Čierny Balog

The village of Čierny Balog has an area of 147.18 km2. It is the largest municipality in terms of area in Brezno district and one of the largest in Slovakia. The territory of the municipality is unusually rugged and extensive. It is surrounded on three sides by the mountain wall of the Veporské Rudohorie and lies at an altitude of 550 m. The highest peak is Klenovský Vepor 1338 m.
Since 1970 the village of Čierny Balog consists of eight settlements (originally 13)- Krám, Medveďov, Balog, Fajtov, Jánošovka, Komov, Pustô, Dobroč. The number of settlements has decreased mainly because the individual settlements have merged. The settlements are spread over more than 10 km, along the river Čierny Hron and the side valleys. The history of the origins and development of the village are linked to forestry and timber- its extraction, processing, transport as well as coal mining
Forestry open-air museum, Čiernohronská forest railway (narrow gauge railway), primeval forest - National Nature Reserve Dobročský prales and mountain scenery attract more than 10 000 visitors from all over Europe every year.

Country

Slovakia

Type

Degree of urbanization

rural

population of 5100

VILLAGE STRATEGY

Village Solutions

Čierny Balog – Bioenergy

Čierny Balog was among 8 municipalities in Banska Bystrica region which established an association called Bioenergia Bystricko in order to implement a pilot project (2011-12) focused on provision of self-sufficient heating system using biomass. The project was initiated and supported by a non-governmental organisation- CEPA-Friends of the Earth (Center for Environmental Public Advocacy). The aim of the project was to replace an old heating system [in municipality owned buildings] using coal and switch to biomass heating. The system was designed to provide effective wood waste and low carbon renewable heating solutions, using wood waste from municipal sawmills and/or municipal forest, etc. The initial funding was used to finance reconstruction of 15 boiler rooms [with 5 in Čierny Balog], building 4 central storage rooms for wood chip and/or timber in selected villages and to purchase other necessary equipment. After 5 years monitoring period the ownership of the equipment (including boiler rooms) was transferred from the association to the individual villages in 2018, with Čierny Balog gaining the largest share (40%) thanks to its initial investment. Čierny Balog now owns and operates its boiler rooms [automatic and semi-automatic] independently, providing heating to its municipal buildings using waste wood from village owned land. The system is sustainable and fully self sufficient, strengthening economic independence from large energy suppliers while reducing cost of public buildings heating by 20-30% (2021 data), significantly reducing CO2 emissions and providing a much cleaner working environment. The project has inspired other villages and private entities in the region to follow suit.

Environment | Services
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