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Ruska Bystra
The Greek Catholic wooden church of St Nicolas the Bishop was built at the beginning of the 18th century, in the years 1720 to 1730. The log building consists of three parts. It is covered by shingle roof.
The interior in the Baroque and Rococo style is from the beginning of the 18th century.
Jasovska jaskyna cave
Formed by the activity of the ground reach of the Bodva river, the Jasovská jaskyna cave was already inhabited by the Neolithic man. The locals knew about the cave in the Middle Ages and used it as hiding in time of Tartar or Turkish raids.
The entrance of the Jasovská jaskyna cave is situated in the eastern face of the Jasovská skala rock, 257 m above sea level. Its passageways are arranged in five levels and cover a total length of 2,811 metres. The sightseeing route is 720 m long and takes about 45 minutes.
The cave is extra rich in forms and colours of its dripstone ornamentation. Many species of bats inhabit this cave.
The cave was probably discovered by members of the monastic order of the Premonstratensians from the local monastery, who also made the cave available for the public as early as 1846. A number of historical inscriptions, earliest of which goes back the era of the Hussite Wars and is dated 1452, have been preserved on the cave's walls. An area called the Bat Cathedral is used for speleotherapy and climatotherapy of asthma and allergic diseases.
Bodruzal
The Greek Catholic wooden church of St Nicolas from 1658. The log building consists of three parts. Its shingle roof is dissected and has three little towers.
The area of the church has a log fence with shingle tops. Remains of wall paintings from the 18th century survive in its interior. Iconostas and several icons are from the end of the 18th century.
The church was completely reconstructed in summer 2004.
Ladomirova
The Greek Catholic wooden church of St Michael the Archangel was built in 1742 without a single metal nail. Independent belfry with column construction stands by the church. The area, part of which is a cemetery, has a log fence.
Valuable iconostas and altar are from the mid-18th century. It is a five-row wooden architecture filled with icons, part of which was destroyed in the Second World War.
Bardejov
The town of BARDEJOV (population 33,400) in the Eastern part of Slovakia was rightly awarded the European award, gold medal of ICOMOS Foundation of UNESCO in 1986 and it was inscribed into the List of the World Cultural Heritage of the same organisation in 2000.
Attractiveness of Bardejov is enhanced by the pleasant landscape with numerous landmarks. In the calm valley of the Bardejovsky potok brook on the south-eastern foothill of the Flysch mountain of Busov the spa of Bardejov is located. The town administers it. Múzeum ľudovej architektúry (Museum of Popular Architecture) situated in the upper part of the spa, where 28 folk buildings from the upper part of the Saris and the north of Zemplin region have been gathered.
Hervartov
The Roman Catholic wooden church of St Francis of Assisi was built by the end of the 15th century (probably between 1499 and 1500).
It is the oldest and best preserved wooden church in Slovakia. The Gothic pictures and wall paintings from 1655 and 1805 are the most valuable parts of its interior.
Spissky Hrad Castle
In the eastern horizon of Spisske Podhradie towers the Spis Castle. As a National Cultural Monument, Spis Castle with its area of more than four ha, and partially in ruins, is one of the largest castle compounds in Central Europe. Spis Castle was included in the UNESCO list of monuments belonging to the world cultural heritage in 1993. More about Spissky Hrad
The Spis Chapter
The most important building of Spisska Kapitula is the Late-Romanesque St Martins Cathedral. It acquired its massive form of a three-nave building with two towers in the years 1245-1275. In 1382, a Corpus Christi chapel was added to it, though it was replaced by the contemporary one in the years 1488-1493. This chapel of the Zapolsky family imitates the French chapel of Saint Chapelle. Baroque traits were erased by reconstruction in the years 1873-1889 in an attempt to give it a medieval character in line with the taste of the period of Romanticism.
The Bishop's Palace was built together with the Cathedral as a provosts palace. In the past, there used to be a French park around the palace and its entrance was next to the Hodinova veza (The Clock Tower) from 1739.
In the eastern part of Spisska Kapitula on narrow Gothic plots, the Chapters of the canonists are accessible only by one narrow lane. The fortification of this ecclesiastical town, with two entrance gates, was built in the 14th century and rebuilt several times.
Kezmarok
The Evangelical church was built in 1717 next to an older sacral stone building from 1593, which today is a sacristy. This unique wooden building made of yew and red spruce wood was built without using a single metal component and its ground plan is in the form of a Greek cross.
The Baroque interior of the church is also made of wood. Of immense artistic value is also the church organ with wooden pipes.
Dobsinska jaskyna cave
Its entrance, also called the Ice Hole, is situated below the mountain Duca (1,141 m) on the northern side of the plateau Hanesova at the altitude of 971 m. The salient point is in the village Dobsinska ladova jaskyna and tourists have to overcome the altitude difference of 130 m via switchbacks to climb to it. The length of the sightseeing trail is 515 m and seeing it takes 30 minutes.
It originated some time at the end of the Tertiary Age, approximately simultaneously with the adjacent Stratenska jaskyna cave, which is separated from it by a collapsed corridor.
This 1,232 m long and 112 m deep cave is one of the largest ice caves in Europe. Except for the Alps, this is the only place in Europe with 110 thousand cubic metres of ice in places thicker than 25 m. The thickest layer of ice amounting to 26.5 m is in Velka sien (The Grand Hall) of the cave. The cave was discovered by the mining engineer I. Ruffini in 1870 and opened to public a year after. It was also the first cave in the Kingdom of Hungary with electric lighting. Several important personalities, among them the Bulgarian Tsar and the King of Serbia visited it. In 1890, a concert in honour of Charles Luis Hapsburg was held in the Grand Hall of the cave. In the past, it was also possible to skate in the cave in summer.
The cave is also the lowest situated one in the world in terms of sea level altitude, which enhances its originality. Ice survives in the cave thanks to the form of the cave, which is similar to a sack. As the cave is situated lower than its entrance, the cold air maintains in its bottom and its temperature never increases above zero.
Levoca
The focus of ancient Levoca is the large Namestie Majstra Pavla square (The square of Maestro Pavol). In its centre the Roman-Catholic St Jakub church from 14th century stands. It is one of the most important sacral buildings in Slovakia. The tall slender tower of St Jakub from the first half of the 19th century is the most distinct feature in town's silhouette.
The interior of the church is especially precious, which is in fact a unique museum of medieval sacral art. The 18,6 m tall Late Gothic main altar of St Jakub is the tallest of its kind in the world. Made of lime wood in 1507-1517 in the workshop of Maestro Pavol of Levoca, it is of extraordinary artistic value, whilst the board paintings are attributed to the painter Hans.
The church neighbours with the arcaded building of the former town hall built after the fire in 1550. It is one of the finest buildings of secular Renaissance architecture in Slovakia.
The cage of opprobrium on the square is from the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries and was used in the past for the public humiliation of petty criminals. The central square is skirted by more than 50 remarkable burgher and patrician houses, many of which carry the name of their former owners. Of especial interest is Thurzo's house, which acquired its Neo-Renaissance graffiti facade in 1904.
Ochtinska aragonitova jaskyna cave
A 145 m long pit leads to the entrance of the cave at the altitude of 642 m above sea level; 230 metres of its total length of 300 m is now accessible to public (seeing it takes 30 minutes).
It is obvious that it is not a large cave, but it is all the more rare and valuable for its aragonite ornamentation (the form Srdce Hrádku is famous), the only of the kind in central Europe. There are not many similar caves in the world either.
The Ochtinska aragonitova jaskyna cave was discovered in 1954. The rich and varied needle, spiral and kidney-shaped aragonite filling similar to sea corrals creates an unusually varied mixture of images. The Hall of Milky it the part of the cave, which is unanimously, considered the most beautiful. The white aragonite grapes in a fissure in the ceiling glow like stars on the sky and the equally snow white 'bushes' intrigue any visitor.
Domica cave
Its entrance is 339 m above sea level. Two sightseeing routes are available for visitors; the longer one of them, 1,180 m long, takes 60 minutes and the shorter, 780 metres long route takes 45 minutes. Part of the visit is the trip on a boat on the underground river Styx.
Although it was discovered in 1926, it is accessible only from 1932. Domica is famous for its spacious domes, for instance Majkov dom with cascaded lakes called the Roman Baths. It boasts abundant dripstone ornamentation with little lakes, onion-shaped stalactites and pagoda-shaped stalagmites. The interesting thing about this cave is that there live about 1,500 individuals of 16 different species of bats.
Film-makers made use of the natural beauty of the cave to shot the film version of fairy tale by Pavol Dobsinsky, Salt above Gold. The cave is part of the largest cave system along with the Baradla cave in Hungarian territory with total length of 25 kilometres.
Tours to Caves
Krasnohorska jaskyna cave
It was discovered comparatively recently (1964) by the potholers of Roznava. Visitors can experience similar situations that the potholers had met with when discovering the underground space. The path is dissected, debris has to be climbed over in some places and sometimes it is necessary to wade streams. Solid and waterproof shoes are indispensable.
The adventurous journey of discovery of the cave's underground areas is guided by experienced cavers. Proper caving equipment is provided for the tour, with its end at the Roznava Cavers' Dripstone (Kvapel roznavskych jaskyniarov). This stalagmite's height of 32.6 metres (the diameter of its base is 12 metres long) makes it one of the tallest calc-sinter formations worldwide and the tallest in the moderate climate zone.
Due to its significance and unique ornamentation, it was included into the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Gombasecka jaskyna cave
Its entrance is at the altitude of 250 m above sea level, and about 11 metres above the spring Cierna vyvieracka. The length of the sightseeing route is about 530 m and it takes 30 minutes. The visitors overcome the altitude difference of 43 m during the tour.
The potholers of Roznava discovered it in 1951. They entered it along the brook Cierna vyvieracka. The cave was formed by the karstic solution of limestone rock and eroding activity of the Cierny potok brook, which flows here from the Silicka ladnica cave.
Its most valuable ornamentation consists of thin sinter 'feathers', which are in places as much as 3 m long. Other forms of stalactites and stalagmites, different kinds of sinter forms also occur here. The spacious Marble Hall with cone-shaped stalagmites is especially interesting.
Speleotherapy was introduced in this cave for the first time in Slovakia with the intention to cure diseases of respirative apparatus in 1968.
Tvrdosin
Its origins date back to the second half of the 15th century and it was rebuilt in Renaissance style in the 17th century. The Baroque altar from the end of the 17th century with the painting of All Saints dominates the interior of the church. Formerly, there was a low Gothic altar. Only one wing with the paintings of St Peter and St John the Baptist was preserved. The original central part of the altar, a painting of Bemoaning the Death of Christ from the 15th century was moved in 1919 to a museum in Budapest. The interior of the church was finished in the mid-17th century.
Viewing the church, especially the paintings of the Apostles, the Late Renaissance pulpit with figures of the Evangelists from 1654, and a painting of St George mounted on a horse fighting a dragon (a distemper painting on wood from 1653) will draw the attention of any visitor. The wonderful dome paintings (a sky with stars, angels and a panelled ceiling) complement the Gothic mysticism of the space.
Lestiny
The most important monument in Lestiny is the wooden articled Evangelical church of 1688 with wooden belfry. The lavishly painted interior decoration of the church is from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Visitors are attracted especially by the main altar from the beginning of the 18th century, church pews with coats of arms, Renaissance baptistery of the 17th century, a copy of the burial flag of J. Zmeskal, and an epitaph of M. Meska of 1753.
Vlkolinec
The community was first referred to in 1376. Its unique compound of original folk buildings remained untouched by modern construction. Based in comparative study of ICOMOS (International Council for Monuments and Settlements) it was classified as the best-reserved settlement of this time within the Carpathian Arch. Originally it was the settlement of loggers, shepherds and farmers.
Vlkolinec is a typical example of a two-line street pattern with long yards. In its centre, the community divides into a street leading to the Baroque-Classicist Roman-Catholic church of the Virgin Marys Visitation of 1875 and a street heading along a steeper terrain to the foothills of the Sidorovo Mountain (1,099 m).
At the division of the streets the two most frequently photographed objects stand - a log two-storey belfry from 1770 on a stone stand and a log well from 1860. Among the protected buildings in the community are 45 log houses with farmyards from the 18th century. The interesting thing is that it was painted in blue, rose and white paints twice a year.
A typical example of a house in Vlkolinec is the farmers' house - a detached outdoor part of the expositions of the Liptov Museum. The house was built in 1886 and opened to public in 1991. Its well-preserved original interior and furniture provide a true picture of the way of life of its ancient inhabitants from the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. The remaining protected objects in the monument reserve are still inhabited, its population amounts to 30 and this is the reason why visitors can see only the exterior of houses.
Vlkolinec is included in the National Park of Velka Fatra. The cyclist route crosses it and owners of several private houses offer accommodation. The interesting folk event called 'Sunday in Vlkolinec' is organised every summer at the beginning of August.
Hronsek
The wooden articled church from 1726 is set in the wonderful environment of big lime trees. There are 1,100 chairs in this church. Its organ was fitted in 1764. Four bulky lime trees stand in its yard. Fine wooden belfry from 1726 stands nearby.
The member of the Sturs literary group, poet Andrej Sladkovic married the local girl Julia Senkovicova in this church.
Banska Stiavnica
Mining schools and science also flourished in the town: the oldest mining school in the Kingdom of Hungary was founded in 1735. It was promoted to the Mining Academy in 1762, the first superior mining school in Europe.
The dominant of the town centre is Stary zamok (Old Castle) standing on the west terrace of the Trojicne namestie square. The oldest part of the Castle is the former parish church of the Virgin Mary. It was built together with the adjacent ossuary of St. Michael in the 13th century as the three-nave Romanesque basilica. Today, the Old Castle houses the Slovak Mining Museum. Pipes and targets are some of its interesting exhibitions. The Novy Zamok (New Castle) stands on the opposite hill since 1571. It also contains collections of the Slovak Mining Museum among them documents concerning Turkish wars. It offers a wonderful view of the town.
The majority of monuments of Banska Stiavnica are concentrated into the area spreading between the Trojicne and Radnicne namestie squares. Both squares are separated from each other by the Gothic church of St. Catherine from the end of the 15th century and the building of town hall with its slender clock tower.
In the centre of the Trojicne namestie square skirted by old burgher houses and public buildings, the wonderful Trinity Pillar stands. The biggest building of the Trojicne namestie square is the Hallenbach House, where the mining court seated. Another bulky building stands on the Kammerhofska ulica street, which runs down from the town centre to the bus station. It is the building of Kammerhof or Chamber Yard, which originated in 1550 by adaptation of several Gothic houses. Today it is the principal building of the Slovak Mining Museum. Its most attractive part is the out-door exhibition where there is the option to visit the underground pits.
The Baroque Calvary is also one of the fine moments of Banska Stiavnica. It consists of 23 structures situated in the charming mountain environment.
National Park of Poloniny
This remotest part of Slovakia is becoming ever more attractive for tourists. They can visit the National Park of Poloniny, which was added to the list of National Parks of Slovakia in 1997. The area of national park is 29 805 ha and acreage of protected area is 10 973 ha. It is is situated at the point where three frontiers meet: Slovak, Polish and Ukrainian. The Park immediately neighbours with the Polish Bieszczadski Park Narodowy and ukrajinsky Uzansky nacionalny pryrodny park. The mountain area where the Park was established is also known under the Slovak name, the Bukovske vrchy Mts. The name of the Park derives from the Slovak term for special and unique alpine meadows - poloniny - which spread here above the upper timberline.
The UNESCO in the framework of the Man and Biosphere Programme defined the territory as the Biosphere Reserve of Vychodne Karpaty in 1993. The primeval forests of Stuzica, Rozok and Havesova in the Bukovske vrchy Mts. were added to the UNESCO list of world natural heritage in June 2007 together with the Kyjov primeval forest in the Vihorlatske vrchy Mts. in CHKO Vihorlat near Poloniny and with the primeval forests in the Ukraine.
Almost 80 per cent of the forest area consists of rounded ridges and waterlogged valleys. Sharp stones are less frequent. Particularity of the territory is the occurrence of the largest complexes of original, in places virgin, beech-fir woods in Europe and the rare concentration of threatened animal and plant species. The land is characterized by the occurence of game - brown bear, wolf, lynx ostrovid, catamount as well as wisent that only occures open in NP Poloniny.
The main starting point for the trips to the National Park is the easternmost situated village of Slovakia, Nova Sedlica.