Banská Belá (german: Dilln; hu, Bélabánya) is a village and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in Banská Štiavnica District, in the

Banská Bystrica Region The Banská Bystrica Region ( sk, Banskobystrický kraj, ; hu, Besztercebányai kerület, ) is one of the eight regions of Slovakia. It is the largest region by area, and has a lower population density than any other region. The Banská Bystri ...

of central

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

. It has a population of 1,234.

Names and etymology

The settlements 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 Banská Štiavnica (; german: Schemnitz; hu, Selmecbánya (Selmec), ) is a town in central Slovakia, in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. For its size, the caldera is known as the Štiavnica Mountai ...

which was called also Bana. The Hungarian name ''Feyerbanya'' and its variations are translations of the Slovak name. The origin of the German name ''Dill'' 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

, but it was part of Banská Štiavnica again from 1873 to 1954. In 1331 , King

Béla IV Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''wh ...

invited

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

miners from

and the village got the

name Dilln (''Dyln, Dilln, Dylen''). The village suffered from Turkish raids during the Ottoman wars.

Genealogical resources

The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia" * Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1688-1895(parish A) * Lutheran church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1678-1905(parish B)