Banská Štiavnica

Before we returned to school today I managed to squeeze in one more day trip. Tuesday was a working day, though not a school day, so the buses were running normally, and I found that it was easier to get to Banská Štiavnica on a weekday than on a weekend.

Banská Štiavnica is a former mining town. Back in the olden days, there was gold in them thar hills, and silver, too. The town became the site of a mining academy, and one of the most prosperous areas in Slovakia. It has not one but two castles, many churches, and a lot of handsome buildings.

If you're planning on visiting Banská Štiavnica, the first thing you need to know is that it's in a hilly area, so there's lots of going up. The second is that if you're going by bus, you should get off at the Križovatka stop, which is the one right in front of the Billa. Then, facing Billa, turn left and walk up the street until it becomes Dolna, which takes you right up to the historic center. Ahab: Getting off at the wrong bus stop so you don't have to.

I was in the town for a good four hours, but I don't feel like I did four hours worth of anything. What I did do was visit one of the many museums, the Kammerhof, which had exhibits about mining and the life of the miners. It made me realize that mining would be a horrible job for me personally, and that it couldn't have been fun for anyone. Of the objects on display I especially liked the models of mines built in bottles.

As previously mentioned, the town has two castles, although in Slovak these are zámky, not hrady. The newer, Nový Zámok, has an exhibit on the defence of the town from the Turks, and I walked up the hill to see the castle itself, but didn't go in. Instead I visited Starý Zámok. When I first was reading the various sites' opening hours, one listed the Old Castle as being closed on Mondays AND Tuesdays in April, and for a while I was pretty miffed about it. There was a small door open at the castle itself, though, and there were listed special Easter hours, saying that it was indeed open. Huzzah!

As in Kremnica, this Old Castle is a walled enclosure around a central building. I liked the one in Banská Štiavnica better than Kremnica, for a few reasons. One: there were no workers digging things up and looking somewhat reproachful at visitors. Two: the Old Castle is smaller and cozier. Three: there's a walkway around the inside of the wall. Four: I saw a squirrel there. It used the stairs and ran up and down the walkway and then sat on the roof and ate a nut.

In the towers on the wall there are different displays. One, called Himmelreich, was the prison tower, and still has old manacles and plank beds with iron restraints. Another has various pieces of decorative ironwork, and another has keys and locks and tools all made of iron. I liked going in the bell tower the best. It had big doors that opened up with views of the town (as below), and descriptions of the three bells, the oldest of which is from the 16th century.
I'm not entirely sure what the building in the middle of the complex originally was. In its courtyard and the rooms off it there are displayed a number of sculptures and monumental carvings. On the second and third floors there appear to be offices or something. On one corner there is the most pointless spiral staircase, as it literally just leads into a wooden roof. The cool thing about it is that instead of a plain, solid circular central post, the staircase has a three-part, open Gothic column.

There are lots of things I didn't get to do in town. There are two different parts of old mines that you can tour, other museums and galleries, and a very famous Calvary on the hill opposite the Old Castle. As I got ready to leave, I felt like I hadn't gotten everything I could have out of Banská Štiavnica. Maybe if I had had more time, or gone earlier, or had been with someone who could communicate more clearly than I can? I'm not sure. While it is certainly a nice place to visit, and probably worthy of its UNESCO listing, I was merely whelmed by the town. I did have some delicious mandarinky zmrzlina on the way to the bus stop, though.