Slovakia Travel Guide

It has a nice but small Old Town. The rest of the city is a communist-era creation with prefabricated apartment buildings and factories. There are several CS and HC members here so there's no need to stay always at a hostel. Some of my favourite places for a night-out or drink are: 1. Slovak Pub, Smadny Mnich, Harley, Cirkus Barokk, Aligator, Maly Bajkal.

Trebišov (Hungarian: Tőketerebes; German: Trebischau) is a small industrial town in the easternmost part of Slovakia, with a population of around 23,000. The town is an administrative, economic and cultural center with machine (Vagónka), food (Frucona) and building materials industries.
Archaeological findings are from the Neolithic, Bronze Age and continuous Slovak/Slavic findings since the Great Moravian period. The first written reference to the castle stems from 1254. The village is mentioned in 1330, when it received town status, for the first time. The castle and the village became one settlement in the 14th century. After the fall of Communism some factories in the region were shut down and the city became the site of a kind of ghetto^{[citation needed]} for approximately 4,000 Roma people people who moved in from the villages to be able to receive unemployment benefits. In the spring of 2004, in order to induce the unemployed in Slovakia to search for a job, the Slovak government immediately reduced all social benefits for long-term unemployed in Slovakia by half. This led to rioting among the Trebišov Roma population in which several shops were looted. The riot leaders claimed the Roma were starving. After three days riot police and army motorized infantry reestablished order using a water cannon against a stone-throwing^{[citation needed]} crowd. In an attempt to calm down the situation, the government offered free firewood collection opportunity and free food stamps to compensate the unemployed for the loss of monetary aid.^[1]

• Parič Castle ruins – built 1786 using stones of a water castle from the 13th century, with:
  • a National History and Geography Museum – in the castle
  • a park – once one of the prettiest parks in Austria-Hungary, contains remnants of the old water castle (13th cent.- 1786)
• Andrássy Mausoleum – a nice neo-Gothic mausoleum of 1896
• Catholic church – ca. 1400, Gothic, reconstructed in 1696
• Paulinist monastery – 1502, connected with the Catholic church
• Orthodox church – 1825
• manor house – 1786, adapted in the Empire – neo-Renaissance style

The church has been dated already in 1404. It belongs to the Gothic architecture. The church has the main part and the aisle chapels. The interior is composed of the altars, mural paintings and a triumphal arch. On the ceiling, there are painted scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary. In the church there are set two marble epitaphs of János and Imre Perényi, pictures The Virgin Mary's Annunciation (1780), Saint Pavel Hermit (18th century), Saint Justin Martyr (1835), a stone baptistery (18th century) and the pseudo-Rococo seat. Under the church, there are crypts of the Pereny's family and Péter Szapáry and Júlia Csáky. It was built in 1502 and two years later, Imre Perenyi invited the Pauline-monks to the monastery. The object of the Renaissance monastery in the shape of "L" has been linked right to the church with the south wing. The monastery has been reconstructed, in 1678 and in 1760. With the cancellation of the Pauliny's in 1786 by King Joseph II., the monastery has lost its original function and has been used for many purposes. Now, it houses the Basic School of Arts and the Roman-Catholic Parsonage Office. The Immaculata is a work of art of an unknown sculptor. It has been made around 1800. There are three statues: The main is Madonna trampling on a snake; on her right there is a statue of St. John of Nepomuk; on her left a statue of the patron and protector from fire, St. Florian. At present, it is placed in its third place. Originally it was placed in front of the manor house. Later, in 1907, it was placed south of the church, on the edge of the city park. In the 1980s, it has been restored and placed between the Roman- and Greek-Catholic churches. The headstone of the church was put in 1817. It was built by the architect József Turcsány during the years 1818–1825. It was dedicated in 1826. In 1886 its interior was rebuilt. There are a lot of icons: The Death of Virgin Mary, icons of Jesus Christ, St. Nicholas, Twelve Apostles, Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. In 1901 the temple got the sacristy, the art lustre, the ceramic paving and the art windows in 1907. In the 1920s it got the bell called "Georgij" (George). The first stage of the construction of the water castle (probably a dwelled tower with fortifications) can be dated into the time from 12th to 13th century. Founded parts of pottery confirm that. The upper polygonal construction made by stone-based bricks was built in the second stage of construction, in the beginning of 14th century. The research confirmed that simultaneously with the fortification on the western side, an early-Gothic palace was built. On the east side of the castle a quadrangle entrance tower was built and at the courtyard was a well, fortified by stone. The Park of Trebišov takes an area of 62 ha. The Park has been originally shaped from a swamp-mire forest. The Park layout began its realization at the end of 18th century. It grew as an English countryside forest with buttonwoods and other trees imported from around the world. Today, the Park serves for relax, recreation, cultural and social events, and as a historical-archaeological place. In the area of the Park there are, except the exciting fauna and flora, some historical monuments. It belongs to the oldest sacral reminders of Trebišov. Its foundations were found by chance in the Centre of Young Natural Scientists in Trebišov. Its existence confirmed the records of Popes Corporals made in 1332–1337. The archaeological research shows, that the church had a rectangular boat. In 65 bone graves this dead were buried on their backs without coffins and mostly without gifts. Jewels, parts of clothing and coins were found in 16 graves. They were: earrings, rings, Hungarian coins from 2nd half of 12th century and 1st third of 13th century, 3 casted bronze crucifixes, which belonged probably to the East Church (Kyjevská Rus). Based on these discoveries, the church can be dated back into the first half of 13th century and its extension round 1400. The Mausoleum is one of the most beautiful monuments in Trebišov. It was built in the neo-Gothic style in 1893 by the German architect Arthur Meining. The sarcophagus is a work of the Hungarian sculptor György Zala from the years 1893–1895. In the Mausoleum there is buried the count Gyula Andrássy from 1894, the prime minister of Austria-Hungary (1867). In the sarcophagus there are relicts of his wife Katalin Andrássy. Above the sarcophagus there are two bronze cartouches with the signs of the count and his wife. Beside that there is the tinny coffin of Tódor Andrássy (1857–1905). Their souls are protected by the sculpture of an angel. Near the sarcophagus sorrows the bronze sculpture of Helena, the wife of the count Lajos Batthyány. In the interior there are the starry vault and the neo-Gothic windows. In 1786 the count Imre Csáky started building a great Baroque castle. The three-winged castle has a ground-plan form U. The terrace is supported by eight Classicistic pillars. In the Baroque gable there are signs of the Families Csáky and Andrássy. The castle has a great French garden with a fountain and a labyrinth. From 1916, in the castle there were military barracks and after The Second World War there was a hospital. Today the castle is used as The National History Museum.

Spišská Nová Ves (pronunciation (help·info); German: (Zipser) Neu(en)dorf; Hungarian: Igló; Polish: Nowa Wieś Spiska; Romany: Noveysis) is a town in the Košice Region of Slovakia. The town is located southeast of the High Tatras in the Spiš region, and lies on both banks of the Hornád River. It is the biggest town of the Spišská Nová Ves District (okres). As of 2006 the population was 38,357. Tourist attractions nearby include the mediaeval town of Levoča, Spiš Castle and the Slovak Paradise National Park. A biennial music festival, Divertimento musicale, is held here, attracting amateur music ensembles from all over Slovakia.
Settlement in the town's region dates to the Neolithic age. There is evidence of a prosperous society that was familiar with copper mining and processing. When the Celts arrived they brought with them advanced iron technology. Celtic coins have been found in the region. During the 6th century, the period known as the Great Migration, Slavic tribes appeared in the Spiš region. During the 10th century the structure of their settlements stabilized and important communication roads were established. The settlement was included within the state of Great Moravia. By the 12th century at the latest a Slovak settlement had been established known as Iglov, situated between Mlynská street (Mill Street) and the Reduta, in the centre of the present town. The settlement suffered greatly from the invading Tartars in the 13th century. Saxon (Carpathian German) colonists were settled here in the 13th century and their settlement became known as "Villa Nova” ("New Town" in Latin) or "Neudorf" ("New Town" in German), covering the area of the present town. Iglov and Neudorf were amalgamated into one town in the second half of the 13th century. The town received market rights in the 14th century and grew to become an important market town. It became an official mining town in 1380 and had the largest street market in Slovakia. Copper mining was an important activity. The metal was processed in furnaces, which were fuelled with wood from the surrounding forests. A Gothic bell foundry was established by Konrád Gaal who made a large hanging bell for Louis I of Hungary, and was consequently knighted in 1357. The bells made by Konrád Gaal are still hanging and form an important conlegacy of European Gothic metal foundry. In 1412 Spišská Nová Ves, along with several other Spiš towns, was pawned as loan security by the Hungarian king Sigmund to the Polish king Vladislaus II Jagiełło. This pledge lasted for 360 years. Blacksmiths were the first local craftsmen to unite into a guild, which was given royal privileges in 1436. They smelted their own ore, or built water-driven forges along the rivers Hornád and Dubnica. Coppersmiths made kettles of a specifically defined weight because kettles were widely used as a means of payment. There were charcoal burners and even resin pickers who collected resin from trees to produce tar for greasing wagons. There were wheelwrights, coopers, weavers, joiners, gunsmiths, basket-makers, bakers, furriers, tanners, cooks and millers, hunters, fishermen and beekeepers. There were many Germans living in Spiš and through their influence the town became Lutheran in the 1540s. Between 1569 and 1674 Catholic services were forbidden in the pawned towns. There were many contacts with Poland and this helped to stimulate the national consciousness of the Slovak people. The pawned towns were returned to the Kingdom of Hungary in 1772. In 1778 Spišská Nová Ves became the capital of the "Province of 16 Spiš towns". In the 19th century the manufacture of stoneware was important in the town. The products all bore a trademark formed from the word “Iglo” with two crossed miners’ hammers. Other industrial activities included oil production and a weaving plant as well as agricultural machines. The railway provided an important means of communication from 1870. A power station was built in 1894 and living conditions improved. In July 1929 the Podtatranská výstava (Sub-Tatras Exhibition) showed results of economic growth and made the town famous in Slovakia. Spišská Nová Ves is a popular tourist attraction today, both because of the town itself and because of the unique natural beauty of the nearby Slovak Paradise mountains. The core of the town is a lens-shaped square (a square with bulging sides), typical of medieval towns. It is a cultural, administrative and business centre of the Spiš region, and is rich in art and historical monuments. Foremost is the three-naved Gothic church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The relief on the tympanum on the south side of the church is considered to be amongst the most beautiful in the Spiš region. The tower is 87m high, the highest church tower in Slovakia. Another valuable architectural monument is the Province House, now housing a museum. It has a baroque façade, but the basement dates from the 13th century. The Town Hall was built between 1777-1779 in the Classical style, and was reconstructed in the mid 1990s. According to the 2001 census, the town had 39,193 inhabitants. 94.21% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 1.93% Roma and 0.51% Czechs.^[1] The religious makeup was 69.81% Roman Catholics, 16.95% people with no religious affiliation, 3.17% Lutherans and 3.05% Greek Catholics.^[1]

Kisújszállás, Hungary Alsfeld, Germany Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany Grójec, Poland Havlíčkův Brod, Czech Republic

Joinville, Brazil L'Aigle, France Nitra, Slovakia Preveza, Greece Youngstown, Ohio, USA

WEB:

http://www.mestosnv.sk/en/