Banská Bystrica

Banská Bystrica, known as Besztercebánya in Hungarian and Neusohl in German, grew at the confluence of the Hron and Bystrica amid the mining mountains of Upper Hungary. King Béla IV granted it town privileges in 1255. Copper and silver from the surrounding mines enriched its citizens, whose houses and churches gathered around the market square. In 1380 the town joined a league of neighbouring mining towns.

In 1495 Ján Thurzo joined the Augsburg banker Jakob Fugger in a company that brought capital and technical skill to the copper mines and smelters. Deep mining, drainage and the separation of silver from copper required substantial investment; the enterprise became a major producer supplying distant markets. Its owners controlled mines, smelting works and property in the town, linking local labour to a far-reaching commercial network. The wealth of the mines also brought labour disputes, and armed miners rose in 1525–1526. A printing press opened in 1577, adding a new craft to the town's commercial and intellectual life.

The wars of the seventeenth century reached Bystrica: Stephen Bocskai's soldiers plundered it in 1605, and a diet elected Gabriel Bethlen king of Hungary here in 1620. In 1776 the town became the seat of a Roman Catholic bishopric. Its mining legacy remained visible in the merchants' houses and the workings scattered through the surrounding valleys.