Banska Bela – Churches, Mining and Tajchy

Banská Belá combines ecclesiastical architecture, evidence of mining and a rural landscape shaped by hilly terrain. The town was one of the seven mining towns of central Slovakia and preserves this character to this day. Between the parish church, adits, spoil heaps and the waterworks associated with mining, a rich picture of the region’s history emerges.

Culture

The parish church in Banská Belá was built in the first half of the 13th century in the Late Romanesque style and consecrated in 1243. Its original tower and an original Late Romanesque window have been preserved. Inside is a wooden Neo-Gothic high altar, acquired at the Millennium Exhibition in Budapest in 1896. The furnishings also include wooden Stations of the Cross reliefs created in 1985 by local woodcarver Ján Bazalka. The church complex was fortified with a wall in the 16th century; surviving parts of this fortification were reconstructed in 1985.

The Church of Our Lady of the Scapular originated as a miners’ chapel built over a mine adit in the 15th century. It was extended with a nave in 1708. The Rococo Chapel of Saint John of Nepomuk is one of the important cultural monuments of Banská Belá. The Belianska Heritage Adit is also one of the town’s technical cultural monuments. The mining-history locality of Banská Belá–Nová šachta is documented by a prominent spoil heap in the centre of Banská Belá.

The religious tradition is also clearly anchored in time: pilgrimages to the Feast of Our Lady of the Scapular have been held in Banská Belá every year since 1713. The traditional cultural event “Výlov krokodíla”, featuring an extensive cultural programme, takes place at the Halčiansky tajch. This distinctive folk custom has existed since 1962.

Nature

Halčiansky tajch belongs to the Štiavnica Tajchy system, a group of reservoirs built for mining in the 18th century. It is connected to the Halča valley in Banská Belá. The Jasenica waterworks is another mining reservoir in the cadastral territory of Banská Belá in the direction of Kysyhýbel and also belongs to the Štiavnica Tajchy system. Banská Belá is part of the Banskoštiavnický Geopark, which has been a national geopark of the Slovak Republic since 2016.

Connections

Banská Belá is served by the standard-gauge Hronská Dúbrava–Banská Štiavnica railway line, known as Trať mládeže. The line began operating in 1949 and replaced a narrow-gauge railway built in 1873. Regional bus connections link Banská Belá with Banská Štiavnica, Zvolen and Banská Bystrica.

Getting Around

Two different route descriptions are recorded for cycling routes. The Beliansky okruh can be ridden in both directions, starts at the Dinas plant in Banská Belá and ends in the centre of Banská Belá. Štiavnicka Anča is a green-marked cycling route that can be ridden in both directions and ends at the Banská Belá landmark.

More destinations

If you would like to explore more places, the following links lead to additional destination pages: Svätý Anton, Banska Stiavnica, Kozelník, Banský Studenec, Podhorie, Vysoká, Ilija, Štiavnické Bane.

To the higher-level travel overview: Okres Banská Štiavnica.