Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

SLOVAKIA 323

its walls. The lower section of

the bastion is reinforced with

slanting buttresses.

R Jesuit Church

Junction of Hlavná &

Univerzitna.

One of the finest

remaining Baroque

structures in the

city, this church

(Univerzitný kostol

šv Trojice) was

built in 1681 by the Jesuit

order. Its austere, early-

Baroque façade, bearing

traces of the Renaissance style,

hides a lavishly fur nished

interior, which includes a

17th-century pulpit and stalls

and a 19th-century main altar.

The central nave and side

chapels are beauti fully deco-

rated with magnificent trompe

l’oeil paintings.

E East Slovak Museum

námestie Maratónu Míeru 2.

Tel (055) 622 1361. # 9am–5pm

Tue–Sat, 9am–1pm Sun. &

One of Slovakia’s oldest

museums, the East Slovak

Museum (Východoslovenské

múzeum) was established in

1872 as the Upper Hungary

Museum. Its vast collections,

numbering half a million

exhibits, are displayed in

an early 20th-century

Neo-Renaissance building.

century, the chapel was
converted into a storehouse
for weapons and
ammunition when
the Turkish threat-
ened to invade. In
the early 20th cen-
tury, 17 old tomb-
stones from the
cemetery were built
into the chapel
walls. Highlights of
the interior include
the altar piece depicting St
Michael the Archangel, the
lovely stone taber nacle, and
above the sacristy door, the
oldest coat of arms of Košice.

u Former Synagogue
Puškinova.
The Former Synagogue was
built between 1926 and 1927.
In 1992, a bronze memorial
plaque was added to the front
of the building to commemo-
rate over 12,000 Jews who
were taken from Košice to
concen tration camps in 1944.

P Executioner’s Bastion
Hrnčiarska 7. # 9am–5pm Tue–Sat.
The bastion (Katova bašta)
takes its name from a nearby
house, which was once the
home of the city’s hangman.
This semicircular structure
was built around 1500 and
served defense purposes, with
eight cannon chambers set in

The impressive façade is

decorated with the town’s

coat of arms and carved

figures of Perseus and Vulcan.

The museum’s greatest

attraction is the “golden

treasure of Košice” – a huge

find of nearly 3,000 gold

coins dating from the 15th

to the 17th centuries.

VISITORS’ CHECKLIST

445 km (277 miles) NE of

Bratislava. * 240,000.

k 6 km (4 miles) SE

of centre. £ Staničné námestie.

@ Staničné námestie.

n Hlavná 59, (055) 625 8888.

http://www.kosice.sk

The Neo-Renaissance building

housing the East Slovak Museum

Bas-relief from the

Jesuit Church’s façade

KOŠICE CITY CENTRE

East Slovak Museum 0

Executioner’s Bastion 8

Former Synagogue 7

Hlavná 1

Jesuit Church 9

Singing Fountain 3

St Elizabeth’s Cathedral 5

St Michael’s Chapel 6

State Theatre 2

Urban Tower 4

Key to Symbols see back flap

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Railway and

Bus Stations

300 m (330 yards)

Airport

6 km (4 miles)

Mestsky

Park

Executioner’s

Bastion

Former

Synagogue

St Michael’s Chapel

St Elizabeth’s Cathedral

Urban Tower

Old Town

Hall

Singing Fountain

State Theatre

Jesuit Church

Levoča

House

East Slovak

Museum