Žiar nad Hronom

Žiar nad Hronom (German: Heiligenkreuz, Hungarian: Garamszentkereszt, until 1920 Svätý Kríž and until 1955 Svätý Kríž nad Hronom) is a town in Banská Bystrica Region, Slovakia. It is located in the Žiar Basin, on the Hron river, around 40 km from Banská Bystrica and 170 km from Bratislava. In addition to the main settlement with in 1969 annexed Horné Opatovce village, the town also has "parts" of Šášovské Podhradie (annexed 1971) The first written record about area was in 1075 in a document of Benedictine abbey in Hronský Beňadik. A settlement with name Cristur was first mentioned in 1237, which became a town in 1246. The town was renamed from Svätý Kríž nad Hronom to its current name in 1955. The main employer is the metallurgy factory...