Mining cities in Slovakia

History of mining in Slovakia

Middle Age was the best period of gold and silver mining in Slovakia with two major areas:

Central Slovakia – towns Banská Štiavnica, Banská Bystrica and Kremnica (till 18th century)

Eastern Slovakia – area of Spiš, Gemer, Šariš and Zemplín (till 17th century)

The growth of mining was supported by Germans who brought know-how

Banská Štiavnica

Mining from 13th century

Primarily mining of silver and gold (best year was 1690 with 29 tons of silver and 605 kg of gold)

Mining college university opened in 1762 (first technical university in the world)

Today Banská Štiavnica belongs to UNESCO cultural heritage

Banská Bystrica

Copper mining in Špania Dolina near Banská Bystrica from 15th century

One of the largest copper-mining sites of Medieval Ages in Europe

Kremnica

Mining from 10th century

Largest gold mining area of Hungarian empire in 14th century

Coin striking production from 14th century till today

Florens – golden coins from Kremnica were used in whole Europe