The Banská Bystrica Region ( sk, Banskobystrický

kraj A kraj ( ''kraje'') is the highest-level administrative unit in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. For lack of other English expressions, the Slavic term is often translated as "province", "region", or "territory", although it approxim ...

, ; hu, Besztercebányai kerület, ) is one of the eight regions of

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. It is the largest region by area, and has a lower population density than any other region. The Banská Bystrica region was established in 1923; its borders were last adjusted in 1996. Banská Bystrica consists of 514 municipalities, 24 of which have town status. Its administrative center is the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous town of Banská Bystrica, which is also the region's largest town. Other important towns are

Zvolen Zvolen (; hu, Zólyom; german: Altsohl) is a town in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers, close to Banská Bystrica. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the West ...

and

Lučenec Lučenec (; german: Lizenz; hu, Losonc; yi, לאשאנץ; la, Lutetia HungarorumLelkes György (1992), Magyar helységnév-azonosító szótár, Balassi Kiadó, Budapest, 508 p.) is a town in the Banská Bystrica Region of south-central Slovaki ...

Geography

It is located in the central part of Slovakia and has an area of 9,455 km². The region is prevailingly mountainous, with several ranges within the area. The highest of them are the

Low Tatras The Low Tatras or Low Tatra ( sk, Nízke Tatry; hu, Alacsony-Tátra) is a mountain range of the Inner Western Carpathians in central Slovakia. It is located south of the Tatras proper, from which it is separated by the valleys of the Vá ...

in the north, where the highest point,

Ďumbier Ďumbier (2,043 m or 6,703 ft) is the highest mountain in the Low Tatra range, in central Slovakia. Despite the remains of medieval mines (gold, iron, antimony), the massif is now protected as a part of the Low Tatras National Park. The e ...

, is located. Some of the mountain ranges in the west include Kremnica Mountains, Vtáčnik and

Štiavnica Mountains The Štiavnica Mountains (also Štiavnické Mountains; sk, Štiavnické vrchy, ) are a volcanic mountain range southern central Slovakia. They are part of Inner Western Carpathians and the Slovenské stredohorie Mountains. The area is protected ...

. The Javorie and Krupina Plain ranges are located in the centre. The

Slovak Ore Mountains The Slovak Ore Mountains ( sk, Slovenské rudohorie , hu, Gömör–Szepesi-érchegység, german: Slowakisches Erzgebirge or Zips-Gemer-Erzgebirge) are an extensive mountain range within the Carpathian Mountains, located mostly in Slovakia's Sp ...

are running from the central areas to the east, along with its subdivisions (e.g. Poľana, Veporské vrchy, Muránska planina and Spiš-Gemer Karst). Lower lying areas are located in the south, represented by the Southern Slovak Basin, running along the borders with

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

. Major rivers are the

Hron The Hron ( sk, Hron; german: Gran; hu, Garam; la, Granus) is a long left tributary of the Danube Ipeľ The Ipeľ ( Slovak; ) or Ipoly ( Hungarian) (German: ''Eipel'', archaic Slovak: ''Jupoľ'', Latin: ''Bolia'') is a long river in Slovakia and Hungary, a tributary of the Danube River. Its source is in central Slovakia in the Slovak Ore Mountai ...

in the south and centre, Rimava and for short length Slaná in the east. As for administrative division, the region borders

Žilina Region The Žilina Region ( sk, Žilinský kraj; pl, Kraj żyliński; hu, Zsolnai kerület) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions and consists of 11 districts ( okresy) and 315 municipalities, from which 18 have a town status. The region ...

in the north, Prešov Region in the north-east,

Košice Region The Košice Region ( sk, Košický kraj, , hu, Kassai kerület; uk, Кошицький край) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. The region was first established in 1923 and its present borders were established in 1996. It c ...

in the east, Hungarian Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county in the south-east,

Nógrád Nógrád ( sk, Novohrad; german: Neuburg) is a village in Nógrád County, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, ...

county in the south and Pest county in the south-west,

Nitra Region The Nitra Region ( sk, Nitriansky kraj, ; hu, Nyitrai kerület) is one of the administrative regions of Slovakia. It was first established in 1923 and from 1996 exists in its present borders. It consists of seven districts ( sk, okres) and 354 m ...

in the west and Trenčín Region in the north-west.

Demographics

The population density in the region is (2020-06-30/-07-01), which is the lowest of all Slovak regions and much lower than the country's average (110 per km²). The largest towns are Banská Bystrica,

and

Rimavská Sobota Rimavská Sobota (; hu, Rimaszombat, german: Großsteffelsdorf) is a town in southern Slovakia, in the Banská Bystrica Region, on the Rimava river. It has approximately 24,000 inhabitants. The town is a historical capital of Gömör és Kishon ...

. According to the 2014 census, there were 655,359 inhabitants in the region, with a majority of Slovaks (83.7%), but there is a substantial Hungarian minority (11.8%) along the border with

, as well as smaller minorities of Roma (2.3%) and

Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, ...

(<1%).POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS 2001 - Tab. 3a
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Politics

Current governor of Banská Bystrica region is Ján Lunter (Independent). He won with 48,5 %. In election 2017 was elected also regional parliament :

2017 elections

Administrative division

The Banská Bystrica Region consists of 13 districts (okresy). There are 513 municipalities, of which 24 are towns, where the 56% of the region's population live.

Notes

References

External links

Banskobystrický samosprávny kraj
Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Banska Bystrica Region Regions of Slovakia