Geza Balassa

* Felsőbaka, March 10, 1914 – † Bratislava, February 20, 1994 / archaeologist, teacher, historical writer ; ; Graduated from Körmöcbánya (1933). In Bratislava, he first enrolled in theology, then became a student of the State Pedagogical Academy, where he obtained a diploma as a public school teacher in 1935. Between 1935 and 1948, he taught in Ruttka, Szklabonyaváraljá, Zólyombrézó, Nagyszalatná, and Zólyomb. In 1937, he obtained the qualification to teach theology as an ecclesiastical teacher, and in 1940, he also obtained the qualification to teach the Slovak language, geography, and history, and in the meantime, he was already a teacher in Zólyomb. In 1942, he initiated the establishment of a local history museum in Zólyomb, which opened in 1944. In 1945–1949, he studied at the Slovak University in Bratislava and obtained a high school teacher's qualification in geography and history. In 1948–1952, he was the director of the State Agricultural Archives in Radvány near Zvolen, and in 1952–1962, he worked at the District Museum in Banská Bystrica. During this period, he directed several important Iron Age excavations (Zvolen, Pereszlény, Ipolyság, Gyűgy, Karvaly, Nagyszalatna, Banská Bystrica, Méhi, Derezsnye, Várgede). In 1962–1977, he continued his archaeological excavations as the head of the department of the Central Slovak Monument Protection Office (excavation of medieval architectural remains in Bánská Bystrica and Bánská Bystrica). He also dealt with numismatics. From 1977, he lived in Bratislava. His study in Slovak on the prehistory of the Hungarians remained in manuscript. In 1992, he received a commemorative plaque on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Zvolen Museum. ; ; His main works: ; Mi? My?, 1943, ; Praveké osídlenie stredného Slovenska, 1965, ; in Hungarian: Gömör az őskorban, 1971, ; Súpis hnutěních pamiatok stredoslovenského kraja, 1972