Town Castle

The city castle is one of the attractions of Banská Bystrica, which is the cultural and economic center of central Slovakia. Currently, the castle, specifically the Old Town Hall, is the seat of the Central Slovak Regional Gallery.

The castle was built gradually in the period from the 13th to the 17th century, and the entire complex was composed of secular and religious buildings. The first church of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary was built, which is decorated with the altar of St. Barbara made by Master Paweł from Levoča. In the fifteenth century, defensive walls were built around the church, and then towers and a moat were built to effectively defend it against the Turks. Three out of four towers have survived: Parish, Górnicza and Pisarska. The castle complex was also made up of the late-Gothic Matthias House, the Church of St. Cross, a barbican with a tower and a Renaissance Old Town Hall.

Banská Bystrica was once one of the richest mining cities. Gold and silver were mined here, and since the mid-fourteenth century mainly copper, mercury and lead. The castle's task was therefore to protect the spoil and the royal treasury.