Last day in Banská Bystrica

I walked around and took more camera shots of the Old City. However, as with every town, there are contemporary parts that have the modern look, and areas that are less well maintained. One or two pictures should be included to give a more accurate impression.

Banská Štiavnica: Calvary

Banská Štiavnica: Town centre

Banská Štiavnica: Svätý Anton

A day at Banská Štiavnica

For a few more days in Banská Bystrica, we visited with relatives, and I got to see a few of the classic sites. Love the castles and palaces! The churches are numerous and spectacular, too. Every town and village seems to have its monuments, or at least old structures that date back to medieval times or earlier. I read up a bit on the history of this region so I could put what I saw in context.
There also is a beautiful countryside all around Slovakia. The trees and other vegetation are lush, thanks to a warm and humid climate. The Slovak government also is doing much to preserve the forests, bolster small-scale agriculture, and maintain parks.
There are numerous spas in the country based on thermal springs.
We went for an afternoon hike with a cousin and her husband, up from the picturesque village of Lopej. For the first time, I had someone happy to take a photo of me, for a change.

Banská Bystrica region

Beginning with the Middle Ages, Banská Bystrica rose to prominence in the region and eventually became its capital. Interestingly, it got a large boost during the 15th c. with the importation by the current local ruler of German engineers and miners. It is now an Autonomous Region, incorporating twelve different towns and areas. Banská Štiavnica and Kremnica are among these. We visited Banská Štiavnica, which has an even more pervasive historical flavour and has been designated by the UN as a world heritage site.
The top image is a map of Slovakia and its location in Europe. Click on the image to get an enlarged view. Banská Bystrica is roughly in the centre. The capital, Bratislava, is on the southwestern edge and just across the border with Austria, close to Vienna.
After that, there are scenes of BB from our hotel room. Other than a large, ugly roof right below our balcony, the view is quite spectacular. One of them is of a well-known museum and memorial dedicated to the National uprising of 1944.