Welcome to Kremnica

Kremnica is commonly attributed as golden. The coins minted in the past supported many rulers. The historical picture of Kremnica is made of the mosaic of stories hidden in every street and house...

Town Castle

It comprises of a complex of buildings from the 14th - 15th century and is protected by the double fortifications which are linked with one of the best preserved town walls in Slovakia.

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Skalka relax centrum

Prepared to serve to professional and also recreational sportsmen all year round. The most popular and most visited part of the facility is wellness, which allows to regenerate your body after more or less intensive training.

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Kremnica GAGS

The international show of polite humour, independent satire and cheerful recession of the old tradition (1981) takes place here every year in the end of August.

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Churches

St. Catherine´s church

In general the historical literature dates the origin of the church before 1400, to the 13th or 14th century. Present church kept only the perimeter walls. No later than in the second half of the 14th century the polygonal presbytery with gothic vaults and entrance portal to sacristy (today walled up) were built. Relatively reliably dated reconstruction of the church from around 1400 was important for todays face of the interior. The concept of the interior was transformed to two aisle by inserting the medieval arcade belt with two pillars. From this time come the rich characteristic elements - architectural decoration with curly leaves and so called elbow consoles, as well as the motif of canopies on the side walls of the inter-aisle pillars.
Late gothic of the building development of the 80s of the 15th century is impressively represented by the construction solution of the arching of the oldest presbytery and south-eastern oratory. The groins create strange abutments and intersect in the form of swallow's tails. Experts called it "Kremnica abutment". They were a favorite motif of the Austrian builders. On the groins in the corners of the sanctum there are unusual animal and human figures depicting Christ, donators or prophets and evangelists and opposed to them two devils.
Renaissance adjustments to the tower are related to the reconstruction after the great fire in 1560. On the corners there are many marks and dates showing the advance of the reconstruction. In the second half of the 16th century there was a perfectly worked renaissance pulpit standing on the Corinthian column and the stone console supported by a sculpture of man's chest added to the triumphal arch.
The church got its present look mostly thanks to the extensive renovation in 1883-86. In the exterior were made new plasters with illusory cube-like decoration and on top of they mounted a tall pyramidal roof with little towers. The interior was changed by adding new western organ platform, stone balusters with tracery, spindle staircase and made a three-parts window from the treasury to the presbytery. The complexity of renovation was related with the interior late gothic painted decoration of the vaults and architectural elements, as well as ridding of the old furniture. It was replaced by neogothic elements of Storn's workshop - stained glass windows, wooden wing altars with gilded and painted architectural extensions and sheet paintings (the main altar of St. Catherine of Alexandria in the presbytery, side altar of Virgin Mary on the left, altar of St. Cross in northern chapel, altar of St. Joseph's death on the right, altar of St. Anna in southern chapel), baldachin and wooden construction of the pulpit staircase, stone sculptures on the pillars of the two aisles and facade of southern hall. Storno completely got rid of the four side altars together with early baroque main altar with central painting of betrothal of St. Catherine (consecrated in 1715). Major part of sculpture decoration was preserved (11 from the original 13). The interior was enriched with two precious additions from the torn down church of Virgin Mary - late gothic sculpture of Madonna standing on the crescent from the late 15th century and renaissance chalice shaped font from 1561 belonging to the tombstone of Kremnica medal maker Krištof Füssl.
The collection of the stone epitaphs and tombstones belong to the original parts of the church. Three late gothic sculptures - St. Helena, unknown saint (perhaps Virgin Mary) and St. Elisabeth, placed under the western platform probably come from the hospital Church of St. Elisabeth. Two late gothic sculptures of St. Catherine and St. Barbara from late 15th century of the unknown origin are placed in southern part of aisles. The stone sculpture of Virgin Mary (Immaculata) from the second half of the 18th century in north-western corner of two-aisles probably comes from the artists working on the plaque column.
In 1992 a new organ by the company Varhany Krnov became a part of the church. The organ, thanks to its dispositions (contains more than 3500 pipes and 60 registers) enables to realize interpretations of the most demanding compositions of organ literature. The Castle and Church's architecture, the concert organ and the church's interior acoustics create unique combination, which can not be found anywhere else in Slovakia.

The church of St. Francis

Francis began to be built together with the monastery on the place of the two burgher houses in the lower part of the square in the beginning of 1653 - shortly after the Esztergom archbishop Juraj Lippay brought Franciscans to the town after several unsuccessful attempts in early 17th century. The extension of sacristy and choir is mentioned In 1702. The church, with its simple construction only distantly resembles the domesticated sacral anti-reformation architecture. One isle vaulted with four fields of the cross vault and inner pillars, defining the side shallow niches, is connected with the right-angled deep choir for monks. Front facade above the main entrance resembles the original solution only in basic features. The entrance portal is stylistically richer with auricle motif. The main altar with column coulisse architecture and central painting of stigmatized St. Francis with side altars with dominating paintings and pilaster frames come from the late 18th century.
When in 1880 the church of Virgin Mary was torn down due to the landslide, all the paintings were brought here. Today these paintings ranking among the most important works of Anton Schmidt, late baroque painter in the area of the mining towns, belong to the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava.
Monastery left of the church had two floors originally. There is a pillar arcade cross corridor and towards the square there is four axis front with retracted tower above the entrance built in 1672. Functional architecture in the older parts of the four wing monastery has the simple framed openings and early baroque lunette vaults. Third floor was added after 1702. 30 years later the monastery wing near the walls was built and in 1752 it was lengthened. Franciscans set up a library in the fortification bastion.
Loreta chapel emerged at the place of the original burgher house from 1758. The chapel vaulted by the three fields of Prussian vault is linked with the aisle with the side passage and has its own entrance from the square. On the column architecture of the altar with Loreta chamber there are rococo ornaments. The fragment of a gothic burgher house on the square, behind the Loreta chapel used to serve as a Franciscan garner. Many solitary elements and fragments of the wall paintings are preserved there. Since 1651 the house was used by Franciscans. They had the bakery and cells here. The yard part was converted to the garner in 1760.

In the centre of the town once stood the monumental parish church of Blessed Virgin Mary. After its dismantling in 1880 only archive documents and fragments of paintings and sculptural decoration were preserved. The original gothic church went through massive late baroque reconstruction in the 18th century. In 1760 the first contract with sculptor Dionýz Staneti was signed for the stucco decoration of the facade with further orders for other works coming later - main and six side altars, pulpit, confessional, Holy Trinity column, four sculptures of the church fathers. Five altar paintings were made by Anton Schmidt, painter from Banská Štiavnica and author of fresco paintings. During the feast of the Assumption of Virgin Mary in 1767 the church was consecrated by count Anton Révai.

St. Elizabeth's Church and a medieval hospital -

a hospital dedicated to Virgin Mary is located in southern periphery of the town. Johelinus Craczer, a Kremnica's urbar, had it built around 1382. The Hungarian king Louis the Great soon supported establishment of this institution for sick and poor people and donated it the Veternik (Lyget) settlement with all its benefits. At the same time more burghers donated properties, means and benefits to this charity institution. The City Council released a privileges charter (document) about that in 1393. During that time hospital was dedicated to the Holy Cross. We learn from other documents that the church-hospital was dedicated to St. Elizabeth. The church's ground plan is simple, consisting of two spans of cross spur arch in vessel and five-edged presbytery. There is a shield in arch's bolts with a Hungarian emblem and an emblem with a mattock and a cross, which probably belonged to Craczer's family. The entrance portal is oblique and richly patterned by curved rods and deep troughs. Up north sacristy joins to the central area with one span of cross arch with spike shaped spur, same as in vessel. The southern chapel is arched to the middle pillar by renaissance arch. The baroque tower was constructed during the years 1712-13. There is a stony gothic font with a baroque lid inside. The hospital was reorganized in 1827, when a modern hospital was established in it again.

Protestant church

stands at the place of wooden chapel built by Kremnica's protestants already in 1682 during the Counter-Reformation. In 1819 the inspector of the protestant parish Johann Gottfired Freyseysen had built a new church. After 1822, when Würtemberg princess Maria Dorotea donated 200 guilders to the church during her visit of Kremnica, the collection started on a large scale. The foundation stone was laid on May 1st 1823 and the 24 thousand guilders worth building was consecrated on October 1st 1826. Two pilasters with decorated heads are on the front facade with the massive ledge and tympanum above them. Central space is vaulted by a dome. Near the altar with the painting by Béla Angyal from 1886 are two sacristies, above the entrance to the tribune with organ and by the sides are two terrace spaces. The building was designed and realized by Štiavnica's master František Hauser.

St. Cross church on Calvary

The Calvary is situated at the foot of Šturec Hill, on slope, which is inclined towards to Kremnica. It is close to the town center and together with the area of Town Castle, it is another dominant of the town. The objects of the Calvary - 14 chapels together with St. Cross Church are engaged with the land picture of the historical town. This architectural-landscape complex serves as the resting-recreational locality. If you take a walk among trees to the top of the hill, to church, you can get to a view tower. When the weather is nice, you can have beautiful views of Kremnicky Stos, Skalka, Kremnicke Bane, Jarabica and Sitno in Štiavnica Mountains from there.