Slovak National Uprising Square, or SNP Square is an area in central Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, named after the insurgency of 1944. It has been the hub of the city's life and a prestigious address for more than 600 years. During the 20th century, the square saw periodic mass gatherings celebrating first national independence, then the defeat of the uprising after which it is now named, and finally the memory of the event. Dotted by cafés, restaurants, and small stores, it is a popular place for the locals to linger, and a tourist attraction notable for its historical buildings, and visual appeal. The whole square is a free public WiFihotspot.
History
The ''Square''
The central area surrounded by merchants' and businessmen's homes was known as the "Square," Ring in German and Rínok in Slovak, for centuries. After Banská Bystrica was granted its Royal Charter in the 13th century, the "Square burghers" with residences at the Square attained special privileges among the citizens of the royal free town. The word Ringbürger remained an honorific, "Esteemed Citizen," in Banská Bystrica through the 19th century.
When new town squares developed elsewhere in Banská Bystrica, the central one came to be called "Main Square". Budapest formalized the name in its Hungarian version in the 1860s as part of a drive to assign Hungarian names to all the country's localities, and emphasized history in 1886 by renaming it "King Béla IV Square" after the monarch who granted Banská Bystrica its Royal Charter in 1255.
Masaryk Square
The name of the central square remained the politicians' target in the 20th century. By 1923 it had already been renamed "Masaryk Square" after the country's first president Tomáš Masaryk, shortly after Czecho-Slovakia was created in 1918. The square saw a massive gathering to celebrate the new statehood during President Masaryk's visit in 1923. Banská Bystrica became the administrative center of the Central Slovak District, which enhanced the role of the square in the social, economic, and political life of the region.
A month after Slovakia acquired autonomy in October 1938, the square was renamed "Andrej Hlinka Square" after the leader of the largest party with autonomy in its program. On 29 August 1944, Banská Bystrica became the center of the Slovak National Uprising against the country's totalitarian government and its alliance with Germany, the most extensive revolt in Western and Central Europe during World War II. The square became an assembly area for the insurgency. After the suppression of the uprising, President Jozef Tiso arrived at the square in October 1944 for an approbatory ceremony to decorate German soldiers who defeated the Slovak insurgents.
SNP Square
When Slovakia was reincorporated in a truncated Czechoslovakia in 1945, the square was first renamed "National Uprising Square", and eventually "Slovak National Uprising Square". The name has remained unchanged through the present. The square was the site of massive commemorations of the event staged by the Communist authorities once every five years for much of their rule. An early event during the Velvet Revolution was a student demonstration at SNP Square on 21 November 1989, part of the popular movement that brought about the downfall of communism.
Buildings
The square is dominated by a clock tower built in 1552. Although less known than its famous counterpart in Pisa, it is a leaning tower with the top 40 centimeters off the perpendicular. It hosts the main antenna that makes all of SNP Square a free WiFi hotspot provided by the city. A plague column was erected in the square in the 18th century in gratitude to the Virgin Mary for ending a deadly plague. The column was temporarily removed before a visit of the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1964 because a religious symbol was considered too embarrassing a background for the Communist leader's speech. The St. Francis Xavier Cathedral is a copy of the JesuitChurch of the Gesu in Rome and has been the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Banská Bystrica since 1776. Thurzo House hosts the historical exposition of the Museum of Central Slovakia, the oldest museum in the city. Other major monuments on the square include an Art Nouveau fountain from the beginning of the 20th century and a black obelisk raised to the honor of the Soviet soldiers killed during the liberation of the city in 1945.
