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An old mining town of Banska Stiavnica is one of the most strikingly beautiful and historically interesting towns in Slovakia. In December 1993 it was inscribed on the List of World Cultural and Natural Heritage of UNESCO, thus receiving a great international recognition. The inscription includes the town’s historical centre plus the technological monuments in its surroundings.

Apart from the town´s dominants – the Old Castle, the New Castle, the Baroque Calvary, Slovak Mining Museum and the Town Hall, the majority of monuments of Banská Štiavnica are concentrated into the area spreading between the Holy Trinity Square and the Town Hall Square. Both squares are separated from each other by the Gothic church of St. Catherine from the end of the 15th century and the building of town hall with its slender clock tower.

Here you can see the Trinity Pillar, considered one of the highest in Europe, standing in the centre of the Holy Trinity Square, skirted by old burgher houses and public buildings. The Holy trinity square was built in the early 16th century and it forms the architectural heart of Banska Stiavnica. The Trinity Pillar was built out of gratitude for the end of the plague which had troubled the town from 1710 to 1711. Originally it was very simple – its current form is of later origin. The structure is embellished by figures of seven saints – protectors of the town and patron – saints of miners.