Where: Kremnica
County: Žiar nad Hronom
Time/Duration: Set aside the whole day.

Atkáry’s period-style pastry shop – has to be the first one

We had to visit the biggest attraction first: the vintage pastry shop famous for its Kremnica potatoes, a legacy left behind by pastry chef Alojz Atkáry. He is said to have brought them all the way from distant Serbia when he moved to Kremnica in 1900 and later opened a local pastry shop here. He had an excellent grasp of the confectionery craft and was also a shrewd businessman. After all, he changed the display in his shop window to reflect current events, even in different language versions.

Atkáry’s Pastry Shop will transport you back to the days when gentlemen in hats and with walking canes strolled the streets of Kremnica and ladies in the pastry shop wore white aprons. You’ll watch the skilled hands of the pastry chefs as they prepare sweet treats right before your eyes. They’ll tell you about the basic ingredients, the production process, where the nickname “krumple” comes from, and why the pastry shop is so heavily air-conditioned in the summer. But for the life of them, they won’t reveal the secret of their recipe or that enchanting flavor.

Even the capital “A” stamped on top of the candy faithfully resembles its creator from the early 20th century. That was the first thing we looked at when we opened the original package of Kremnické krumpľe on a bench under the city gate, savoring their captivating flavor once again while figuring out where to go next.

Quick tip: Don’t miss the small “Exhibition of Kremnica’s Unique Features” at the Lower Gate of the city walls—right next to Atkáry’s pastry shop.

Atkáry’s Kremnica Potatoes – Production Facility

Kremnica Mint with coin ticket

We decided to cool off at the famous Mint, the oldest operating business in the world, as it has been in continuous operation for nearly 700 years. It was founded in 1328, when King Charles Robert of Anjou of Hungary granted municipal privileges to the older mining settlement of Cremnychbani, and thus Kremnica became a free royal town.

The tour includes a visit to the mint’s new facility as well as the old mint, where the historic machines are still in operation.

While watching coins being minted in the new section—in this case, for Colombia—I had a strong urge to reach in and rummage through that pile of finished coins. It was like a chest full of gold ducats, the kind we so often see in movies about lost pirate treasures.

While touring the old section, we were surprised by the size and continued functionality of the old machines, as well as their precision, which is still used today for special orders of medals. It was interesting to watch how several Vulkan minting machines are set in motion; their steady rhythm brings to mind the days when they were operated by several employees during the minting of coins and badges.

After all, even the admission ticket to the Mint—in the form of a “gold” coin—is minted on these historic machines, which are the last of their kind still in use in Europe.

Calvary in Kremnica – a haven of peace and tranquility

“And now let’s enjoy the views, escape the city for the tranquility of nature, and maybe we’ll even have time to visit the Andrej Adit Mining Museum,” we said to ourselves after the tour of the Mint.

We reached the start of Calvary quite easily. We crossed the main road to Kremnické Bane and then followed the “Calvary” sign through the narrow streets between the houses. The path through the forest, zigzagging from one chapel to the next, went by very quickly, and after 20 minutes we found ourselves at the Church of the Holy Cross.

We were intrigued by the unconventional presentation of the Stations of the Cross in the individual chapels. All the depictions of the Stations of the Cross share one common element—a wooden board. The artist has skillfully transformed this board into an expression of the message of each station.

As we climbed higher above the church, we reached a circular stone lookout point with enchanting views in all four directions. The silence, the distant hubbub, the bleating of sheep, the rustling of the grass, and the butterflies fluttering around transported us to a world that bore no resemblance to the urban world just a few minutes down the hill.

As we learned from the lady at the Kremnica Information Center, you can take a loop trail from Kalvária past the Mining Museum, so our choice of route back was clear. We found a sort of trail and set off along it. We walked past a small pond and spotted a shepherd with his sheep. We stopped and asked if we were on the right path back to town. “You’re on the right track,” the shepherd explained, “but you’ll need to turn right off the forest road onto the paved road,” and he added that there was really no way we could get lost here.

But we did—because we were in such a hurry that we turned off the road earlier than we needed to and ended up wandering into some gardens. Luckily, we ran into a local who immediately stopped to ask if we were lost. He guided us through some private property. Although this shortened our way back, we ended up missing the Andrej Adit Mining Museum.

As we walked back toward the city center along Banská Street, we told ourselves that this was how it was meant to be—so that we wouldn’t miss all the sights of golden Kremnica, and so that we could come back here again someday.