History of Banska Stiavnica

probably occupied by the Celtic Cotini tribe. Roman authors mentioned mining activities of the Cotini, who had lived in present-day central Slovakia until they were deported to Pannonia within the Marcomannic Wars by Rome. The site was also settled by early Slavs and a Slavic fortified settlement was situated here in the 10th and 11th century. The site was called “terra banensium” (the land of miners) as early as in 1156. Domestic population gave to the settlement in the valley name „Štiavnica“ (the acidic stream), the settlement above on the hill Ligotavá hora (Glanzenberg – The shiny mountain) they called „Bana“ (the mine). In 1255 it is for the first time documented the single common name „Schebnyzbana“. The domestic Slavic population was joined by skilled German settlers who started arriving in the 13th century. They adopted domestic name into German name "Schemnitz". Banská Štiavnica gained the status of a royal town in 1238, as one of the first towns in the Kingdom of Hungary.

In the High and Late Middle Ages, the town was the main producer of silver and gold in the Kingdom of Hungary. During the Ottoman Wars, the Turks made concerted efforts to conquer rich mining towns in Upper Hungary (Banská Štiavnica, Banská Bystrica, and Kremnica). This new threat led Banská Štiavnica to build powerful fortifications, including two castles, in the 16th century. As one of the most important centers of Protestant Reformation in the country, the town belonged to the Protestant "League of Seven Mining Towns" together with Banská Belá, Banská Bystrica, Kremnica, Ľubietová, Nová Baňa, and Pukanec.

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