Holiday apartment in Banka: Hiking, Nature and Culture

Banka combines a variety of activities on Kopec Ahoj with bodies of water, hiking trails, cultural monuments and a long wine-making tradition. Between the Ahoj Bike Park, the Sĺňava Reservoir and traces of history, the range extends from active days to cultural discoveries.

Activities

The Ahoj Bike Park has six trails of varying lengths in three difficulty levels. A lift is available there for riders. Kopec Ahoj offers year-round opportunities for hiking, winter skiing, grass skiing, downhill riding and mountain roller riding. The ski area on Ahoj is also part of this versatile setting: It has two slopes, each with a lift, and the total piste length is approximately 700 metres.

Kopec Ahoj is considered the birthplace of grass skiing. As early as 1980, grass skiers competed there for the Czechoslovak Spartakiad Cup. In addition, the educational trail from Banka follows a route that coincides with the yellow-marked hiking trail through the spa island and Domin Alley to the place locally known as Obrázková hora, or Picture Hill. The educational trail was opened to the public at the end of 2007 and has four information boards and two shelters for resting.

The Havran Pass can be reached quickly via the route over Červená veža and the Bacchus Villa and forms a junction of several hiking trails. A blue-marked hiking trail leads from the Benátky guesthouse behind the Krajinský Bridge over Červená veža Hill and the Bacchus Villa towards Havran Pass.

Culture

The Church of St. Martin (Kostol sv. Martina) consists of the original so-called old church and a new church. Archaeological finds indicate that the original church was built by the 13th century at the latest. In 1963, the Church of St. Martin was declared a national cultural monument.

For the Feast of Corpus Christi, the women and children of Banka wear traditional costumes every year. The Inovčanka wind orchestra is also part of public cultural life: It has performed at various public events, celebrations and promenade concerts, including in the music pavilion in Piešťany.

The Bacchus Villa (Bakchus Vila) is a former lookout point located a few minutes' walk from Banka through the Červená veža forest park. Traditionally, it is associated with Ludwig van Beethoven's composition of the “Moonlight” Sonata.

Nature

From north to south, Banka is initially bordered by a tributary of the Váh and later by the Váh with the Sĺňava Reservoir. The reservoir offers favourable conditions for various water sports and fishing. A twelve-kilometre paved route for pedestrians, inline skaters and cyclists runs along the Sĺňava dam.

Sĺňava is listed among Europe's rare bird areas. The artificial island of Čajka serves as a breeding site for large colonies of common terns and gulls. There is also a lookout point on Červená veža Hill at 240 metres above sea level.

History

The cultivation of grapes and wine production have a long tradition in Banka and the surrounding municipalities of Radošina and Ratnovce; the first mentions date back to the 17th century. During the period of Austria-Hungary, a regular ferry connected Banka with the spa island.

Early settlement is also evidenced by remarkable finds. The longest Upper Palaeolithic scraper in Slovakia was discovered in Horné farské role. A workshop for the production of stone tools dating from around 23,000 BC was also uncovered near Banka. In an abandoned clay extraction site, there are graves of the Lusatian culture from the Bronze Age, as well as remains of a medieval settlement dating from the 11th to the 13th century.

Other local pages:Prasnik, Krakovany, Ostrov, Vrbove, Sokolovce, Rakovice, Pistian, Trebatice

To the overarching travel overview: Okres Piešťany.