Banská Štiavnica (Slovak pronunciation:[ˈbanskaːˈʂcɪɐʋɲitsa]ⓘ; German: Schemnitz; Hungarian: Selmecbánya (Selmec), pronounced[ˈʃɛlmɛd͡zbaːɲɒ]) 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 the Štiavnica Mountains. 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.
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 present-day central Slovakia until they were deported to Pannonia within the Marcomannic Wars by Rome. The site was also settled by early Hungarians and an old Hungarian fortified settlement was situated here in the 10th and 11th century. The site was called “terra banensium” (the land of miners) as early as 1156. The local Slavic population gave the name „Štiavnica“ (acidic stream) to the settlement in the valley, and the settlement on the hill above (Ligotavá hora, or Glanzenberg – the shiny mountain) came to be called „Bánya“ (the mine). The single common name „Schebnyzbana“ was documented for the first time in 1255.[6] The local Slavic population was joined by skilled German settlers who started arriving in the 13th century. They adapted the local name to the German "Schemnitz". Banská Štiavnica gained the status of a royal town in 1238, as one of the first towns in the Kingdom of Hungary.
School buildings in Banská Štiavnica, end of 19th – early 20th centuryAcademy of Mining and Forestry memorial plaque
The town was also a leading center of innovation in the mining industry. In 1627, gunpowder was used there in a mine for one of the first times in the world (After Le Thillot, France). 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 phase of industrialization.
In 1782, Banská Štiavnica was the third biggest town in the Kingdom of Hungary (with 23,192 or incl. suburbs 40,000 inhabitants), after Pozsony (today 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.
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 1.5-kilometre (0.93 mi) long underground excursion in mines dating from the 17th century. Visitors will receive helmets, cloaks and lamps to use during the tour.[11] It is also possible to have an English, German or Hungarian speaking guide if this is requested in advance. 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-kilometre (62 mi) long network of channels. These extraordinary historical monuments are now used mainly for recreation.
dBanská 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% Romani 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.[14]
