The story of Nový zámok

In the past, a trumpet sounded from this tower every quarter of an hour to announce the exact time, and a bell rang every hour. The New Castle stands on a hill south of the centre, at 630 m, the highest point of the city centre. Its story begins with fear.

After the Ottoman army defeated the Hungarian troops at Mohács in 1526, the northern mining region, a great source of precious metals, had to strengthen its defences, and in 1541 the town council decided to fortify the town. The castle was built in 1564–1571 as a watch tower during the Ottoman wars: a six-floor Renaissance building with four bastions and loopholes. It is also called the Maiden Castle, after the Maiden Hill, Frauenberg in German, on which it stands.

Today it belongs to the Slovak Mining Museum, with the exhibition Anti-Turkish Wars in Slovakia on four floors, and from the highest floor you get a panoramic view of Banská Štiavnica and its surroundings.