Slovak National Uprising Square, Banská Bystrica
Encyclopedia
Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica is a key city in central Slovakia located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains. With 81,281 inhabitants, Banská Bystrica is the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, named after the insurgency of 1944
Slovak National Uprising
The Slovak National Uprising or 1944 Uprising was an armed insurrection organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. It was launched on August 29 1944 from Banská Bystrica in an attempt to overthrow the collaborationist Slovak State of Jozef Tiso...
. It has been the hub of the city's life and a prestigious address for more than 600 years. During the 20th century, the square saw periodic mass gatherings celebrating first national independence, then the defeat of the uprising after which it is now named, and finally the memory of the event. Dotted by cafés, restaurants, and small stores, it is a popular place for the locals to linger, and a tourist attraction notable for its historical buildings, and visual appeal. The whole square is a free public WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
hotspot
Wireless access point
In computer networking, a wireless access point is a device that allows wireless devices to connect to a wired network using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or related standards...
.
The Square
The central area surrounded by merchants' and businessmen's homes was known as the (town) "Square," Ring in German (literally: "circle," a word used in the sense of "a marketplace" in the past) and Rínok in Slovak, for centuries. After Banská Bystrica was granted its Royal CharterRoyal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
in the 13th century, the "Square burghers" (Ringbürger in German, circulari in Latin) with residences at the Square attained special privileges among the citizens of the royal free town (a self-governing municipality outside the county jurisdiction − directly under the monarch and with its own representation in the Diet
Diet (assembly)
In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...
). The word Ringbürger remained an honorific, "Esteemed Citizen," in Banská Bystrica through the 19th century.
Main Square, and King Béla IV Square
When new town squares developed elsewhere in Banská Bystrica, the central one came to be called "Main Square" (Slovak: Hlavné námestie; the town had a Slovak majority, a German minority, with a scattering of Hungarians by the end of the 18th century). Budapest formalized the name in its Hungarian version (Fő tér) in the 1860s as part of a drive to assign Hungarian names to all the country's localities, and emphasized history in 1886 by renaming it "King Béla IVBéla IV of Hungary
Béla IV , King of Hungary and of Croatia , duke of Styria 1254–58. One of the most famous kings of Hungary, he distinguished himself through his policy of strengthening of the royal power following the example of his grandfather Bela III, and by the rebuilding Hungary after the catastrophe of the...
Square" (Hungarian: IV. Béla király tér, Slovak: Námestie kráľa Bela IV.) after the monarch who granted Banská Bystrica its Royal Charter in 1255.
Masaryk Square
The name of the central square remained the politicians' target in the 20th century. By 1923 it had already been renamed "Masaryk Square" (Masarykovo námestie) after the country's first president Tomáš MasarykTomáš Masaryk
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk , sometimes called Thomas Masaryk in English, was an Austro-Hungarian and Czechoslovak politician, sociologist and philosopher, who as an eager advocate of Czechoslovak independence during World War I became the founder and first President of Czechoslovakia, also was...
, shortly after Czecho-Slovakia (soon unhyphenated as Czechoslovakia) was created in 1918. The square saw a massive gathering to celebrate the new statehood during President Masaryk's visit in 1923. Banská Bystrica became the administrative center of the Central Slovak District, which enhanced the role of the square in the social, economic, and political life of the region.
Andrej Hlinka Square
A month after Slovakia acquired autonomy in October 1938, the square was renamed "Andrej HlinkaAndrej Hlinka
Andrej Hlinka was a Slovak politician and Catholic priest, one of the most important Slovak public activists in Czechoslovakia before Second World War...
Square" (Námestie Andreja Hlinku) after the leader of the largest party with autonomy in its program
Slovak People's Party
The Slovak People's Party was a Slovak right-wing party and was described as a fascist and...
. On 29 August 1944, Banská Bystrica became the center of the Slovak National Uprising
Slovak National Uprising
The Slovak National Uprising or 1944 Uprising was an armed insurrection organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. It was launched on August 29 1944 from Banská Bystrica in an attempt to overthrow the collaborationist Slovak State of Jozef Tiso...
against the country's totalitarian government and its alliance with Germany, the most extensive revolt in Western and Central Europe during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The square became an assembly area for the insurgency. After the suppression of the uprising, President Jozef Tiso
Jozef Tiso
Jozef Tiso was a Slovak Roman Catholic priest, politician of the Slovak People's Party, and Nazi collaborator. Between 1939 and 1945, Tiso was the head of the Slovak State, a satellite state of Nazi Germany...
arrived at the square in October 1944 for an approbatory ceremony to decorate German soldiers
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
who defeated the Slovak insurgents.
SNP Square
When Slovakia was reincorporated in a truncated Czechoslovakia in 1945, the square was first renamed "National Uprising Square" (Námestie Národného povstania), and eventually "Slovak National Uprising Square" (Námestie Slovenského národného povstania). The name has remained unchanged through the present. The square was the site of massive commemorations of the event staged by the Communist authorities once every five years for much of their rule.An early event during the Velvet Revolution
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
was a student demonstration at SNP Square on 21 November 1989, part of the popular movement that brought about the downfall of communism.
Buildings
The square is dominated by a clock towerClock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
built in 1552. Although less known than its famous counterpart in Pisa
Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa or simply the Tower of Pisa is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa...
, it is a leaning tower with the top 40 centimeters (16 in.) off the perpendicular. It hosts the main antenna that makes all of SNP Square a free WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
hotspot
Wireless access point
In computer networking, a wireless access point is a device that allows wireless devices to connect to a wired network using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or related standards...
provided by the city. A plague column
Marian and Holy Trinity columns
Marian columns are religious monuments built in honour of the Virgin Mary, often in thanksgiving for the ending of a plague or for some other help. The purpose of the Holy Trinity columns was usually simply to celebrate the church and the faith. However, the plague motif could sometimes play its...
(Slovak: Morový stĺp) was erected in the square in the 18th century in gratitude to the Virgin Mary for ending a deadly plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
. The column was temporarily removed before a visit of the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
leader Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
in 1964 because a religious symbol was considered too embarrassing a background for the Communist leader's speech. The St. Francis Xavier Cathedral
St. Francis Xavier Cathedral
The St. Francis Xavier Cathedral is a cathedral at Slovak National Uprising Square in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.There was a first mention of a gothic chapel at this spot in the so-called Königsberger's testament from 1503...
(Slovak: Kapitulský kostol, "Chapter Church") is a copy of the Jesuit Church of the Gesu
Church of the Gesu
The Church of the Gesù is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. Officially named , its facade is "the first truly baroque façade", introducing the baroque style into architecture ,. The church served as model for innumerable Jesuit...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and has been the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Banská Bystrica since 1776. Thurzo House hosts the historical exposition of the Museum of Central Slovakia (Slovak: Stredoslovenské múzeum), the oldest museum in the city. Other major monuments on the square include an Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
fountain from the beginning of the 20th century and a black obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
raised to the honor of the Soviet soldiers killed during the liberation of the city in 1945.