| Ľubietová | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Slovakia |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Banská Bystrica |
| Subdivision Type3: | District |
| Subdivision Name3: | Banská Bystrica |
| Pushpin Map: | Slovakia |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Ľubietová in Slovakia |
| Coordinates: | 48.75°N 19.3667°W |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Pavel Zajac |
| Established Title: | First mentioned |
| Established Date: | 1241 |
| Area Total Km2: | 61.03[1] |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 23.56 |
| Elevation M: | 471[2] |
| Elevation Ft: | 1,545 |
| Population Total: | 1239[3] |
| Population Density Km2: | 20.25[4] |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 7.82 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 976 55 |
| Area Code: | +421 48 |
| Blank Name: | Car plate |
| Blank Info: | BB |
| Website: | www.lubietova.sk |
Ľubietová (German: Libethen; Hungarian: Libetbánya) is a village in central Slovakia.[5] Originally an ancient mining town, it is known for precious minerals.
Ľubietová is part of the Banská Bystrica District in the Banská Bystrica Region. It is situated 25 km east from the town of Banská Bystrica. It lies at an altitude of 491 metres and covers an area of 61 km². The geographic center of Slovakia, the Hrb mountain, is located near the village.
Thanks to abundant deposits of copper and less rich deposits of iron ore, Ľubietová became soon an important center of medieval mining industry. It was granted the status of a royal town in 1379 by Louis the Great and German miners settled here. As one of the most important centers of Protestant Reformation in the country, the town created the Protestant "League of Seven Mining Towns" together with Banská Belá, Banská Bystrica, Banská Štiavnica, Kremnica, Nová Baňa, and Pukanec. In 1692, the first modern blast furnace in the Kingdom of Hungary was built in Ľubietová. Due to the decline of the mining industry in the 18th century, the settlement lost its urban character and became a village.
Ľubietová is famous for precious minerals that can be found inside the ancient mines. For example, Libethenite was discovered there in 1823 and is named after the German name of the village (Libethen). Euchroite was also described for the first time in Ľubietová. The list of interesting minerals, mostly created by weathering of copper ores, also includes azurite and malachite.
In 2013, Ľubietová had a population of 1160 inhabitants. According to the 2001 census, 98.5% of inhabitants were Slovaks. The religious makeup was 60.2% Lutherans, 27% Roman Catholics, and 8.2% with no religious affiliation.[6]