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Eastern Europe remains an untapped resource as far as touristic opportunities are concerned, having many places which, by their attractiveness, could surpass world-famous centers of the tourism industry. If one is heading to Slovakia and has any kind of affection for hiking or history, he should surely visit Spis. This region is approx. 80 kilometers away from the second biggest city in Slovakia - Kosice, where I live, so I travel to Spis quite often. For lovers of touristic hiking, this area has a few other advantages. Within its boundaries lies the national park Slovensky Raj, which is neighbored to the west by the national park Nizke Tatry, and just a few kilometers from there is the famous slovak mountain range of the Vysoky Tatry.
Over the past few years, development in the service industry has leapt forward, while the prices have remained cheap for the western-european tourist.
Letīs get back to my favorite route, which can be done in a single day. While doing it you can see things that - if they were in western Europe and advertised enough, would be overrun by queues of tourists.
First of all, the church in the village of ?ehra should be mentioned. You pass through here if you are coming in a car from Kosice by way of Spiske Vlachy, and thatīs the shortest route. The church in ?ehra is exceptional in that it has faithfully kept its look from the middle-ages - early gothic. Luckily, Europe has its share of gothic cathedrals, but this one is different. The difference is that, on first sight, you donīt see "middle-ages" on it as you do in the town, but the building documents and preserves the character of a great village church, especially with its original bulwarks. Such churches served as fortresses during pagan raids. If needed, all the villagers hid behind the walls and defended themselves as if in a castle.
Kostol Sv. Ducha ( the church of the Holy Spirit ) was constructed in 1275 and its interior frescos from five periods are especially valuable. The oldest are from the 13th century and the youngest are from the 15th. There is one other odd thing. Inside there are gothic sculptures from the early 15th century and a baptismal area from the 13th. Meanwhile it simply functions as a normal village church, even though it is protected as a historical cultural monument by UNESCO.
Only three kilometers away is the State natural reservation Drevenik. It is enough to go two kilometers to the village of Hodkovce and then another kilometer to the protruding stone towers. In a relatively small area a visitor finds stone town with numerous little caves. This massif makes up the most expansive travertine land in Slovakia. Several square kilometers remind one of western scenes filmed in the Grand Canyon. The geologic beginnings of this natural treasure are to be found in the mesozoic period, when Spis aquired its current natural character. The natural surroundings and number of caves evidently suited our ancestors, because in these places there have been numerous finds from the early stone age. Between the 7th and 9th centuries Slavs settled here and have remained to this day.
The place is interesting from a different viewpoint. I donīt know if I was fortunate or whether itīs the standard, but over several years I have managed to find quite a number of fossils. It was always the imprint of some plants which had waited a few million years for me here. Of course this is a state nature reservation, a degree of protection it gained in 1953. Since 1994 Drevenik has been protected under the sign of UNESCO.
But a strong economic lobby has its claws in even at the highest slovak offices and ministries. In this area, it shows through in the fact that, despite the legislation concerning preservation, you will find a quarry here where they are still pulling out travertine. But if you have the good luck of finding a fossil, donīt run straight to the museum and hand it over. Who knows how many treasures the local quarry has destroyed. A preservationist is one who is willing to give a fine for a secret finding of an ancient fossilized plant imprint, but why write out a ticket when behind him a back-hoe is roaring and loading more shattered rocks...
From Zehra as well as from Drevenik you will see the dominant feature of spis - Spis castle. You cannot miss it, it is the largest castle in Central Europe. So large and mammoth that it was never conquered, and over the centuries everyone and everything has been beaten here. Swords have clashed, cannons have fired, and arrows have flown while the castle has remained faithful to its unconquerable legend.
One can get there by a nice walk from Drevenik, or you may park directly under the castle. I come here at least once a year. This monument is also under the banner of UNESCO. Its preserved ruins rest on a hill above the town of Spisske podhradie. The official records have this to say about it:
"The castle is mentioned in documents in 1209, in 1241 it resisted an attack by the Tartars. The developement of the castleīs construction can be seen in the ruins and on the more-or-less preserved buildings dating from the 13th until 18th centuries. At various times the castle was rebuilt and expanded, especially around the 15th century when the monarch of the castle was Jan Jiskra from Brandys. He was committed mostly to expanding the fortifications at the break of the 15th and 16th centuries during the time of the Zapolsky monarchy.
As a seat of spis regional offices and as a well-fortified structure, Spis castle had an exceptionally great strategic and administrative significance. It changed hands as the property of kings, royalty, and important aristocratic families. They resided there until 1703. In 1780, Spis castle was burnt down in a blaze and hasnīt been rebuilt since.
The romantic palace ( main building ) exhibits the oldest preserved, and from a art-history standpoint most precious, building in the castle complex. A wide romantic-style defence tower in the middle of the upper courtyard is 19.25 m tall with a circumference of 40 m. It appears almost undamaged, even though it was built around 1270.
Since 1969, conservation and restoration work has been underway on the castle, currently it is open to the public as a museum."
To visit the castle you pay approx $1; 20 cents for a camera. It is open from May 1 to October 30. Together with walks along the castle walls and courtyards, you can take in the view from the tower and see the exposition of the old weapons and torture-chamber in the museum. There is also a souvenier shop and two cafeterias where you can buy hot dogs, fries, beer, coffee, and the like. But if you get a taste for better food, there is a restaurant Salas not far away. It is built in the style of an old slovak cabin. Service comes in local folk-dress, slovak folk music plays, and they offer, outside of traditional meals, a number of slovak specialities. You can eat well here for 100 sk. Not far from the parking lot, there is another place called Siva brada, where you will find mineral springs and a geyser.
If you have decided to stay a while longer in the area, you can order a sightseeing tour with horse and carriage, or a conditioning horse ride, play tennis, try out the sauna, etc. All services, as well as accomodation, may be arranged through the pension Podzamok, which you will find in Spisse Podhradie on Podzamkova street. The telephone number is +421 53 811 755.
From Spis castle you will see something unique - a fortified mini-town with a large gothic cathedral. It is Spisska Kapitula, about which the official information is as follows:
"The original independant community Spisska Kapitula, since 1948, has been a part of the town Spisske Podhradie. It is a town set on a hill, being built up in the 12th century around the church.
From the middle of the 13th century it has been the seat of the spis seminary, the kapitula, and a religious town. In the years 1662-1665 it was encircled by walls, and developed into a town. Since 1776, it has been the seat of the Spis bishops. Over the centuries the number of houses ( 30 ) and residents ( 250-300 ) has stabilized. It is made up of kapitula members and their administrative. The houses are concentrated along both sides of the only road, which ends at two large gates.
Spisska Kapitula is a town monument reservation. The dominant structure is the late-romantic cathedral of st. Martin from the years 1245-1273 with its two steeples. The sanctuary and nave were expanded with gothic additions { Zapolsky chapel }. The cathedral has an exceptionally valuable interior - mainly the gothic altar, statues, headstones, tombs, tambours, bells, and the like. The frescos from 1317 picture the corunation of king Karol Robert. The oldest well-known romantic sculpture in Slovakia is here as well - Leo Albus.
In Spisska Kapitula the bastion wall has been preserved with the Upper and Lower gates, Kanoik houses, some originally gothic, others renaissance and baroque. You can also find a late-renaissance bishops palace from 1642 with baroque renovations, a watch tower from 1739 and the seminary building - originally gothic, later renaissance style, and restored in baroque."
In the past it was an artistic center where parts of the plenary were writers, painters and sculpturers. After the Czechoslovak velvet revolution, the objects went back to the church. If you want to have a look at it now, the entrance fee is 30 sk. Open hours are tuesday to sunday from 10,00 to 12,00 and then from 13,00 to 17,00, the telephone: +421 905 750 482.
If you are looking to stay in a hotel, you will find them in Levoca for example. This town, with a middle-age character, lies 19 kilometers from Spissky hrad ( Spis castle ). The center is surrounded by bulwarks, and there are sufficient opportunities to find a restaurant or accommodation possibilities. For those who wish to know more, I offer the following official information:
"The town is currently a national heritage town and came into being after the Tartar sacking of area in the middle of the 13th century. It gradually became the most significant town of the spis people. Since 1271, it has been the municipal center of 24 Spis towns. The wealth of the town is documented by the historical gothic and renaissance buildings. Levoca was the cultural center of reformation in Slovakia. A printing press has been operating here since 1624. The decline of the town was triggered by the anti-Hapsburg uprising of the 17th century.
In the 1840īs Levoca was the center of the Slovak national movement of the stur generation. For the first time, the slovak part of the hymn "Nad Tatrou sa blyska", rang out.
With its historical buildings, Levoca belongs among the most significant towns in Slovakia. In the historical town square there are more than 50 gothic, renaissance, and early-baroque style houses with arcaded inner courtyards. After being introduced to the core of the town, there are also well-preserved gothic city walls from the 14th and 15th centuries at a length of 2 kilometers. There are many restored bastions, towers, as well as the Kosicka and Menhardtovska gates.
The architecturally interesting town hall building was erected at the end of the 16th century in a gothic style, and reworked in a renaissance style at the beginning of the 17th. On its side it has allegoric frescos. The bell tower from 1656-1661, made baroque in the 18th century, is connected to the town hall by a new roof. Today the Spisske museum is housed in the town hall building. In front of the town hall is the "cage of shame" from the year 1600.
The gothic church of saint Jakub - is a national cultural monument and the second biggest church in Slovakia - was erected before 1400, and reworked near the end of the 15th centuiry into a late-gothic style. Inside is an exceptionally valuable late-gothic interior and several frescos from the end of the 14th century. Most noteworthy is the main altar, 18.6 meters tall and 6 wide, coming from the beginning of the 16th century. The statues come from the workshop of Master Pavel of Levoca. In the middle of the altar there is a case with statues of the Madonna and child ( 2.47m ), st.Jakub ( 2.32m ), and st. John Evangalist ( 2.30m ), on the wings there are reliefs, and there is a large painting when closed. In the foreground there is a group at the Last supper. The entire interior of the church, very well preserved, is basically a museum of sacred art from the middle ages. Most noteworthy are the gothic winged altar with statues and paintings, and some individual sculptures.
The main altar is the largest late-gothic wooden altar in the world. The work of Master Pavel of Levoca is a national cultural monument.
Among the most interesting of the town houses on the square, is the renaissance so-called Thurzov house. It was erected in the 16th century together with two gothic houses. Attention is to be given to the grafitti facade and peaked attic. From sacral works, there is also the valuable gothic minorite church and monastary from the 14th century near the town bulwarks, with gothic wall-paintings from the 14th and 15th centuries and a baroque interior. The church of the Holy Spirit and minorite monastary are found near Kosicka gate and come from the year 1747."
I would personally recommend visiting the the gothic temple, the exposition of Master Pavel, and the historical town hall. These are places I have been to perhaps twenty times, and this year ( 2001 ) I have come back again. Make sure to notice the large iron-bar cage in front of the town hall. It is the so-called cage of shame where, in the past, they pillored thieves as well as those who slandered others. Today its capacity is perhaps too small, and it is therefore closed. In the past it was common that they locked up some woman who was spreading untrue gossip for example, and the passers-by spit at her.
But back to accomodation, or at least some tips if you want to order ahead:
Hotel Arkada - Namestie Majstra Pavla 26 - Levoca - +421 53 541 2372
Hotel Barbakan - Kosicka 15 - Levoca - +421 53 451 4310
Hotel Faix - Probstnerova Street 22 - Levoca - +421 53 451 2335
See you later on Spis, maybe weīll meet there someday. Iīll certainly be there by next year at the latest.
Slavomir Szabo - sivo@box.sk
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