Salamander Days in Banská Štiavnica remind the former fame of the most beautiful mining town in Slovakia, inscribed in the List of the Cultural and Natural Heritage of the UNESCO. The Days are concluded by a carnival procession.

Salamader Days are organised in the first half of September and they last from Friday to Saturday.

Are more than a carnival of Štiavnica miners, over the course of time, this has become a meeting opportunity for miners, ironworkers, geologists and oilmen from across Slovakia. Mining experts consider the Salamander Days to be a Slovakia-wide event that draws on the rich history of the university education in Banská Štiavnica and on the wide range of habits of students of the former Mining and Forestry Academy, who are actually the original authors of the Salamander Procession. For their uniqueness, the Salamander Days attract not only visitors from all over Slovakia but also admirers and regular visitors from abroad. Particularly university students from multiple Hungarian towns and their teachers like to return to Banská Štiavnica during this carnival, because this is where the roots of their present mining universities are. Friday is the highlight of the Salamander Days, with the unique Salamander Procession being the top event of the entire carnival.

It is led by the chief shepherd with a wooden lizard in his hand symbolising a tale of the origin of the mines. The chief shepherd is followed by bergmans (dwarfs living in mines), miners in historical uniforms holding flags of particular mines, mining music and symbolical characters (Death, Rabbi, Executioner, Judges). The procession sets off after dusk to make the light of candles and burners more visible.

The inseparable part of the event is the traditional market called Štiavnické trhy, with a rich cultural programme, several exhibitions and spectacles.

Source: Vydavateľstvo Dajama, Mesto Banská Štiavnica