Košice

History

Lying in the valley of the River Hornád in the basin that shares its name, Košice is a regional administrative centre and Eastern Slovakia´s hub of industry, commerce, science and culture. Košice currently has a population of more than 260,000 inhabitants. The region of which it is the administrative seat occupies an area of 6,753 km2 and has 11 districts including 4 within the city itself, and 438 boroughs, of which 17 are the city or urban housing estates.

 

Košice, the Slovak republic´s second-largest city, prides itself on its long history of many cultures and religious faiths. Among others, Slovak, Hungarians, Ukranian, Polish and Romani peoples have left their mark, not only in the form of Roman Catholic, Greek and Russian Orthodox and Jewish houses of worship. The first written mention of Košice is in a document dated 1230land. Košice is reffered to as „Villa Kasa“. Since 1994 we celebrate 7th May as "Košice Day" due to the important battle that happened on that day. 

Historical Buildings

 

St. Elizabeth´s Cathedral

built between 1378 and 1508 and a Gothic masterpiece, is the city´s oldest architecture landmark. Particularly imposing is the winged main altar, with it´s three oversize statues and forty-eight panel paintings, while the lateral altars, Gothic wall paintings and sculptures add to the charm. Refurbishment work on the Cathedral is currently under way.

 

St. Michael´s Chapel

located to the south of the Cathedral, is a single-nave Gothic edefice from the 14th century. Originally a cemetery chapel, it is the city´s second oldest building.

 


St.Urbain´s Tower

a detached medieval bell-tower from 14th century also belongs to the cathedral complex, all of which was originally surrounded by a churchyard wall until 19th century. The bell of St. Urbain is cast from the former one which was damaged by fire.

 

Immaculata

this sculptural group is situated on the former scaffold site in the square, it was erected by builder Tornyossy and sculptor Grimming in 1720 – 1723. The monument was restored several times, and several statues were replaced by copies. The square is built up with palaces, burghers´ houses and sacral buildings.

 

The State Theatre

built in the middle of a square in a park according to hte design in the historicizing style by A.A. Lang and Steinhardt at the end of 19th century.

How To Get There

 

By air: Regularly scheduled flights come to košice (from Prague, Vienna and sometimes from Brno and Moscow) and Bratislava (from many cities, including Zurich, Prague, Moscow, Tel Aviv and Persian gulf states).

By train: Many of Europe´s busiest train routes pass trough or very near slovakia. It is especially simple to travel from neighbouring counties. The train network in Slovakia is well developed, and trains are the most comfortable way to travel. For a comprehensive train schedule check ot the web site of Slovak Railways: www.zsr.sk.

By bus: Most countries in Europe are connected with Slovak destinations by regular service