PUKANEC
Nature Trail: In the Footsteps of Old Ore Mining
More demanding route, on foot only, length 5.2km, elevation gain 240m, walking time 2.5h
Due to irregular maintenance, this nature trail is in need of renovation. If you set out on it, we recommend carefully following the markings and studying the route in advance.
Traces of ancient mining activity can still be found in the terrain today, right in the forests above the village of Pukanec, once a free royal mining town. The extraction of precious metals left clear marks on the landscape, such as collapse pits (surface workings), adits, ventilation shafts, and spoil heaps of mined-out rock. The In the Footsteps of Old Ore Mining Nature Trail in Pukanec passes by the sites described above and informs visitors about the region’s mining history using 12 information panels. You can access it directly from Námestie mieru (Peace Square) in Pukanec, where the first information panel is located.
Štamposký Ditch Nature Trail
The Štamposký Ditch Nature Trail consists of two unconnected sections, separated by as much as 4 km on foot. We therefore recommend choosing just one of them and returning the same way.
The first section of the trail begins at Námestie mieru in Pukanec and ends in the Hampoch valley. Length 2 km, walking time 1–1.5h.
The second section branches off the main road to Banská Štiavnica and takes you all the way to the Štampoch reservoir. Length 4 km, walking time 2h.
Pukanec’s extensive mining activity also included a technical structure that channeled water from the Štampoch reservoir to the mining facilities in Pukanec. The Štampoch reservoir is part of a system of artificial water reservoirs built for the needs of ore mining in the Štiavnica Mountains during the era of the region’s greatest mining prosperity.
And don’t forget to make a short detour to the former horse-changing station at Štampoch and a stop on the old royal postal road, the Magna Via.
Nature Trail: The Black Mulberry
Easy, accessible for cyclists and strollers, paved surface, length 3.3km, elevation gain 80m, walking time 1–1.5h. Information is provided by 7 information panels.
The black mulberry has long been part of the character of Pukanec’s vineyards, which are, incidentally, the highest-situated vineyards in Slovakia. The oldest specimens are over three hundred years old, and through natural vegetative propagation, several generations of black mulberry trees grow side by side. Pukanec is home to approximately 400 specimens, the most of anywhere in Slovakia, and they can also be found in abundance in the nearby village of Bátovce and other villages. For centuries our ancestors made use of its medicinal properties, and local residents still process its fruit today. The black mulberry is the only tree in Slovakia that has its own nature trail and summer festival.
