When Mary Therese was deciding whether the first mining school would be in Prague or in Banská Štiavnica, it is said that she chose Banská Štiavnica also so that students would not be unnecessarily distracted while studying by the attractions of the big city. Local academy students nevertheless established traditions that are still a source of entertainment today. Studying at the academy was demanding and the regulations strict. But outside of classes, the campus also provided opportunities for entertainment. Students founded various associations with rules of conduct. The meetings were subject to internal rules, which also applied to the admission of new students, as well as to the program of farewell to the school and the city, which is still called the valetant procession. Valetants, i. e. graduates, moved through the town from Townhall to the Academy. They had as many ribbons on their caps as the number of years they spent at school. The students of the Mining and Forestry Academy also invented the famous Salamander procession. It was transferred from the pub and association premises to Štiavnica´s streets. Since 1988, Salamander procession has been the culmination of the September Miners' Day celebrations every year. Residents and visitors of town come to watch the procession of representatives of mining associations, professional associations, former mining towns from Slovakia and abroad, but especially the residents of Štiavnica, who dress up in costumes of characters known from the town's history.
