Banská Bystrica

Banská Bystrica ( Slovak pronunciation (help·info); German: Neusohl; Hungarian: Besztercebánya) is a key city in central Slovakia located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains. With 78 327 inhabitants, Banská Bystrica is the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia. It started as a permanent settlement in the 9th century and obtained the municipal privileges of a Hungarian royal town in 1255. The copper mining town acquired its present picturesque look in the Late Middle Ages when the prosperous burghers built its central churches, mansions, and fortifications. It is the capital of the kraj (Banská Bystrica Region) and the okres...