Chamber House (Kammerhof)
Building, structure
The largest architectural complex in Banská Bystrica was the so-called Kammerhof - Chamber Palace. It was founded because the seat of the Chamber of Mines moved from Banská Bystrica to Banská Bystrica in the mid-16th century. The Chamber Office controlled the extraction of ores and the trade in gold and silver. Its task was to collect the so-called urbura, the mining tax calculated from the mined ores. The centralization efforts of the Habsburgs helped to establish the Chamber Office, which was based in the Kammerhof (1598). This office was headed by the appointed chamber count, who, in addition to the mines, controlled the mint, the chamber estate and the forests. ; The building complex was created around 1550, by combining and rebuilding several older houses, which is why its floor plan with the two courtyards is extremely complex. In order for the state construction to keep up with fashion, craftsmen were invited from all over Italy. The entrances and the windows on the first floor still bear witness to the work of Italian stonemasons. The courtyard was surrounded by arcaded corridors. Under one of the arches, a stone slab with an engraved line indicating the Selmec meridian line was preserved. In order to ensure protection, it was also fortified with round bastions. (Today, the building is managed by the board of the mining museum.)