Slovakia Info
Joined: 20 Apr 2007
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Home Country: slovakia
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 Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 9:56 am Post subject: SLOVAKIA TOURISM GUIDE / TOURISM IN SLOVAKIA |
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SLOVAKIA TOURISM GUIDE
GENERAL
Although Slovak history is one of immense Magyar cultural repression, the country emerged from more than a millennium of Hungarian serfdom with its language and identity largely intact. Uniting with the Czechs after World War I was primarily a matter of convenience, thereby thwarting Hungarian plans to retain control. However, the Slovakia was definitely the ‘junior partner’ throughout the 20th century and the country achieved independence in 1993. Modernisation fell well behind that of the Czech Republic and the country is only now opening up to tourism. Despite decades of Communism, Catholicism is almost as strong here as it is in Poland, and many rural communities resisted collectivisation almost completely.
Other than the Alps, the Slovakia offers what may be Europe’s most exciting landscape – from the Danube plain to towering mountain peaks and quiet valleys, glacial lakes with crystal-clear waters, over 1300 mineral and thermal springs and extensive cave systems. There are seven national parks and 16 protected landscape areas, featuring well-preserved natural environments, the unique Carpathian landscape and remnants of the original virgin forests. Forests cover two-thirds of the country, the rest is agricultural land.
BRATISLAVA
Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is the country’s political, economic and cultural centre. Located on the River Danube (Dunaj in Slovak), the city is not, however, another fairytale city like Prague and far more buildings have been destroyed since the last war than were bombed during it. Known for centuries in the German-speaking world as Pressburg and in the Hungarian as Pozsony, it was the Hungarian capital from the Battle of Mohác (1526) until the Turks were finally driven from the Hungarian plains. Until 1918 the city was largely Hungarian, German and Jewish, rather than Slavic, and it was only renamed Bratislava – after the last leader of the Moravian Empire – after World War I.
Matthias Corvinus established the first Hungarian university, the Academia Istropolitana, in 1465; however it constantly lost ground to those in Kraków, Prague and Vienna and closed in 1490. The centre of the Old Town (Stavé Mesto) is compact with much that is worth seeing near the Old Town Square; Trinity Church is noted for its magnificent trompe l’oeil frescos and the nearby Corpus Christi Church (kaplnka Bozieho tela) is now a museum packed with icons, jewellery and other aspects of ecclesiastical wealth. The Town Hall (Stará radnica) is a delightful mixture of Gothic, Renaissance and 19th-century styles, and the nearby Jesuit Church and the wonderful stucco decor of the Mirbach Palace are major tourist sites. The 15th-century hrad (Bratislava Castle), on the hill above the city, was burnt down by its own drunken soldiers in 1811; recently restored, it houses half of the Slovak National Museum, but visitors’ time is better spent with the wonderful views across the Danube plain. The Slovak National Gallery on the waterfront houses Bratislava’s most important art. The only other important site near the waterfront is Ödön Lechner’s Modr´y kostolic (Little Blue Church), an Art Nouveau masterpiece dedicated to Bratislava’s one important saint, Elizabeth, born in 1207. The controversial Most SNP (Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising) with its single support column dominates the area; views from the restaurant at the top are superb. Between the Old Town Square and the Bridge is the graceful boulevard, Hviezdoslavolo námestie; at the eastern end are the great late-19th-century Slovak National Theatre and the more Sessionist Reduta Theatre.
THE WEST
Devín with its famous ruined castle is 9km (6 miles) northwest. Near here the Germans were heavily defeated in 864 and 871 and the area is of immense Slovak Nationalist importance. The Small Carpathians stretch from Bratislava’s northern suburbs to the Váh valley and are a major wine-growing and walking area. Kamzík is the first major hill and the cafe, which offers superb views, can be reached either on foot or by chair lift. Modra is a major centre for wine and folk pottery. Trnava survives with its walled medieval character relatively intact and was the centre for Hungarian church administration from the 16th to the 18th century. Nitra is the country’s agricultural capital. Along the walk up to the ruined hrad (castle) are statues of saints, a fine plague column and two enormous gateways. The Gothic katedrála (cathedral) at the castle contains the remains of two 10th-century saints; next door is the Baroque Palace of the Bishop of Nitra. Two important spa towns on the Váh river are Piestany with its opulent late 19th-century Thermia Palace Hotel and Trencianske Teplice, best reached by narrow-gauge railway.
THE CENTRE
Slovakia’s greatest tourist sites are its mountains: the High Tatras receive the most publicity, but the Low Tatras and Malá Fatra, although less monumental, are also less developed. Mining and coin minting have played an important part in many of the Central Slovakian towns, with skilled German miners ‘imported’ in the 13th century. Banská Bystrica flourished as the capital of the seven ‘Hungarian’ (actually German) mining towns and was the centre for the failed 1944 uprising. The Town Museum in the Renaissance Thurso Palace and the 13th-century Panna Márie church with its Gothic altar by Master Pavol of Levoca are the most important tourist sites. Banská Stiavnica had the world’s first Mining University (1762). The 11 buildings of the Mining and Forestry Academy, as well as a number of Renaissance burghers’ houses are among its chief attractions. The mixed Gothic and Renaissance hrad (town castle), and the small gallery houses of the miners are the major sites in Kremnica, once the site of the richest gold seams in Europe.
Although only 26km (16 miles) long, the High Tatra Mountains in the north are noted for impressive alpine features. The High Tatra National Park (TANAP) has an abundance of wildlife and over 13,000 species of alpine plants – due to the great differences in elevation from 900 to 2655m (2953 to 8710ft). There are more than 85 mountain lakes, of which Great Hincovo Lake is the largest. The park has a good selection of accommodation and sporting facilities, climatic spas and 350km (220 miles) of marked hiking trails. Tatranská Lomnica makes an ideal starting point for the eastern Tatras. Founded in 1892 as a State climatic spa, it nestles in the foothills of Skalnaté Pleso (1751m/5745ft) which boasts the Tatra’s best downhill ski and bobsleigh tracks. Other wintersports resorts are Smokovce (including a climatic spa), Strbské Pleso, and the picturesque Goral village of Zdiar lying at the divide of the Belianske Tatry and the Spi¡sská Magura mountain ranges. The Low Tatras National Park covers the second-highest range within the western Carpathians. The park includes several ski and recreation resorts including Jasna, and the Demänová Valley, with its extensive ice-cave system. The Pieniny National Park is a bilateral national park shared with Poland, 30km (19 miles) northeast of the High Tatras. The Malá Fatra National Park is renowned for the scenic beauty of its valleys and gorges and its abundant wildlife. It is a favourite with hikers in both winter and summer; outside the park, the wooded spa town of Rajecké Teplice and the folk painted houses at Cicmany are important tourist sites.
THE EAST
The Spis (Zips) region was resettled by Saxons after the 13th-century Tartar invasions; most villages combine Teutonic (including many Protestant churches) and Slovak traits. The walled town of Levoca became the wealthy capital of the Union of Zips Saxons in 1271. The Gothic church of sv Jakub (St James) houses the world’s highest Gothic altar (18.6m/61ft high and 6m/20ft wide) built by Master Pavol and complemented by 12 important side altars. Kezmarok is noted for its wooden Protestant Church, capable of seating 1500 worshipers. Walled Spisská Kapitula was the seat of provosts and later bishops from the 13th century. The Romanesque cathedral of sv Martin is featured in many postcards. Spi¡s Castle, dating from the 12th century, is the biggest medieval castle in central Europe.
Southeast of Poprad, deep canyons cut through the Slovensk´y raj (Slovak Paradise) National Park. The pine forest landscape is riddled with basins and waterfalls, and the park contains Europe’s oldest ice-cave at Dobsiná (Dobsinská l’adová jaskyna). Hrabusice-Podlesok and Cingov are ideal starting points for the extensive hiking and biking trails. Further south, the Slovensky kras is a karst region at the Hungarian border. The Andrássy Mausoleum at Krásna Hôrka is Slovakia’s finest Art Nouveau building.
Near the Polish border is the Saris region (Carpatho-Ruthenia, Podkarpatska Rus), home of the Rusyn minority. Presov’s Uniate Cathedral (Grecko-katolica katedrála), a unique blend of Orthodox and Roman Catholicism, has an enormous Baroque iconostasis. Bardejov is an almost perfectly preserved walled medieval German town; the Rathaus (Town Hall) houses the superb Saris Museum. Nearby is the spa town of Bardehovské kúpele, once the playground of the Hungarian and Russian nobility; the open-air folk museum (skansen) is particularly fine.
To the south, Kosice is a lively city whose wealth was based on the salt trade; it still retains a strong Hungarian atmosphere. St Elizabeth’s dóm, the easternmost Gothic cathedral in Europe, is also one of the most beautiful. There are a number of good museums of which the Technical Museum is the best. Northeast of Kosice is the Herl’any Geyser, which sprays cold mineral water as high as 30m (100ft) every 32 to 34 hours. |
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