We have new development plans that will make Revúca more modern, safer and more beautiful place to live

Interview with Július Buchta, Mayor of Revúca, Slovakia

Július Buchta was born on 28 December 1973 in Revúca. He is married and has two children.

Buchta started his political career as a local patriot involved in a few small local projects as a volunteer. In 2017 he was elected as a member to a district parliament of Banská Bystrica region. In 2018 Buchta was elected Mayor of Revúca.

Besides these two main jobs, he is also involved in the board of local tourism unit and is active in a local group for regional projects and Head of local association RZMOS - SG covering 39 villages and three cities.

Revúca is situated in the south-eastern part of the Banská Bystrica Region and is the administrative seat of Revúca District. Photo by Revúca Municipality

Mayor Buchta, please describe the beautiful municipality of Revúca in a few sentences.

In the terms of territory and administrative division, the town Revúca is situated in the south-eastern part of the Banská Bystrica Region and is the administrative seat of Revúca District. With an area of ​​38,87 km² and the population of 11,728 (as of 2019), Revúca belongs to the group of small urban settlements.

The origin of the current name Revúca is connected with the flowing stream which we now call the River Zdychava. The name of Slavic origin was created from the word „roar“ that represents roaring or running water. The town was officially named Revúca in 1930.  

Revúca as a town was first mentioned in 1557 in a land-register of county Muráň. The growth of the town was influenced by the development of crafts, trade and especially a more than 500-year-old tradition of producing and processing iron.

Moreover, Revúca became famous in the second half of the 19th century as one of the centres of Slovak national and cultural life. In 1862 the Slovak Evangelical A.C. Grammar School was founded in Revúca - it was the first complete Slovak secondary school.

The historical contribution of this rare educational institution is today remembered by a permanent exhibition opened in the Museum of the First Slovak Grammar School in Revúca where in addition to the original documents and paintings, cultural objects of the town and the region can be found. Nowadays, the building is also used as the Tourist Information Centre. Inseparable parts of Revúca are its sights which commemorate the historic events of the town.

What have been some of your main achievements and successes since you assumed the post of mayor?

I am very pleased that last year, together with the deputies and the city employees, we managed to implement projects that have contributed to creating better living conditions and a happier life for all of us. We reconstructed a small summer pool, modernized classrooms at the primary school, revitalized the running track on Hviezdoslavova Street, restored the children's traffic playground.  We are gradually repairing the retaining walls at the Zdychava tributary and, according to financial possibilities, gradually repairing the sidewalks and roads. Of course, we cannot forget about a brand-new road through the city, which we have already successfully implemented in cooperation with the BBSK (Banskobystrický Autonomous Region) and the Slovak Government. 

Soon a multifunctional sports arena and ice hockey arena will be built in Revúca for more than 3.5 million euros. Please, tell us more about the project and how it will be financed.

The construction project includes a new overlap of the ice surface, which together with the original facilities will receive new capacities and modern technologies under one roof. However, the architectural concept of the sports centre is that in close proximity to the ice rink a brand new, multifunctional sports hall is also being designed, as well as future capacity-expandable parking, walking passage crossed by smaller circular "squares", outdoor multifunctional sports area and of course playgrounds.

The entrance to the area will be lined with lower trees and greenery, which, together with street lighting and lighting of the buildings, will complete the night atmosphere of the sports grounds. The object of the hockey hall itself will be in the shape of a block, while in its northeast corner a new hall will be placed as a higher dominant with a circular ground plan, which will gently complete this exceptional area.

In the entrance part of the hall, an info reception desk with seating and refreshments will be placed, as well as a day bar which allows for the organizing of various leisure activities. Other functions are provided by changing rooms, offices, warehouses and sanitary facilities.

It will be one of the largest investment projects in the modern history of our city, which will provide a comprehensive solution to organized sports and will significantly change the way of spending leisure time because the demands on social and sports activities of citizens are changing. This area will expand our possibilities because its cultural and social role will attract people from all over the region.

As part of the construction project, an architectural study is currently being completed. On the basis of all the permitting processes and the necessary decisions in the implementation of the project, the covering of the ice surface will start in the autumn months of 2020.

The city received a special purpose subsidy for this project - thanks to the support of the President of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, the President of the Slovak National Party JUDr. Andrej Danko the city received funding to build a sports centre in the amount of 3.75 mil. EUR.

Please, share with us other good practices from your municipality.  

I am a modern man and therefore I like to use the latest technology. For example, we have introduced a modern attendance system or GPS systems in company cars.

The town of Revúca has established Quality management systems. Furthermore, the topic of smart city is also current for the Revúca self-government, so we will see which of our bold plans will eventually be realized. Big effort is dedicated to a Smart city solution regarding city lights, electricity stations, bike-sharing, communication etc.

How would you evaluate the necessity of a portal that brings together the best practices of European municipalities and aims to keep the citizens informed about the latest developments in local policies, such as TheMayor.eu? How can our platform be useful to your administration?

Best practices and good practice can certainly move us forward and we can be inspired and get good guidance on how to solve similar problems in our city. If it will be concentrated in one place – your portal – the better for us.

What will be the main goals you are planning to develop in the near future to make Revúca a better place to live in?  

We have more new development plans that I believe will make our city a more modern, safer and more beautiful place to live. We are a small town, but we have started big projects that will serve us in various cultural, social and sports activities.

To find out more about Revúca, visit the profile of the municipality.