7th stage : Bacúrov - Zvolen; 16,2km / 4:40 hr

Ostrá Lúka

Two abundant sources of drinking water are in the Ostrá Lúka village. The “Strmina” spring has the same water temperature all year round. In the past, it was used for washing. In the forest valley, west of the village, the “Suchý potok” creek leads to a spring of exceptional quality called “Červený kameň.” Water from this source does not contain any heavy metals, toxic components or pathogenic bacteria. And it has the advantage of containing magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) in equal proportions. That water is suitable for people with kidney, heart, and high blood pressure diseases because it contains negligible amounts of sodium and potassium. It is also excellent for infants. It has no competition in Slovakia. Spring water rises from a depth of 300 m and flows through the gold and silver ore of the mountains Štiavnické vrchy. In many ways, the Ostrolúcky family brought fame to Ostrá Lúka. In 1286, King Ladislaus IV renewed the Charter for the whole village area of “Otto de Ostroluka“. Nicholas Ostrolúcky was an influential feudal lord in the 19th century. Adela Ostrolúcka, his daughter, befriended Ľudovít Štúr, codifier of the Slovak literary language and national revivalist. Adela was an educated and enlightened woman, and represented the ideal of the new nobility. The Ostrolúcky family tomb is in the village, close to the 18th-century, baroque-classicist Ostrolucký manor. The highlight of that building is its duplicity: its rear facade has a defensive character while its front facade looks like a luxurious aristocratic residence. There is a curious inscription carved in stone on the ground floor of the manor: “Let this house stand as long as the ant does not drink the sea and the turtle does not go around the world.”

Pustý hrad

Another important national monument around Zvolen is the ruin of Pustý Hrad (i.e., the forsaken castle). It is the former seat of the royal “komitát” (county) of Zvolen, located 2 km southwest of the city. The castle complex originally consisted of two castles, an upper and a lower castle. Its oldest building is a Romanesque tower from the 12th century. The fortification of the two castles, another tower of the upper castle and the dungeon of the lower castle, were probably erected after the Mongol invasion between 1241 and 1255. With an area of 4.7 hectares (i.e., 11.6 acres), “Pustý hrad” is the largest castle in Central Europe. The city of Zvolen carries out systematic archeological digs in the castle area.

Zvolen

Zvolen is one of the oldest towns in Slovakia. It was called “Zólyom” in Hungarian, “Altsohl’ in German. It lies at the confluence of the Hron and Slatina Rivers. For its advantageous geographical location and favorable natural conditions, it was settled in prehistoric times. In the Middle Ages, Zvolen was on the important “Via Magna“ route. The importance of the settlement was confirmed by privileges granted by King Belo IV as early as 1238. After the Mongol invasion in 1243, those privileges were made permanent, and the town was promoted to the rank of a “royal town.” The town has been the county seat since time immemorial. Its most important historical landmarks, the Zvolen Castle and Pustý Hrad, are today’s reminders of the city rare past and, in particular, of the frequent royal stays in the Middle Ages. The National Historic Landmark Zvolen Castle towers above the square, and is one of the biggest jewels of medieval architecture in Slovakia. At the end of the 14th century, on the site of older royal mansions, Hungarian King Louis I of Anjou built a gothic, hunting castle patterned after an Italian city castle. In the 16th century, the castle was an important stronghold of anti-Turkish defense, protecting access to the mining towns of central Slovakia. The heart of Zvolen is its square, one of the largest in Slovakia. It is 740 meters long and up to 115 meters wide. In the square stands St. Elizabeth Church, built in the late Romanesque and early Gothic style between 1243 and 1250. It was rebuilt in the 14th century with, near it, a rectory building, a school, a town hall with a prison, a hospital, and a clock tower. On the south side of the church was the Corpus Christi Chapel. The church and those buildings formed a whole. A massive belfry was built in the 17th century, during the Renaissance. In the belfry is a bell weighing around 2000 kg. It is richly decorated with reliefs and four quotations from the Old Testament.