Faculty of Education University of Matej Bel

Welcome to Banská Bystrica!

The town of Banská Bystrica - the heart of Central Slovakia - lies in the valley of the River Hron in the Zvolen basin, between Kremnické and Starohorské Hills and Poľana. Banská Bystrica is also known as "Town under Urpín". Its history was first recorded in the 13th century. The town, from the original Slovak settlement of Bystrica of several families of Saxon colonists, who established the economic-administrative and craft base of mining production in the area of ​​present-day Banská Bystrica, was created by the decree of King Bela IV of Hungary in 1255.

Banská Bystrica has passed many stages of development since the granting of town rights, and has been permanently inscribed not only in the history of Slovakia. In 2005, the 510th anniversary of the Thurzov-Fugger company was celebrated. This Banská Bystrica copper smelting company with its huge complex of processing plants, a well-thought-out production organization, a dense network of warehouses, and double-entry accounting was one of the largest and most advanced early-capitalist enterprises of its kind in European mining and metallurgy.

The town entered the annals of Slovak modern history on August 29, 1944 when the Slovak National Uprising, the armed resistance against the Nazi occupation, was declared here. After the city was liberated during the Second World War, Banská Bystrica became one of three economic-administrative centres in Slovakia. The historical core of the city was declared a listed town conservation reserve in 1955. After the abolition of the regions, the city quickly adapted to the new territorial-administrative situation and began to build on banking, education and tourism.

With the founding of Matej Bel University on 1 July 1992, Banská Bystrica became one of the centres of higher education in Slovakia. Nowadays, Banská Bystrica is an important economic, administrative and cultural centre of Central Slovakia and the seat of the Banská Bystrica Autonomous Region. The renovated historical centre, new modern buildings and the beautiful surrounding countryside which offers a wide range of sports, hiking and recreation opportunities, invite visitors to visit and are an inexhaustible well of active discovery.