The first written record of the settlement in the area dates back to 1607 when the Emperor Rudolf II. issued a decree to regulate the growing timber industry in the region. Čierny Balog arose in 1888 through a merger of thirteen villages, i.e., Balog, Krám, Dobroč, Dolina, Fajtov, Jánošovka, Jergov, Komov, Látky, Medveďov, Pustô, Vydrovo, and Závodie. Until 1918, it belonged to Austria-Hungary as part of Zólyom County (Slovak: Zvolenská stolica/Zvolenská župa: Zvolenská stolica). It played an important role during World War II as one of the centers of the anti-Fascist Slovak National uprising. By 2024 the largest village in the Banská Bystrica Region, it punches well above its weight due to the number of notable natives, as well as its cultural and natural heritage such as the Čierny Hron Railway and Dobroč Primeval Forest.
Notable natives
Jozef Dekrét Matejovie (* 1774 – † 1841), pioneer in forest restoration and founder of modern forestry
Róbert Albert Gottier (* 1897 – † 1968), functionary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, organizer of the anti-fascist movement and the Slovak National Uprising in Horehronie. Vice-President of the National Assembly (1945–1954)
Ladislav Ťažký (* 1924 – † 2011), prose writer, journalist, playwright, and screenwriter
Jozef Kliment (* 1928 – † 2007), agricultural expert and university professor
Anton Auxt (* 1931 – † 1987), educator and mathematician
Anton Dekrét (* 1932), mathematician and university educator
Peter Kováčik (* 1936), prose writer, playwright, and film screenwriter
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