Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.
Concept
Banská Bystrica
Summary
Banská Bystrica (ˈbanskaː ˈbistritsa, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains. With approximately 76,000 inhabitants, Banská Bystrica is the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia. The present-day town was founded by German settlers, invited by the Hungarian Árpád-kings, during the Middle Ages (as part of the Ostsiedlung), however it was built upon a former Slavic/Slovakian/Avar settlement. A part of Zolyom county after the Hungarian conquest. During the reign of Béla IV of Hungary it obtained the municipal privileges of a free royal town of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1255 and resettled with Germans from Thüringen. The copper mining town acquired its present picturesque look in the late Middle Ages when the prosperous burghers built its central churches, mansions, and fortifications. It is the capital of the kraj (more specifically Banská Bystrica Region) and the okres (Banská Bystrica District). It is also the home of Matej Bel University. As a historical town with an easy access to the surrounding mountains, Banská Bystrica is a popular winter and summer tourist destination.
The Slovak name Banská Bystrica includes two roots: the adjective Banská from Slovak baňa – mine, and the name of the local river Bystrica (from Slavic bystrica – swift stream). The name of the town in "Besztercebánya" also comes from the Beszterce stream (from the Slavic name of the stream, Bystrica), and the suffix bánya is connected to the mines of the town. The river lent its name to the town as early as 1255 when the Latin name Villa Nova Bystrice (meaning "New Town of Bystrica") was recorded in the document in which King Béla IV of Hungary granted the town royal privileges.
Several variations of Bystrica (Byztherze, Bystrice, Bystrzice etc.) were then regularly used without the adjective identifying it as a mining town until the late 16th century.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.