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BANSKA STIAVNICA
Banska Stiavnica is a unique and famous town whose renown grew out of the legendary Spietaler silver lode, discovered centuries ago by a poor goat farmer. For centuries since, its ore has been among the most abundant in Europe and well-known over- seas. The story of Banska Stiavnica is inseparably linked to mining. The town's greatest prosperity came in the second half of the l8th century when scientific and technical progress made gold and silver mining significantly more profitable. Banská Stiavnica became a center for production of the most advanced mining technology. Gun powder was successfully used in mining here for the first time in the world in 1627, marking the birth of what would be the most exploited technology in underground mining. Simultaneously, scientists such as S. Mikovíni, M. K. Hell, and his son, J. K. Hell, contributed to the development of mining science and education. In 1735, the first mining school in Hungary was established in Banska Stiavnica. Its first principal was the well-known geodesist, cartographer, mathematician, and builder, Samuel Mikovíni. Twenty-seven years later, the world's first institute of higher education in mining was established here. The Mining Academy of Banska Stiavnica operated until 1919 and educated hundreds of professionals in mining, forestry, and natural sciences. Periods of prosperity allowed Banska Stiavnica to become a cultural and artistic center as well, and sculptors, architects, painters, and writers have left their mark on the town's interior and exterior. The works of Master M.S., Anton Schmidt, Jaroslav Augusta, Sergej Protopopov, Edmund Gwerk, Jozef Viktorian Pituk, and Jozef Kollár can be seen in the gallery on St. Trinity Square. The literary works of Pavel Kyrmezer, Bohuslav Tablic, Pavol Dobsinsky, Jan Kalinciak, Andrej Sladkovic, Emil Bohuslav Lukac, Jozef Horak, Anton Hykiseh, and others are part of literary collections throughout Slovakia and abroad. After World War II, more than 47 thousand young people contributed to the construction of a railway line between Hronska Dubrava and Banska Stiavtnica. The Railway of Youth was so named as a reminder of the will and the enthusiasm of these postwar youth. Throughout its rich past and preserved monuments, Banska Stiavnica is now a real, open, richly-illustrated textbook of history and architecture. Almost three hundred cultural monuments have been preserved so far, illustrating the development of the region since the l2 th century. The town center was designated for historical preservation in 1950, and its surroundings in 1970. On December 10, 1993, Banska Stiavnica's historical and cultural value to the world was recognized by UNESCO. The town and its monuments were included in the List of World Cultural and Natural Inheritance. |