These articles were published in the Spectacular Slovakia travel guide, published annually by The Slovak Spectator since 1996. The latest editions can be obtained from our online shop.

A Horehronie rivalry

By Dan Stoll

Brezno

Population: 22,875
Economy: industry (steel), wood processing, textiles
Mayor: Jaroslav Demian, Tel: (048) 630-6210, primator.msu@brezno.sk

Important contacts

www.brezno.sk (Slovak only, but very extensive)

Municipal Office:
Nám. Gen. M.R. Štefánik 1
Tel: (048) 630-6230

Information Center:
Nám. Gen. M.R. Štefánik 3
Tel: (048) 611-4221
tik@brezno.sk
open Mon-Fri 08:00 to 17:00
summers also Saturday 08:00 to 12:00

Town Museum:
Horehronské Múzeum, Nám. Gen. M.R. Štefánika 3
Tel: (048) 611-2453
hormuz@naex.sk
open Mon-Fri 08:00 to 16:00

Local Police: Rázusová 19
Tel: (048) 611-3284 (non-stop)

Local Hospital:
Banisko 1, Tel: (048) 611-3491

	The Brezno downtown core has been renovated and exudes a tourist-friendly atmosphere.
	Photo Ján Lacika

The Horehronie (Upper Hron) region ranges east of Banská Bystrica along the Hron River to the town of Červená skala (Red Rock) about 100 kilometers away. North of the Hron the Low Tatra mountains dominate the landscape, with Ďumbier, the highest peak, rising to 2,043 meters (6,702 feet). To the south, the densely forested Slovenské Rudohorie (Slovak Ore) mountains, anchored by the extinct volcano Poľana (1,458 meters, 4,700 feet), stretch toward Hungary.

	Rolling hlls, like this scenery near Kráľová, are typical of the Horehronie area around Brezno.
	Photo Ján Lacika

Yet to get to Brezno from Banská Bystrica, travelers must first pass through the village of Podbrezová, about seven kilometers from Brezno, where the real force to be reckoned with is located - Železiárne Podbrezová (ŽP). The steel pipe manufacturer, which was founded in 1860 as Slovakia’s first steel mill, employs over 4,000 people and is the only real job option in the region.

The road squeezes its way through Podbrezová between steep rock cliffs and a mammoth scrap metal yard owned by ŽP. Escaping the town under a rail bridge, the tarmac leads to a modern factory that towers above the landscape - the freshly painted ŽP on the smokestack can be seen for kilometers. This is where the region’s modern-day feudal lords reside.

ŽP’s top managers have acquired quite an empire, building a golf course (www.graybear.sk) at the Low Tatras resort center of Tále, buying a castle in the neighboring village of Slovenská Ľupča, erecting mountain villas, and stamping the ŽP label on everything happening in the region.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. ŽP is building a new hockey stadium in Brezno and picks up the bill for most of Brezno’s seasonal events, including a stop on the World Biathlon tour.

But sometimes ŽP uses its might to the detriment of the majority. A rift between ŽP boss Vladimír Soták and the former Brezno mayor robbed the city of its professional football. As locals tell it, the two didn’t like each other, so Soták had ŽP pour money into the local Podbrezová team instead of Brezno’s, an unusual decision given that Podbrezová’s population is a quarter of Brezno’s 22,000.

Nevertheless, a 4,000-seat stadium was built in the smaller town and semi-decent players were brought in. Football fans in Brezno now have to trek to the village to see decent football, for while the city of Brezno can’t crack the fourth division regional league, the village of Podbrezová, thanks to ŽP, sits in the second division, perennially near but never quite reaching the top. Fans murmur that Soták doesn’t want the team to advance to the premier league because he doesn’t want to have to pay top-division salaries to players.

While visitors may not be making the trip to Brezno (or even Podbrezová) to see a Champions League match any time soon, there is still plenty to see and do in the town to make a trip worthwhile. The main square is made charming by the giant trees that shade the 18th century Catholic church and town hall, now a regional museum. It takes an hour to go through the museum’s collection; the most interesting piece is the “Treasure of Brezno”, a late Bronze Age (1300-700 BC) collection of items found at a burial site in 1882. There are also some interesting photos of village life in the region, including Maypoles, wooden house architecture and village folk dress.

In front of the old town hall, surrounded by arching water fountains, is a statue of the father of the former Czechoslovakia, Milan Rastislav Štefánik, who once visited the town in 1917. While a statue of Štefánik adorned the square during the first Czechoslovak state from 1919 to 1938, during the Second World War a statue of fascist leader Jozef Tiso took its place, followed in turn by Czech communist Klement Gottwald during the totalitarian years, until Štefánik was once again free to reclaim his perch after the 1989 revolution.

The bell tower, which was last reconstructed in 1830, stands across the road from the Štefánik statue in the pedestrian zone, but unfortunately tourists can’t go up it. The tower once served as a lookout for invading Turks, who never managed to take Brezno, despite dominating other parts of Slovakia in the 16th and 17th centuries. Now it serves as the town’s best photo backdrop.

The vast size of the town square - 213 by 146 meters - hints at the once certain promise of gold and silver in the surrounding hills. Brezno, founded in 1380, was built up in the 1700s with just such greedy visions in mind. The precious metals turned out to lie further south in Kremnica and Banská Štiavnica instead. The burgher houses left over from that era, most of which belonged to German noblemen, now house banks, shops, restaurants, pubs and ice cream stands, some spilling out into the square.

Tourists shouldn’t leave the Horehronie area without visiting one of Slovakia’s legendary koliba restaurants. There’s one just off the Brezno square on the southeast side behind a Chinese restaurant. Whole chickens and trout roast over an open fire in the middle of the restaurant, creating a luscious aroma and a tantalizing atmosphere. The crowds are dense on Fridays and Saturdays when accordion music and singing blare into the night, while wine flows and food is devoured. Other Koliba restaurants are located in the Low Tatra resort towns of Bystrá, Tále and Čierny Balog. All three towns have excellent pension or hotel options.

Bystrá is home to the Bystrianska cave, which is not as well known as other Slovak caves, but is still quite an adventure into the underworld.

Tále is the jumping-off point for hikes in the Low Tatras. Tourists can hike up two or three hours to a chata (mountain cottage), eat some soup and load up on water before spending another hour on the steep ascent to the top of Ďumbier. It’s a moderately difficult hike, often beset by unpredictable weather such as thunderstorms, which may appear unannounced. It’s also possible to take a ski lift from Srdiečko, a short drive from Tále, to the top of Chopok, Ďumbier’s sister peak. The chata at the top of Chopok is a favorite of tourists who make the climb, as are the stunning views towards the High Tatras mountains, or the easy hour-long stroll to the top of Ďumbier. Tále has guided horseback riding, the aforementioned golf course, swimming and nightlife at the Hotel Partizán disco.

	Čierny Balog´s big attraction, especially for children, is its steam train.
	Photo Ján Lacika

Dotted across the Horehronie region are memorials to the Slovak National Uprising, which started in August 1944 to liberate the country from Fascism. These monuments pay tribute to the lives lost by the partisans during the uprising. Some are quite sobering, like the one in the village of Nemecká, 25 kilometers from Brezno, where the Nazis shot 900 men, women and children in a limekiln.

South of Brezno the Slovak Ore mountains are less accessible than the tourist-friendly Low Tatras, but they richly deserve the superlatives hurled at them by the local tourist literature, with one pamphlet calling the region “a second Tuscany”. Terraced farms cut into the sides of mountains, while sheep bells echo through the hills, and small villages nestle into the valleys. Who knows? Maybe this is how Tuscany looked 100 years ago. Today, however, this land needs no comparisons to be appreciated.

The main tourist draw is the extinct volcano, Poľana. An exciting seven kilometer drive up an uncomfortably narrow road ends at Hotel Poľana, from where it’s an hour’s hike to the top of the peak. Another highly recommended hike from the hotel is to the Bystrá waterfall, which takes 45 minutes.

This time the hike takes you down through the hills into a dense forest of white birch and red pine. The 47-meter waterfall does not disappoint, but you have to work to get there, climbing down wet ladders to get a close-up view of what you came for.

Accommodation

A reconstructed hotel that is 100% owned by the city situated on the main square. Adequate for the price, with basic but clean rooms.

A modest pension near the Piarist Monastery downtown that has two attic rooms, one a two-bedder and the other a four-bedder, and a restaurant that doesn’t open until 10:00 (i.e. no breakfast).

The Partizán is located about 15 kilometers north of Brezno in the Tále golf resort, but it’s definitely worth the drive, not least for the surroundings of the High Tatras. Special mattresses give a great sleep.

Dining

U Rytier (The Knight’s) is located at the south end of the main square. Climb up the creaky wooden stairs to an old-style Czech and Slovak restaurant with terrific soups and hearty offerings of the best of Czech and Slovak cuisine and, of course, beer on tap. Spears, swords and armor decorate the walls, hanging over large wooden tables and chairs. Outdoor seating also available.

An over-the-top joint with an ancient Greek theme yet serving excellent pizza, green salads and other Slovak food. It was voted Best Restaurant in 2004 in a Brezno Internet competition, and sits behind a long archway on the northwest corner of the square. Stone faces of Zeus and other Greek gods stare down at patrons sitting in cushy chairs. The vegetarian pizza is highly recommended.

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