Banská Bystrica and Kremnica

Banská Bystrica sits in the Hron River valley in central Slovakia, between the Low Tatras and the Kremnica Hills. It is the seat of the eponymous administrative region and one of the country’s larger cities, with about 73,000 inhabitants. Wealth came from copper and silver mines in the nearby mountains, especially Špania Dolina, leaving behind the large main square and the town castle, a fortified ensemble of churches and houses above the center.

The city also has a central place in 20th-century history. On August 29, 1944, the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) began there, an armed insurrection against the regime allied with Nazi Germany. The main square bears the name of the uprising, and the museum dedicated to it occupies a concrete building from 1969, with an outdoor display of armored vehicles and heavy weapons.

Kremnica lies to the west, at 564 m altitude, in a valley of the Kremnica Hills. It was one of the richest towns of the Kingdom of Hungary thanks to gold: the mines operated from the Middle Ages until the 20th century, and the mint, which already existed in 1328, still strikes coins and medals. The town castle with the Gothic Church of St. Catherine dominates the square and the miners’ houses.

The two towns pair well with a visit to Špania Dolina, a mining village of wooden and stone houses in the mountains north of Banská Bystrica.

This destination brings together 2 cities: Banská Bystrica, Kremnica.