East Slovakia

BETLIAR - manor-house

Manor-house with four corner towers is the product of the 19th century rebuilding of Andrassy family who intended to create a representation hunting residence amidst a splendid English park enriched with romantic constructions, artificial cave and waterfall. Equally interesting is the interior with a gallery of paintings, music and hunting salons, library with 20,000 volumes of books, historic furniture and exotic collections. It has obtained a UNESCO award for reconstruction.

Tel: +421/58/7983194, 058/7983118, 058/7983180

HUMENNE - manor-house

Grandious Renaissance-Baroque building of one of the most important manors in eastern Slovakia, It was remodelled into an air of French Baroque chateaux and was owned by the Andrassy family. Today it is a residence of the Museum of history, geography and literature with art and history expositions, Hungarian kings gallery, Chinese parlour, collection of coins and a unique treasure of Celtic-Daak coins form the 2nd century B. C. In a near park, there are rare trees and shrubs, and under their shade stand the 15 objects of Carpathian folk architecture forming an open-air museum.

Tel: +421/57/7752240

MARKUSOVCE - manor-house

Originally a Renaissance fortress was rebuilt into a Rococo residence. In 1778 a summer-house Dardanely was erected in the park behind the main building. The Museum of history, geography and literature in Spisska Nova Ves moved here its keyboard musical instruments (little organs, pianos, a small harpsichord) for display.

Tel: +421/53/4498421

MICHALOVCE - manor-house

The Zemplin region museum inhabits the Classicist manor-house to display pieces recording the society and history of the town and of the region from the oldest times up to now.

Tel: +421/56/6441093

KEZMAROK - castle

The Kezmarok castle is the only completely preserved one in the Spis region. The Thokoly family had it rebuilt into a pompous Renaissance residence and had also built a Baroque chapel with exquisite ornamentation. Today it is open to public with its expositions of archaeology, history, ethnography and art.

Tel: +421/52/4522619, 4522618

KRASNOHORSKE PODHRADIE - Krasna Horka castle

The most visible sight of the Gemer region is undoubtedly the castle Krasna Horka (Beautiful Hill). It is one of the oldest and best preserved castles in Slovakia with original interiors (kitchen, larder, music salon, collection of weapons). There is a mausoleum in the outer bailey which belongs to the most important Secession constructions in Slovakia (1903 - 4). In the interior, a gallery of paintings is situated, with portraits from the 18th - 19th century Hungary.

Tel: +421/58/7324769

SPISSKE PODHRADIE - Spissky castles

The foundations of the castle date back to prehistoric ages. The biggest castle in the Central Europe had been one of few resisting the Tatar invasion in 1241. It endured up to 1780, when it burned down. Its history is closely linked to the Spis Canonry, the place of living of Spis priory order and later bishops. A two-tower Roman cathedral of St. Martin dominates the Canonry, It was under construction from 1245 to 1273, later redesigned in Gothic style, it contains extremely rare interior (altars from Late Gothic; Roman and Gothic sculptures, gravestones). Adjacent to the cathedral is a Late-Renaissance bishop palace. A complex of buildings - castle Spissky hrad, Spis Canonry and Zehra (a little Roman-Gothic church of the 13th century with valuable wall paintings) - is recorded as a World Culture Heritage of UNESCO. Inside the castle you can see displays of the castle's history, medieval weapons, feudal jurisdiction and archaeology.

Tel: +421/53/4541336

STARA LUBOVNA - Lubovniansky castle

The castle, built in the 13th century was given as a caution to Poland by the Hungarian king Zigmund Luxembursky in 1412 together with 13 towns of Spis. In the period 1655 - 1661 the Polish coronation treasuries were kept there secretly in the face of the Swedish army. By considerable reconstructions in the 16th and 17th centuries the castle altered into a stately Renaissance fortress. Displays of the building history of the castle, archaeological findings, historic furniture, weapons and sacral art are given inside. A natural museum of houses from north-east Spis region lies in the outer bailey. The most rare piece is a wooden Greek Catholic church from Matejova village (1833).

Tel: +421/52/4322030

STRAZKY - manor-house

Renaissance manor-house in Strazky is one of the oldest in Slovakia. Together with a Gothic fortified church of St. Anna and a Renaissance carillon they form the historic core of the municipality. Following a reconstruction it serves for ex positions of the Slovak National Gallery - historic furniture and interior complements (17th - 19th cent), paintings of Ladislav Mednyansky (who had often visited the place and set to creative work), historical library and a collection of art crafts (17th - 19th cent).

Tel: +421/52/4581312

Visit also ...

BUDIMIR - in the manor-house of the 18th century, situated in an English park, are displays of the Technical museum in Kosice.

HANUSOVCE NAD TOPLOU - manor - house Renaissance - Baroque manor-house of the 17th century is now a residence of the Museum of history, geography and literature with valuable ethnographical and natural history exposition.

KAPUSANY - ruins of a castle burned down in 1709.

SVIDNIK - the Dukla museum, the Museum of the Ukrainian Culture, Natural Museum of the Ukrainian Culture, Dezider Milly Gallery, all in the manor-house of the18th century.

SVINIA - display of the history of agriculture in the Baroque-Classicist manor-house.

TREBISOV - manor - house of the 18th century in a large-scale French park with displays of agriculture and a Neo-Gothic mausoleum of Julius Andrassy with sarcophagus from1893-5.

VELKY KAMENEC - ruins of a 13th century castle, with residuals of polygonal bastion with shot-openings.

VELKY SARIS - ruins of one of the oldest castles in Slovakia, hidden in the woods.

ZBOROV - castle - Ruins of a castle, also called Makovica and built in the 13th or the beginning of 14th century for protection of the drive-way from Poland to Hungary, is situated 10 km from Bardejov.