The Rakytovce cadastral area

The northernmost point of the cadastral area lies in the Rakytovská Valley at the junction of the cadastral boundaries of Badín, Kremnička and Rakytovce, near the Kečka quarry. On the Kečka ridge, the boundary reaches its westernmost point and turns south-east, where it reaches its highest point at an altitude of approximately 475 m.

It runs through the valley between Kečka and Krásny vršok to the edge of the woodland and descends past Kolónia Baňa into the valley of the Vlkanovský stream. Just before the football pitch fence, the boundary line leaves the stream and, running along the edge of the lay-by, crosses the fields to the locality of Čierne blato. At its lowest point, at an altitude of 318 metres above sea level, it runs parallel to the main road to the left bank of the River Hron.

The westernmost and easternmost points are 2.4 km apart as the crow flies, and the northernmost and southernmost points are 1.8 km apart. If we were to walk all the way round the Rakytovce district, it would be exactly 7 kilometres.

Geomorphologically, the entire cadastral area lies within the Zvolen Basin – an intramountain depression in the Inner Western Carpathians. The eastern half of the cadastral area, on the banks of the Hron, forms part of the Sliač Basin sub-unit, whilst the western half – predominantly forested and rugged – lies in the Bystrica Valley at the foot of the Kremnica Hills.

The cadastral area consists mainly of volcanic and carbonate rocks. On the Hron floodplain, where the built-up area is concentrated, the surface consists of Neogene rocks – clays, sands and gravels. The transition between the basin and the volcanic massif is formed by a mixture of volcanic and carbonate rocks.

The north-western tip of the cadastral area is formed by Mesozoic rocks – sandy limestones, radiolarites, variegated clay shales and Triassic dolomites. The Kečka limestone deposit lies here. Kečka Hill (497 m above sea level) lies on volcanic rocks – pyroxene andesites – which are among the older stratovolcanoes of central Slovakia.

Hydrologically, the area falls within the Hron river catchment, which flows through the cadastral area along its eastern edge for a distance of 280 metres. The drainage conditions are typical of a highland-lowland area with a snow-rain climate – the highest flow is in March (from melting snow) and the lowest in September.

The main feature of the cadastral area is the Rakytovský stream – a right-bank tributary of the Hron, historically also known as the Báčovský jarok, Krmník or Potok Hrenocz. It rises in the Kremnické vrchy hills below Vysočina (859 m above sea level) and, after a distance of just under 7 km, flows into the Hron. It flows south-east through a predominantly wooded valley, passing the Kečka quarry, and runs through a regulated channel around the cooperative’s premises.

Other streams include Potôčok (a seasonal stream draining the centre of Rakytovce) and Vlkanovský potok, locally known as Kriedovický jarok, which flows past the hamlet of Kolónia Baňa and the football pitch.

The district lies on the border between the warm and moderately warm climatic regions of Slovakia. The area on the Hron floodplain belongs to a warm, moderately humid climatic region with mild winters. The remainder of the district to the west falls within a moderately warm but very humid highland zone.

The nature of the weather is determined by the location within an intermontane depression surrounded by the Western Carpathian mountain ranges, where inversion conditions frequently occur – foggy weather, smog and the accumulation of cold air in the basin. On average, 80 to 100 days of fog are recorded, which is roughly a quarter of the calendar year.

The territory of Rakytovec was separated from the Badín district by a royal grant in 1295. The name Rakytovec is mentioned in the titles of local noblemen from the mid-14th century. Before 1467, there was Horný Rakytovec and the smaller Dolný Rakytovec.