Village of Hodruša-Hámre and Old All Saints Mine

In the past, local mine owners tried to free themselves from Štiavnica's control and gain the status of a free royal town. One such community of independence seekers was Hodruša, which gained a reputation of rebels.

Miners, however, were not the only ones who made Hodruša famous. The local women made wonderful bobbin lace. This tradition led to the founding of a lace-making school here in 1875, where girls were taught this “patience craft.” Lace patterns came from Bratislava but they were made here and sold in Vienna and Budapest. The most famous order was for the wedding veil worn by British Queen Elisabeth II. To make it, the ten best lace-makers in town worked on it for one year.

Due to the mining settlement and technical mining landmarks preserved here, Banská Hodruša belongs to the protected heritage area (together with Banská Štiavnica). On the slopes above the village, visible marks of surface mining have been conserved from the 13th and 14th centuries. Gold is still mined in the village.

While here, visit the local open-air mining museum: the Old All Saints Mine. This 700-year-old mine is accompanied by an exposition about the history of local mining and lace-making.