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'Banská Štiavnica' (, ) is a town in central Slovakia, in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. For its size, the caldera is known as Štiavnica Mountains (''Štiavnické vrchy''). Banská Štiavnica has a population of more than 10,000. It is a completely preserved medieval town. Because of their historical value, the town and its surroundings were proclaimed by the UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site on December 11, 1993.

Contents

Demographics

History

Landmarks

Famous people

Sister cities

External links

Gallery

References

Demographics

Banská Štiavnica has a population of 10,674 (as of December 31, 2005). According to the 2001 census, 93.9% of inhabitants were Slovaks and 2% Roma people. Many people are descendants of the Carpathian Germans, who played a very important role in the medieval history of the town. The religious makeup was 65% Roman Catholics, 18.9% people with no religious affiliation, and 7.6% Lutherans.^[1]

History

The fate of Banská Štiavnica has been closely linked to the exploitation of its abundant resources of silver ore. According to evidence from excavations, the site was settled during the Neolithic period.
The first mining settlement was founded by Celts in the 3rd century BC. It was probably occupied by the Celtic Cotini tribe. Roman authors mentioned mining activities of the Cotini, who had lived in central Slovakia until they were deported to Pannonia within the Marcomannic Wars by Rome. The site was also settled by early Slavs/Slovaks and a Slovak fortified settlement was situated here in the 10th and 11th century.
In the High and Late Middle Ages, the town was the main producer of silver and gold in the Kingdom of Hungary (Slovakia was part of that kingdom from the 11th century until 1918). The town was called “terra banensium” (the land of miners) as early as in 1156. The original Slovak population was joined by skilled German settlers who started arriving in the 13th century. Banská Štiavnica gained the status of a royal town in 1238, as one of the first towns in the Kingdom of Hungary.
During the Ottoman Wars, the Turks made concerted efforts to conquer rich mining towns in central Slovakia (Banská Štiavnica, Banská Bystrica, and Kremnica). This new threat led Banská Štiavnica to build powerful fortifications, including two castles, in the 16th century. As one of the most important centers of Protestant Reformation in the country, the town belonged to the Protestant "League of Seven Mining Towns" together with Banská Belá, Banská Bystrica, Kremnica, Ľubietová, Nová Baňa, and Pukanec.
The town was also a foremost center of innovation in mining industry. In 1627, gun powder was used here for the first time in the world in a mine. To drain water from the flooded mines, a sophisticated system of water reservoirs and channels, known as tajchy, was designed and built by the local scientists Jozef Karol Hell, Maximilian Hell, and Samuel Mikovíny in the 18th century. Tajchy not only saved the mines from being closed, but also provided energy for the early industrialization. In 1735, the first mining school in the country was founded there by Samuel Mikovíny. In the years 1762-1770, the Hofkammer in Vienna, with support from Queen Maria Theresa, transformed the school into the famous Mining Academy, creating the first technical university in the world.^[2] In 1919, after the creation of Czechoslovakia, the Academy was moved to Sopron in Hungary. The student traditions of the Academy are still living in the "successors": University of Miskolc, and colleges in Sopron, Székesfehérvár, and Dunaújváros.
In 1782, Banská Štiavnica was the third biggest town in the Kingdom of Hungary (with 23,192 or incl. suburbs 40,000 inhabitants), after Bratislava and Debrecen. But the town’s development was too closely linked to the mining activity which had been progressively declining since the second half of the 19th century. Nowadays, Banská Štiavnica is an important center of recreation and tourism, benefiting from its rich historical heritage.

Landmarks

The heart of the town is the historical Trinity Square (Slovak: ''Trojičné námestie'') dominated by a monumental plague column. The square is used for frequent cultural events and there is also a mineralogical museum. Two castles, the so called “old” one (Slovak: ''Starý zámok'') and “new” one (Slovak: ''Nový zámok''), have been transformed into museums.
The open air mining museum offers a two kilometers long underground excursion in mines dated to the 17th century. Another ancient mine open to the public (Slovak: ''Glanzenberg'') is even older. This mine, situated just under the center of the town, has attracted numerous famous visitors, from Emperor Joseph II to Prince Albert of Monaco.
The town is surrounded by ancient artificial mining water reservoirs called ''tajchy''. Sixty reservoirs were built in the 15th through 18th centuries in order to provide energy for the booming mining industry. They are connected by a more than 100-kilometres long network of channels. These extraordinary historical monuments are now used mainly for recreation.

Famous people

★ Jozef Karol Hell, inventor and mining engineer

★ Maximilian Hell, astronomer

★ Marína Geržó-Pischlová , the mistress of the poet Andrej Sládkovič

★ Kerpely Antal , profesor and scientist

★ Dezo Hoffmann, photographer

★ Andrej Kmeť, scientist

★ Ľudovít Lačný, chess problem composer

★ Samuel Mikovíny, mathematician, engineer, and cartographer

★ Alexander Pituk, chess problem composer

★ Magda Vášáryová, actress and diplomat

★ Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, scientist

★ Dusan Vrto, international footballer

★ Jozef Horák, writer

Sister cities

Banská Štiavnica has four sister cities:

★ - Huenenberg, Switzerland

★ - Moravská Třebová, Czech Republic

★ - Ptuj, Slovenia

★ - Soragna, Italy

External links

★ Official website of Banská Štiavnica

★ Tourist information about Banská Štiavnica

★ History of Banská Štiavnica

Gallery

References

1. http://www.statistics.sk/mosmis/eng/run.html Municipal Statistics from the Statistical Office of the Slovak republic
2. http://www.cestaunesco.sk/?theme=bs&lang=uk&page=5