World Heritage Photos

Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity: Banská Štiavnica is situated in central Slovakia. The town is situated in the centre of a huge crater, created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. The historic town of Banská Štiavnica is an outstanding example of an European medieval mining centre. Banská Štiavnica was also known as the 'Silver Town'. Mining started in Banská Štiavnica in the 12th century. From the 15th century, Banská Štiavnica was the treasury of the Austria-Hungary, the riches extracted from the ground here paid for the palaces in Vienna and Budapest, for the flamboyant lifestyle of the emperor, boosted science, education and culture and also financed wars. Banská Štiavnica was the third largest town in the former Kingdom of Hungary, it had the highest level of education, the first technical university in the world was established in Banská Štiavnica in 1735. The mines in the vicinity of Banská Štiavnica were the first in the world to use gunpowder to blast rock. There is also an unique system of interconnected artificial lakes, the water power was used to drive the equipment for processing ore. In the 19th century, the mines began to dry up and the prosperity of Banská Štiavnica slowly reduced. The Mining maps and plans of the Main Chamber - Count Office in Banská Štiavnica are inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. In the centre of Banská Štiavnica towers a plague column. The column was erected after the ending of the plague that had afflicted Banská Štiavnica in the 18th century. Just outside the historic town of Banská Štiavnica lies the Štiavnica, the calvary was built on Scharfenberg Hill by the Jesuits in 1744-1751. The Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity gained the status as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1993.

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   Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity: The Nová Shaft (the New Shaft) in the Štiavnica Hills nearby Banská Štiavnica, a mining town in central Slovakia. The hoist tower of the Nová Shaft was built nearby the collapsed Gabor Shaft. Banská Štiavnica was also known as the 'Silver Town'. The Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity were declared a UNESCO World Heritage in 1993. 

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   Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity: The Banská Štiavnica Calvary on Scharfenberg Hill is dominating the surrounding hills of the historic town of Banská Štiavnica. The Banská Štiavnica Calvary is located in the centre of an ancient volcano, the calvary was built by the Jesuits between 1744 and 1751, it is one of the finest Baroque calvaries in Europe. The calvary is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica.

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   Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity: The Banská Štiavnica Calvary is situated on Scharfenberg Hill, the calvary a complex of three churches and twenty-two chapels. The calvary was severely damaged during World War II and it became later a victim of vandalism. The original paintings and wood carvings have been removed. In 2007, the calvary was inscribed on the list of the hundred most endangered monuments in the world.

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   Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity: The Nová Shaft (the New Shaft) is located between Glanzenberg Hill and Sobov Hill near Banská Štiavnica. The sinking of the shaft was in the middle of the 20th century, the dept of the shaft is more than 850 metres. In the Nová Shaft also thousands of minerals were found, such as quartz, calcite, pyrite, dolomite, galena and gypsum. Rare was the gold ore. The shaft was closed in the 1990s.

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   Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity: The New Castle of Banská Štiavnica, there is also an Old Castle in the town. The two castles were built to resist the Ottoman invaders in the 16th century. Banská Štiavnica was the third largest town in the former Kingdom of Hungary, it had the highest level of education. In the 17th century, the first technical universty in the world was established in Banská Štiavnica.

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   Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity: A representative Neo-Renaissance building of the Central Mining Archive in Banská Štiavnica. The mining maps and plans of the Main Chamber-Count Office in Banská Štiavnica were included on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2007. The historic town of Banská Štiavnica and the technical monuments in its vicinity were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993.

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   Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity: The Head Office and the Franz Shaft of Hodruša Hámre. Hodruša Hámre is an ancient mining village in Slovakia. Hodruša Hámre is situated a few kilometers outside Banská Štiavnica. Tons of silver and gold were extracted from the mines of Hodruša Hámre. The 700-year old All Saints Mine in Hodruša Hámre is now an open air museum.

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   The Franz Shaft of Hodruša Hámre, a small village situated just outside Banská Štiavnica. After closing the Franz Shaft in 1975, the Nová Shaft (the New Shaft) became the main mining shaft in Banská Štiavnica. The village is also known for lace making, the bobbin lace for the wedding veil of Queen Elizabeth II was made in Hodruša Hámre. Hodruša Hámre is part of he UNESCO World Heritage: Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity.

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   Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity: The Klopačka, the Knocking Tower, was built in 1681. It was used to call the miners to work by knocking on a wooden block. The Klopačka was also used as an alarm clock by fires and mining accidents and to announce several occasions, such as meetings. The ground floor served as a prison. Banská Štiavnica and Hodruša Hámre are outstanding examples of European medieval mining towns.

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    Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity: A plague column towers in the centre of the Holy Trinity Square. The column was built around 1760, replacing an older plague column from 1711. The plague column was erected after the ending of the plague that had struck Banská Štiavnica in the 18th century. The Holy Trinity Square was created in the 16th century. The square is surrounded by Renaissance and Baroque burgher houses.  

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    Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity: A huge plague column is situated in the centre of the Holy Trinity Square. The plague column is adorned with sculptures of saints, such as the patron saints of miners St. Barbera and St. Catharine, it is one of the largest plague columns in Slovakia. The column is also known as the Holy Trinity Column. The Holy Trinity Square was lined with houses of wealthy people.