Banska Bystrica, Slovakia Hotels, Vacations, Tourism

Lying at the very heart of Slovakia's mountain ranges, the old German mining town of BANSKÁ BYSTRICA is a useful introduction to the area and is also a handsome historic town in its own right – once you've made it through the tangled suburbs of the burgeoning cement and logging industries. Námestie SNP , the former medieval marketplace, is still the centre of life here. The black obelisk of the Soviet war memorial and a fountain that enthusiastically chucks water over a pile of mossy rocks form the square's centrepiece. One or two of the burgher houses bear closer inspection, … more »