Banská Belá (; ) is a village and municipality in the Banská Štiavnica District, in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia. It has a population of 1,234.
Names and etymology The settlement got its name after the creek Biela (1228 torrens Bela, now Starý potok), in Slovak "white".Martin Štefánik - Ján Lukačka et al. 2010, Lexikón stredovekých miest na Slovensku, Historický ústav SAV, Bratislava, p. 20, . http://forumhistoriae.sk/-/lexikon-stredovekych-miest-na-slovensku The village founded on the creek was named Bana (a mine), later Biela Bana to distinguish between Banská Belá and Banská Štiavnica which was called also Bana. The Hungarian name Feyerbanya and its variations are translations of the Slovak name. The origin of the German name Dilln is uncertain.
The first written mention is probably terra nomine bela (1288), older sources mention also an unreliable record terra banensium (1156).
History The village arose by separation from Banská Štiavnica, but it was part of Banská Štiavnica again from 1873 to 1954.
King Béla IV invited German miners from Banská Štiavnica and the village got the German name Dilln (Dyln, Dilln, Dylen). The village suffered from Turkish raids during the Ottoman wars.
Geography
Population
It has a population of people (31 December ).
Ethnicity
Religion
Genealogical resources
The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive in Banská Bystrica ().
Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1688-1895(parish A) Lutheran church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1678-1905(parish B)
See also List of municipalities and towns in Slovakia
References
External links Surnames of living people in Banska Bela