Štiavnické vrchy Protected Landscape Area () is one of the 14 protected landscape areas in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. It is situated in the

Banská Štiavnica Banská Štiavnica (; ; , ) is a town in central Slovakia, in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. For its size, the caldera is known as the Štiavnica Mountains. Banská Štiavnica has a population of ...

Zvolen Zvolen (; ; ) is a city in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers. It is famous for several historical and cultural attractions. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the ...

Žiar nad Hronom Žiar nad Hronom (slang: Žiar, , ; until 1920 ''Svätý Kríž'' and until 1955 ''Svätý Kríž nad Hronom'') is a city in Banská Bystrica Region, Slovakia. Name development The name of the settlement has gone through multiple developments. P ...

Žarnovica Žarnovica (; ) is a town and municipality in the Žarnovica District, Banská Bystrica Region in Slovakia. The town is situated in the Hron river valley. It has a population of around 6,000 people. History The first written mention about Žarnov ...

Levice Levice (; , Hungarian pronunciation: ; ) is a town in western Slovakia. The town lies on the left bank of the lower Hron river. The Old Church Slavonic, Old Slavic name of the town was ''Leva'', which means "the Left One". The town is located i ...

and

Krupina Krupina (, ) is a town in southern central Slovakia. It is part of the Banská Bystrica Region and has approximately 8,000 inhabitants. Etymology The name is probably derived from Slavic root ''krup''. Proto-Slavic: ''krǫpъ'', ''krǫpъjь'' � ...

districts.

History

The park was created on 22 September 1979. Protected areas declared before include Banskoštiavnická botanická záhrada (Banská Štiavnica Botanical Garden) (1958), Kamenné more near

Vyhne Vyhne () is a village in the Žiar nad Hronom District, which is part of the Banská Bystrica Region in central Slovakia. Geography Vyhne is located in the Štiavnické vrchy mountains, near the historic town of Banská Štiavnica. A nature reser ...

(1923), and Sitno (1951).Sitno at enviroportal.sk
/ref>

Geography, geology and biology

The PLA's territory is set in the Štiavnické vrchy range, which is a range of volcanic origin and is the biggest one in Slovakia. Beech, oak and fir trees grow in the area. The park protects the natural elements as well as the monuments associated with historic mining activities. Artificial water reservoirs called '' tajchy'' were built in the 17th and 18th centuries to provide energy for the mines in

; at their height, there were 60 of them. Twenty-four survived to the 21st century and are used for recreation. Along with the town, they are a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

References

External links

Štiavnické vrchy PLA
a
Slovakia.travel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stiavnicke vrchy Protected Landscape Area Protected areas of Slovakia Protected areas established in 1979 Protected areas of the Western Carpathians Geography of Banská Bystrica Region Tourist attractions in Banská Bystrica Region Geography of Nitra Region Tourist attractions in Nitra Region 1979 establishments in Slovakia