Poltár is a town and municipality in the Poltár District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia.

Geography

The town is located in the Southern Slovak basin near the river Ipeľ, south of the Revúcka Hills, which is part of the Slovak Ore Mountains, around 18 km (11.18 mi) from Lučenec. It is home to a small production bespoke crystal maker called Slovglass Poltar that currently supplies Debenhams plc department stores in the UK and Ireland.

History

Poltár was first mentioned in 1246 as silva Polta. It received town privileges in 1969.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the town had 6,099 inhabitants. 97.49% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 0.95% Roma, 0.51% Hungarians and 0.41% Czechs. The religious make-up was 50.14% Roman Catholics, 22.89% people with no religious affiliation and 20.79% Lutherans.