Kollarova 18. Vegetarian cafeteria with Slovak specialities

  1. 01
    Slovenská

    Cheap restaurant with typical Slovak dishes.

  2. 02
    Cosmopolitan

    Rudohorská 33, info@cosmopolitanbb.sk.

  3. 03
    Bernardov

    Pleasant restaurant not far from SNP square, they offer mainly European food including steaks and pizza.

  4. 04
    Koliba

    Krištofa, Uľanská cesta 170, 97411 Banská Bystrica, info@usvkristofa.sk.

  5. 05
    Plzenská

    Námestie SNP 20, pilsnerrestaurant@stonline.sk.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Milan Bališin (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.