Discover Heiligenkreuz: Culture and Leisure

Heiligenkreuz (Žiar nad Hronom) offers several distinct highlights to consider when planning your trip: a Renaissance-Baroque manor house, astronomy activities, historic green spaces and water-based leisure options. Cultural sites, observation sessions and physical activities cater to different interests and offer different experiences.

Cultural history at Biskupský kaštieľ

Biskupský kaštieľ is a Renaissance-Baroque manor house and the most significant landmark in Žiar nad Hronom. Visitors can see a plane tree in the courtyard. The manor also includes the Bishop’s Hall, Štefan Moyses’s study and the bishop’s private chapel. The rooms offer specific architectural and personal points of interest.

The guided tours of Biskupský kaštieľ also include the archaeological exhibition of the town of Žiar nad Hronom and the gallery of self-taught painter Július Považan, who was born in Žiar nad Hronom. The tours bring together architectural history, local archaeology and the work of an individual artist. Those interested in history can explore not only the rooms of the manor house, but also learn about the town and the work of an artist born in Žiar nad Hronom.

Observatory and astronomy

Krajská hvezdáreň a planetárium Maximiliána Hella offers public astronomical observation sessions. In Hviezdna sála, visitors can watch astronomical films projected in 4K resolution using a fulldome system; the hall has 60 seats. Observation sessions and film screenings are two different formats: the observatory offers public observations, while Hviezdna sála screens films. If you are interested in astronomy, you can choose between observing the night sky and watching an on-screen depiction.

Park, nature trail and votive chapel

Štefana Moyzesa Park is a protected historic park open to the public for recreation and relaxation. It is also the oldest part of the town’s green spaces. Its protected status, history and recreational purpose give the park a different character from the indoor spaces of the manor house: here, the public green space itself takes centre stage.

The Jewish cemetery lies below Šibeničný vrch. Remains of several gravestones have been preserved there, and the cemetery is also part of the Svätokrížsky nature trail. The votive chapel stands on the so-called Skalka, before the entrance to Žiar nad Hronom from the direction of Kremnica. It was built in 1709–1711 at the initiative of František Hajnovič, the parish priest of Heiligenkreuz. These dates place the construction in its historical context and add another specific chapter of local history to the area’s cultural sites.

Swimming and sports activities

At Plážové kúpalisko outdoor swimming pool, visitors can rent equipment for badminton, football with small-sided goals, table tennis, nohejbal, Russian skittles, beach volleyball, tennis and soft tennis. The equipment available for hire may change, so check what is available before your visit. The outdoor pool’s non-swimmers’ pool also has a 43-metre water slide.

Slovalco Relax Centrum Žiar nad Hronom includes the municipal indoor swimming pool. The facilities are distinct: the outdoor swimming pool combines a range of sports equipment for hire with a water slide in the non-swimmers’ pool, while Slovalco Relax Centrum includes the indoor swimming pool. When planning your visit, you can choose according to your interest in sports, the slide or the indoor pool.

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Return to the main travel overview: Žiar Nad Hronom.