Nová Baňa

Nová Baňa is a picturesque town situated in a wonderful landscape of area called Pohronie where mounts Štiavnické vrchy and Pohronský Inovec intercourse. The predominant sierra with the altitude of 901 meters above the sea level is called Pohronský Inovec, which coextends between the mountains called Tríbeč and Štiavnické vrchy. The town is located in the altitude of 221 meters above the sea level with the climate which can be characterized as mildly warm. Cadastral area of the town is quite vast because it extends to the adjoining zones of the small nearby villages and habitations which belong to the town itself.

The venerable history of this royal quarrying town reflects its successive development in the exploitation of scarce metals and alternations of the town itself. The very first roots of the town are dated by the archeological findings of the mill tools in the latter Neolithic Age. In the area called Janíkove zeme was found a lithic ax from period of the middle Bronze Age dated in the year around 1500 B.C. Discoveries of the coinage from the era of the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. document the mercantile commerces within the Roman epoch. On the turn of the post-Moravian era and the establishment of the Hungarian state, there used to be a chain of strongholds protecting the old route of Pohronie during these restless times. One of those strongholds was once a hummocky fortress called Zámčisko, which is located near Nová Baňa. In order to protect the fortress and not let the enemy inside, it was bulwarked and around the whole fortress was made an entrenchment. Both protective alternations can apparently be seen even nowadays.

The oldest epistolary reference about the habitation of Seunich, latter Nová Baňa, comes from the year 1337 when miners and diggers from Pukanec found an auriferous seams and habitats in this area. Due to the fact that there was an increment of the ore cracking mills, this business sector became very profitable, and as the result of that, the big boom in this sector helped the pristine habitation transform into a conurbation. Organizing markets, right of the sword, mileage right, these were the first prerogatives with which has the city been bestowed as a free royal and quarrying town in 1345. The years 1345, 1346, 1347 document the first wattages and corraborations in the self-governed town. Moreover, from September 8th, comes a mandate of Louis I. which concretly substantiates the members of the town council. The Quarrying Record, coming from the year 1355, displays the ambits of the region. The year 1348 documents the first record issued by the town with an adjoint signet.

In the second half of 14th century, Nová Baňa was one of the seven quarrying towns of the Upper Hungary, and everything due to the upswing of the quarrying and exploitation of the scarce metals. The face of the town was completely changed by the indwelling riots within Hungary and anti-Turkish invasions. Furthermore, in 1664, the Turks plundered and destroyed the town. These unfortunate events were followed by the epidemic plague, which almost unpopulated the town during the 17th century. Bottom waters negatively affected the further development of quarrying in the mines. In 1722, an English designer Isaac Potter constructed an atmospheric fire engine which was supposed to save the deluged mines. This steam engine constructed by Isaac Potter happened to be the first one ever used on the soil of continental Europe. In the year 1723 was established an auriferous incorporation, but the balance of prosperity or breakdown was on a very thin ice. Due to the fact that the sector of quarrying became unprofitable, the mines were closed in 1887.

Despite this setback, the town was well known for its skilled craftsmen like blacksmiths, tailors, ceramists, and shoemakers, as well as for its manufacturing of millstones and rich crops of fruit since the 14th century. In 1630, in nearby Stará Huta was established one of the first Hungarian glassworks. The very first outset of the modern industry in Nová Baňa was started by building up the glassworks in 1907. Hoarstones and monuments reminiscence the auld lang syne of the town (the Church of Blessed Virgin Nativity, Church of St. Elizabeth, hospital, statue of Holy Trinity, Neogothic Pilgrim's Chapel of Virgin Mary in Kohútovo, and Church of Holy Cross in Kalvária).

• 🌍 Pohronske museum. (updated Nov 2016)
• 🌍 St. Ellizabeth church. (updated Nov 2016)
• 🌍 Starohutiansky waterfall. The 5m high waterfall is located on an unnamed stream. It is a national natural monument in the Pohronský Inovec mountain range. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 Putikov vŕšok. An extinct basalt volcano. The cinder cone reaches an altitude of 477 m above sea level and represents the last active volcanic activity on the territory of Slovakia. (updated Dec 2023)
• 🌍 Breznica castle ruins. The layout of the castle in the terrain is visible and various remnants of the ground floor have been preserved. (updated Dec 2023)