In ancient times, Urpín Hill was considered holy. There is a legend about it. What does it say? There was a hill called Green Peak with a beautiful house where the Berger family – father Juraj, mother Rozália, mother-in-law Melánia and their children Peter and Eva lived. The children were good at school and Rozália worked in a tavern. Juraj did not work, but he always dreamed of his own high-quality brewery. However, he had never raised enough money to make his dream come true. Moreover, the mayor would not have given him the approval to start his business because of their old quarrels. Yet, one day he decided to make his own beer. He tried hard and sometime later he made beer that his friends appreciated. Juraj began to brew the beer. At first, he had to keep it secret from his mother-in-law Melánia, who could not stand Juraj more than his beer. She thought her daughter Rozália could have married someone better. However, Juraj loved his wife, and therefore he bore frequent arguments with her mother. He would do anything for his Rozália. Juraj kept trying, combined new flavours until he finally brewed the beer, which also Melánia enjoyed. They even became friends. Melánia eventually contributed a considerable amount of money to Juraj, who wanted to open his own tavern and start brewing his own beer. He was also given approval from the mayor, but on condition that the tavern would be 32 built only on his land. Juraj was really pleased and began immediately. Five months later the tavern was ready to open and Juraj started brewing his own beer. The pub was crowded with customers right from its opening. Rozália quitted her job and started working in a very successful family business. Even the mayor came to taste the beer and enjoyed it so much that he allowed Juraj to open another tavern in the town centre. Customers, however, demanded that beer should also have its name. Juraj had to think very hard to make the name good and catchy. After two weeks, he figured it out. His beer would be called Urpín. Finally, the hill Green Peak was renamed after it. Since then Juraj’s beer has been called – Urpín. Unfortunately, a few centuries later, both the house and the tavern were destroyed. Today, there are only ruins in their place, but legends about Juraj Berger have still been told and he is known as a king of beer.
Story from the book What Is Whispered About the Copper City, Primary School Moskovská 2, Banská Bystrica. Author of the story: Marek Rutšek, Primary School Moskovská 2, Banská Bystrica.
