A Renaissance-Baroque mansion, public astronomical observations and a listed park give Heiligenkreuz several distinct areas to explore. If you are planning an overnight stay, you can shape your visit around cultural history, astronomy, or swimming and sports facilities.
Renaissance, Guided Tours and Places of Remembrance
The Biskupský kaštieľ is a Renaissance-Baroque mansion and the most significant monument in Žiar nad Hronom. Visitors can see the courtyard with a plane tree, the Bishop’s Hall, Štefan Moyses’s study and the bishop’s private chapel. Guided tours also include the city’s archaeological exhibition and the gallery of the self-taught painter Július Považan, who was born in Žiar nad Hronom.
On the so-called Skalka stands the votive chapel, before the entrance to Žiar nad Hronom from the direction of Kremnica. It was built between 1709 and 1711 at the initiative of František Hajnovič, the parish priest of Heiligenkreuz. The Jewish cemetery beneath Šibeničný vrch preserves remains of several gravestones and is part of the Svätokrížsky educational trail. A cultural site in Heiligenkreuz commemorates the vanished community of Horné Opatovce and is considered its largest and only cultural site.
The cultural sites differ in form: the mansion focuses on interiors and guided tours, while the votive chapel and cemetery offer different points of interest through their construction dates, locations, gravestone remains and connection to the educational trail. This makes it possible to explore Heiligenkreuz’s cultural history through several kinds of places.
Park and Public Recreation
Štefan Moyses Park is a listed historic park and the oldest part of Žiar nad Hronom’s urban green spaces. It is open to the public for recreation and relaxation. This sets its purpose apart from the rooms and guided tours in the mansion: recreation is explicitly part of what the park offers. This provides a different option for a stay that includes time relaxing in public green spaces as well as cultural history visits.
Planetarium, Observatory and Water Activities
The Hviezdna sála offers visitors astronomical films with 4K fulldome projection and has 60 seats. The astronomical observatory of the Krajská hvezdáreň a planetárium Maximiliána Hella offers public astronomical observations. You can therefore choose between a cinematic format and public observations as different ways to explore astronomy.
At the Plážové kúpalisko outdoor swimming pool, the non-swimmer pool has a 43-metre waterslide. Visitors can also rent equipment for badminton, football with small-sided goals, table tennis, nohejbal, Russian skittles, beach volleyball, tennis and soft tennis. As the available equipment may change, check the current selection before your visit. Another water activity is offered by the Slovalco Relax Centrum Žiar nad Hronom, which includes the municipal indoor swimming pool.
Discover more destinations: Ihráč, Trnavá Hora, Horná Ves, Dolná Ves, Vyhne, Slaská, Kosorín, Kremnické Bane
Back to the main travel overview: Žiar Nad Hronom.
