Banská Bystrica, city in central Slovakia, about 160 km (about 100 mi) northeast of Bratislava. Banská Bystrica is located on the Hron River, in a valley surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains. It is a center of tourism and industry. Factories here manufacture metal products, paper, furniture, textiles, cement, and food products. Copper and silver are mined nearby. The city's historic attractions, built between the 15th and 18th centuries, include a castle, a town hall, churches, and palaces. Banská Bystrica is the seat of a Roman Catholic bishopric.
Originally a Slovak settlement founded in the 5th century, Banská Bystrica belonged to the Empire of Great Moravia, a Slavic state, during the 9th century. In the 10th century it came under Hungarian control. German settlers, invited by Hungary, developed it as a gold-mining center in the 13th century and called it Neusohl. In Hungarian it was known as Beszterczebánya. After World War I (1914-1918) Banská Bystrica was a part of Czechoslovakia, except when it belonged to the pro-German Slovak Republic that existed during World War II (1939-1945). In 1944 the city was the headquarters of the anti-Nazi Slovak National Uprising. In 1993 it became a part of Slovakia when Czechoslovakia split into two countries. Population (1999 estimate) 84,465.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Banska Bystrica Information info
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