The town of Banská Štiavnica has long been associated with mining, mines and many rich deposits of precious metals. No one remembered exactly when it all started, but the lizards that gave Banská Štiavnica her wealth and undying glory were talked about by small children and pointed to the town coat of arms, where two, one gold and the other silver, shone in the sun. "Apparently it was the shepherd who first saw them up on the side of the glitter boiling more than the sun in the sky", this is how mothers have been telling their children the good news about the Štiavnica lizards for good night since time immemorial.
The event, which completely changed the life of the region below Sitno, allegedly happened a long time ago, very long ago, when this region was mostly covered only by dense forests, small meadows were hidden between them and only where the smoke of the forgotten settlement rose to the sky. The peace of the untouched land ruled all around. It was in the middle of this that the shepherd John lived. One day he banished the herd again. Along the way, he pulled a whistle from the fire and began to pick it up with deft fingers. And when he was high on the hillside and far from his home, he stopped looking at the enchanting landscape. He was looking forward to a pleasant sunny day and his game also attracted small forest dwellers. He sat on a rock and watched the animals. When suddenly what they can't see, lizards bask in the sun on a large rock. But no wonder he had never seen it before. Two of them shone with a strange light, as if forged from silver or gold. John is amazed and wants to take a closer look at them, but they squat, hiding under a rock. Hey, the boulder was big, but the shepherd's curiosity didn't rest, so after a while he rolled it away. He didn't even know how well he did, because what he saw under the rock changed the history of this region. A lump of gold as huge as a hard hat hid under a boulder. Shepherd goes to hear his eyes, pinches his cheek, kicks his ankle if he thinks so and dreams. No, I don't think so, the lizards had to smirk at her and dust them with gold, Ján thinks. It was that merriment in the shepherd's soul and he could not wait for a moment before he would tell his story to everyone around him.
The rumor of his discovery was spreading at the speed of the wind, and so people from all sides began to converge. They dug into the ground, dug shafts, and later built entire mines and settlements. They built beautiful houses, churches, schools and gave birth to a town, steeped in the valley, but rich and famous, a town that bears its proud name Banská Štiavnica.
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