Štiavnické vrchy Protected Landscape Area

This small mining town is located in the middle of Slovakia, around 170km away from Bratislava and 240km away from Kosice (second biggest city in the country). The first settlement in this area was founded in 3rd century BC but it wasn’t until 13th century when the town became really important, in 1238 it even gained the status of one of the first royal towns in Kingdom of Hungary. The local Slavic population was joined by Germans and together they’ve created one of the most prominent places in the area and the main producer of silver and gold in Central Europe. Of course that made Banska Stiavnica a target of enemies and resulted in building well-needed fortifications around the town, including two castles. The town was also known for its innovations in the mining field, one of the local schools – Academy of Mining and Forestry – was named the first technical university in the world. Banska Stiavnica was growing steadily, at the end of the 18th century it was even third biggest city in the Kingdom of Hungary, but since mid 19th century its importance was declining. In 1993 UNESCO put it on its World Heritage List Information taken from travel blog: www.mywanderlust.pl/banska-stiavnica-slovakia/