BANSKÁ ŠTIAVNICA

Today we spent a day and night in the Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica located in the mountains of Štiavnické Vrchy. This old medieval mining center grew into a town with Renaissance palaces, 16th-century churches, elegant squares, and castles. The urban center blends into the surrounding landscape, which contains vital relics of the mining and metallurgical activities of the past. The town of Banská Štiavnica, the oldest mining town in Slovakia, was established in the 13th century, it is characterized by the grand Late Gothic and Renaissance burgher houses, the town hall, and the Late Gothic Church of Saint Catherine. In the same era, a fortification system was built which has visible remains in the fortress of the Old Castle, the Renaissance watchtower of the New Castle, and the only surviving of the town gates – the Baroque-style Piarg Gate. We were not lucky with the weather – rain and 12 °C in the middle of July ruined our exploration of the charming town listed in UNESCO.

Parking location – Banska Stiavnica: 48.467233N 18.903401E