NEUSOHL (Hungarian, Bestercze-Bdnya ; Slavonic, Banska Bystrica), an ancient -mining town of Hungary, the capital and see of the district of Sohl, is prettily situated at the confluence of the Gran and the Bistritz, in a fertile valley enclosed by lofty hills, 85 miles to the north of Pesth. It is a well-built town, with five suburbs, and contains a Roman Catholic cathedral, an imposing Protestant church, an old castle, two gymnasia, an episcopal seminary, a normal school, and several charitable institutions. The offices of the mining and other authorities of the district are large and handsome buildings. In 1880 Neusohl contained 7160 inhabitants, of mixed Magyar, Slavonic, and German descent. They are employed chiefly in the copper, lead, and silver mines of the vicinity, and in the various metallurgical occupations to which these give rise; but they also manufacture cloth, dye-stuffs, paper, beetroot sugar, &c. Mining has been carried on here since the 8th century, and has been prosecuted with especial energy since the immigration of German miners in the 11th and 13th centuries. Neusohl was made a royal free town in 1255.