Pukanec between ceramics, mining history and vineyards

Pukanec lies at the foot of the southeastern slopes of the Štiavnické vrchy. The town’s vineyards are located at an elevation of 350 to 485 m; the wine produced there belongs to the category of mountain wines.

Culture and history

Hrnčiarsky dom is an original craftsman’s house dating from 1880. Its rear room housed a pottery workshop; an original potter’s kiln, a potter’s wheel, tools and ceramic products have been preserved there.

Since 1740, the late Baroque plague column Trojičný stĺp has stood as a dominant feature in Pukanec’s square. It commemorates the end of the cholera epidemic and honours the Church and faith. The Church of St Nicholas, known in Slovak as Kostol svätého Mikuláša, is a Gothic two-nave church with a remarkable net vault and original interior furnishings.

The Evangelical Church, Evanjelický kostol, is a remarkable work of modern architecture and was built in 1935 based on a design by the architect M. Zoubek. The town walls of Pukanec were built of stone and brick between 1569 and 1590.

The former town hall is a Baroque-Classical building constructed between 1783 and 1786 on the older core of a mining court building. Ergištôlňa was a former municipal gold mine. According to old maps, it was 1,100 metres long; the first written records date from 1583.

The museum in Pukanec includes a pottery workshop. Visitors can see how ceramics were made in the past and how they are made today, and try out the potter’s wheel themselves. An exhibition presents the oldest history of the municipality, the development of mining and crafts, as well as a historic kitchen and the interior of a bourgeois room.

Landscape and mulberry trees

There are more than 700 black mulberry trees in Pukanec and the surrounding area. This distinctive feature is also the focus of a dedicated educational trail, while the vineyards visibly place the town’s elevation of between 350 and 485 m within the landscape.

Educational trails and paths

The Štamposký jarok educational trail is a self-guided, linear hiking route that can be walked in both directions and used year-round. It comprises two hiking sections of 2 km and 4 km and covers natural-history, historical, technical and mining topics.

The educational trail In the Footsteps of Old Ore Mining in Pukanec focuses on mining history as well as technical and natural monuments. The educational trail about the black mulberry leads through private vineyards; leaving the route is not recommended.

Most of the old mining facilities in Pukanec are currently inaccessible; open and filled-in shafts are dangerous.

The different trail lengths allow for a direct comparison of the respective route distances when planning a day trip.

Those choosing a hotel in Pukanec can compare travel dates, room categories and cancellation policies separately. This keeps the accommodation decision a separate practical consideration alongside the culture, vineyards, mulberry trees and educational trails.

Further destinations

Slatina, Devičany, Hronské Kľačany, Levice, Kalná Nad Hronom, Plášťovce, Veľké Turovce, Brhlovce

For the higher-level travel overview: Levice.