Tour guide

The tourist guide of our country

SLOVAKIA The brochure written by students of ZŠ s MŠ Jarná school 3168/13 Poprad eTwinning project

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SLOVAKIA This article is going to take you for a round trip in our beautiful country - Slovakia. I bet it’s the most wonderful country in the world. There are so many places which have peaceful nature for example the High Tatras or picturesque town Kremnica etc. And there are many places where you can find some grandiose historical monuments.

Slovakia is an inland state in the middle of Europe. The area of Slovakia is approximately 50,000square km and population is about 5.5 million people. Slovakia neighbours with five states: Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria and Ukraine. The population of Slovakia isn’t constant. Only 85% people of Slovak nationality live there, 9% of Hungarians, 2% of Gypsies, 2% of Czechs and 2% of other nationalities. There is Slovak language spoken of course, Hungarian and Czech are secondary languages used to communicate among minorities and lots of dialects are spoken here too.

The capital city is Bratislava. It’s really a big city and people there are not always kind and polite. They are a little bit fussy and proud of the fact that they live in the capital city. If a person living in the east part of the country moves to the west part, he/she won’t get used to this atmosphere. But we have no rights to judge anyone just go, try, see and make your own judgement. If you go on holiday through Slovakia you definitely must stop there – in the capital. You should visit our biggest mountains The High Tatras, too. They’re well known all around the world. People from Russia, Japan and Ukraine come there just to go hiking and admiring them. There are lots of tarns for example Hincovo or Popradské etc. If you are a waterfall lover you might find there the right place for you. In The High Tatras there are many excellent restaurants, too. You should try our dumplings with bacon or meat pies with cream.

They’re both delicious. A well-known custom in Slovakia is to welcome guests with a salty piece of bread.

At Christmas time, we are used to cut an apple or eat dry toast with garlic. One legend says that you will have as many children as many seeds are in your piece of the apple.

At Easter boys pour water on girls and whip them with willow wands. Girls shout and cry but they like it and after all they reconcile and girls give boys some Easter chocolate or nicely decorated eggs.

Most people live in block of flats but in villages people live in houses with gardens. The people in Slovakia like having parties and out-door activities for example riding a bicycle or going for a walk to the nature is also a loved past time activity.

Lots of people don’t like living in Slovakia because of social and politic situation that is catastrophic here. The police are even worse! If I could choose, I’d like to choose Holland because I love tulips and everything is legal there. You can’t have any problems in Holland. Everybody is peaceful.  In Slovakia you can’t do anything without paying. Everything is paid there for honest citizens and nothing is for free. The corruption is not the only problem we have to face here.

In spite of that, Slovakia is wonderful and we love it. We hope you will get the picture of it and like Slovakia after reading my article.

Written by Katarína Dešková 2

Košice

Dear friend,  I am writing to you again  now about one town - Košice. I love this town! It is in the east of Slovakia. People call it the European capital city of culture. I was there only once and it was a perfect trip! I saw there many nice people, shops, zoo, bobsleigh attraction, and lots of other things. You really should go there once! I live in the town called Poprad and Košice is only one hour by car away from Poprad. You can go there also by bus, by train or by car. There are the trams, trolleybuses and buses in the town use as the means of transport. Now I am writing to you about the attractions or places, where you can go with your family, too.

At first, there is one big store AUPARK in Košice. It is only a ten minutes walk from the train station. This is the place for small children, teenagers, or also for old people. You sometimes need a map with the shops because you can get lost easily and miss even one shop would be a bed experience.  There are many shops, where you can buy lots of things: jewellery, clothes, food and lots of different things. Everyday there are many people round happily walking in the streets or just doing a window shopping.

I was there too, with my father and we bought lots of clothes for me.  You know I love shopping for clothes much. Next to the Aupark there is other store, where you can find lots things for fashion lovers. I bought there some pretty blue shoes.

Secondly, there is a colourful playing fountain. There are some nice pieces of music played all day long and people sit on the benches around and admire beautiful theatre of water drops illuminated by lights. You can take some photos there. Next to the fountain there is St. Elizabeth´s Dome (it is a cathedral). There are lots of marvellous historical monuments, too.

Finally, there is a big zoo. I was there when I was at about nine years old. There are a lot of animals – horses, goats, elephants, snakes etc. That is the place for everyone. In that zoo many things can be bought – some souvenirs, ice-cream, hot dog, juice, Coca Cola , Slovakian national drink Cofola ( it tastes like Coke, but that is much better  ). There is a bobsleigh attraction next to the zoo. It goes very quickly. Have you ever been on bobsleigh trace or a roller-coaster yet?

There are some photos of Kosice just to let you get inspiration about that part of Slovakia.

Your friend from Slovakia, Bianka Kyseľová 

The bobsleigh track The shopping centre Aupark

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Bardejov

Bardejov is a beautiful city in Slovakia. It is located in Presov region - the north-east. Bardejov consists of an area of 72.39km².

This historic and the spa town has belonged to the UNESCO heritage since the year 2000. Some traces of residence and activities in Bardejov are dated back to the stone age. Those traces are represented by finding of two stone tools. In 1950 Bardejov was declared an urban conservation area and there was intense restoration of cultural heritage. In the socialist era, the population has increased many times the city has developed the industrial production, particularly engineering (ZTS) and shoe making industry (JAS). In 1986 the Bardejov was awarded by the European Award - Gold Medal - International curatorium based in Hamburg. Bardejov was entered to the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

Currently, Bardejov is town well-known for its administrative centre and upper Saris centre of industry, culture and sport. The river Topľa flows through this city. There are also many interesting buildings. The Basilica of St. Giles belongs among the most significant national monuments in the Slovak Republic. The most valuable monument is the City Hall. It was constructed by Master Alexander. There is also a famous spa in Bardejov, where you can find ten springs of the mineral water which proved to have curing effect. The spa is visited by lots of tourists and patients all year round.

The city symbols are the coat of arms, flag and signet. The minority of nations living in Bardejov are: Slovaks, Gypsies, Ruthanians, Ukrainians, Czechs, Poles and Hungarians. There is one interesting museum in Bardejov. The Saris Museum is the oldest museum in Slovakia. The museum was established on 21st December 1903. The most popular composers who came from Bardejov were Zachary Zarewutius, Vojtech Keler a Joseph Gresak. There are the Gothic Church of St. Giles and Renaissance town hall on the main square.

There are some monuments: the Church of St. Giles, the Greek Catholic Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, the Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession.

There are many primary schools and secondary schools, too. Some celebrities were from Bardejov: Valentin Ecchius, Leonard Stöckel, Alfons Bednar, Zachary Zuriwutius or Master Alexander. When I was in Bardejov with my family and my dog, we were very satisfied. :) We went around the Bardejov Spa. We took lots of photos there. My grandparents live in Bogliarka. It is about 20 km drive from Bardejov.

I think this city belongs to the most beautiful cities in Slovakia. You should visit this city one day and enjoy its splendid atmosphere. I think you will like this city very much. :) I hope that you are interested in this city. Slovakia is the most beautiful county full of beautiful places to see. :D

The Bardejov Spa

Bardejov

Written by Jana Maníková

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SPIŠ CASTLE Spiš Castle is the largest castle in Slovakia and it is also one of the biggest castles in Europe by area 41 426 m². The castle is situated above the town of Spišské Podhradie and the village of Žehra, in the region known as Spiš. It was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1993. Some facts about the history of Spiš Castle - Spiš Castle was built in the 12th century. Before 1464, it was owned by the kings of Hungary, afterwards until 1528 by the Zápolyas family, the Thurzós family from 1531–1635, the Csákys family from 1638–1945, since 1945 by the state of Slovakia. It was originally a Romance stone castle with the fortifications, a twostory Romance palace and a three nave Romance-Gothic basilica. Those were constructed in the second half of the 13th century. A second extramural settlement was built in the 14th century, by which the castle area was doubled.

The castle was completely rebuilt in the 15th century, the castle walls were heightened and a third extramural settlement was constructed. A late Gothic chapel was added around 1470. The Zápolya clan performed late Gothic transformations, which made the upper castle into a comfortable family residence, typical of late Renaissance residences of the 16th and 17th centuries. The last owners of the Spiš Castle, the Csákys family, abandoned the castle in the early 18th century because they considered it too uncomfortable to live in. They moved to the nearby village. In 1780, the castle burned down, and has been in ruins ever since. The castle was partly reconstructed in the second half of the 20th century, and extensive archaeological research was carried out on the site. The reconstructed sections house is displayed in the Spiš Museum. And the Castle is also used as a location for historic films.

Written by Karolína LIptajová 5

LUNIK IX There are many wonderful places in Slovakia; which offer beautiful nature; Slovak Paradise, Slovak Karst, the High Tatras, etc. and also places and towns which have lots of historical monuments. But don’t let charm yourself with the steam of beauty. This is only tinsel. Let me introduce you cruel true, which unfortunately belongs to us. Let me introduce you the place that we are not very proud of in Slovakia!

In this article I am going to introduce you settlement called Lunik IX. It’s a part of the Košice city. On this place it’s the biggest concentration of gipsy population in whole Slovakia -unbelievable 100%! Capacity of flats is 2,400 people, but in year 2004 there were 6,600 recorded citizens, and 2,200 of them were children. On average each flat contains 16 people!! Can you imagine living in a small flat with other 15 people? And that’s definitely not the end. Almost 100% of citizens are debtors for rent, energies or they are deliquents.

Inadequate social and hygiene conditions are a big unsolvable problem for the town Košice. But it’s problem of whole Slovakia too.

Originally it was built for ABC components. (A-Army, B-Safety, C-gypsies). The construction started in 70’s of 20th century. The first occupiers have been moving there since 1978, but components A and B were lowered. There were 2,000 citizens and nearly a half of them were gypsies.

In 1995 Lunik IX became a settlement, in which gathered all debtors, deliquents and maladjusted citizens. Families without problem were moved from there, if they asked for it. Most of the population are debtors, so they are cut from electricity. The debt for the electricity has increased up to nearly 2.3 million Euros. There are 49 flats, but only 2 owners of them are paying. The debt for them is 6.3 million Euros and it is still getting bigger. The citizens have water only for two hours a day. Supply of the water is provided by tanks only in the morning. Some citizens have demolished the block of flats and they almost disrupted the statics of the buildings. So the municipality of Košice decided to demolish the first two blocks. Considering bad technical conditions next demolition is planned. Devastated pipes and clogged drainage make the hygiene conditions even worse in the settlement area and spreading epidemics is an alarming problem, too. The tenants throw rubbish from the windows!! In 2009, 9 tons of rubbish was tidied up from there. There were 5 illegal landfills and the municipality of Košice paid 80,000 Euros for it. There is a kindergarten and also school.

In the end I would like to tell you my own experience. Last summer I with my brother and friends went there because of our curiosity. We went through Košice and one of my mad friends wanted to stop there.

Unfortunately, no one was against. So we stopped there and we went to the shop. A small gypsy child was shouting at us and throwing rubbish to us. I thought they didn’t like our colourful hair and our fashionable clothes. So we wanted to go away, but one gipsy child threw a stone to us and the others joined him. We run out from that place as fast as possible and we scolded friend’s stupid idea. So, don’t judge by the first sight rather look deeper into the matter. And never go to Lunik IX! :D That place is something we are not very proud of but I will go ahead and do my best to solve this problem when I become the president of Slovakia. What do you think? Will you support me?

Written by Katarína Dešková

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NITRA Nitra is the town located in the district of Nitra and it is about 90kilometres from the capital city Bratislava. There is one river. Its name is the Nitra, too. Nitra is surrounded by the mountain called Zobor. Nitra is the oldest city in Slovakia.

History: Nitra as the town had an extraordinary historical importance. Dating back to prehistoric times it was a trade settlement. Nitra was densely populated territory 30 000 years ago. Nitra`s region was an important centre of the Celts (several centuries BC), and later Germans and Slavs came to that historical place.

Castle: Castle in Nitra is located on a big rock which had a strategic importance, because it gave natural view to long distance over the river Nitra. In 13th century the castle was perfectly fortified and it endured lots of crucial attacks.

Theatre: The first theatre was built in 1883 with a capacity of 360 seats. The building stood on the place where another theatre was built and served Nitra`s public until its destruction by air bombing in the World War II. After the war it was rebuilt and is in use again now. This theatre is called Andrej Bagara‘s theatre now.

Zobor: Zobor is the mountain near the town of Nitra. The top is a nature reserve Zoborská steppe, the slopes are full of the vineyards. It is a meeting point of the surrounding area. Since 1994 it can be accessed by a cableway from Nitra starting point.

Park on Sihoť: The city park in Nitra is the most visited place for relax and fun. The park consists of three parts. The oldest part is rich in attractions for everyone. There are lots of snack bars and children's playgrounds. From historical point of view the most popular is the frog fountain.

Written by Martina Billichová

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PIEŠŤANY Piešťany is the most famous spa town in Slovakia. Piešťany is 80 kilometres from Bratislava, 150 kilometres from Vienna and the town is easily accessible by road and train. The second largest river in Slovakia – the Váh flows through the town. The climate in Piešťany is typical for lowland: warm and dry. In the town we can find a golf course, tennis courts, squash centre, horseback riding school and water skiing. There is also a local airport.

Many people say that this town is a paradise for body and soul because there are many hotels for active relaxation. The spa town Piešťany is located on the beautiful spa island which has a luxurious park, rich cultural and social life and numerous possibilities for active relaxation. There are very beautiful hotels: The Balnea Palace, The Thermia Palace, The Magnólia, The Balnea Grand and The Máj. The Danubius Hotel is a modern hotel complex located in the lush park area at the centre of the spa island. There are many swimming pools, too.

Eva is the swimming pool with tennis courts and beach volleyball courts.

The Slovak Health Spa Piešťany belongs for more than 100 years to the leading European spas for its treatment of rheumatism, rehabilitation of moveable apparatus and nervous system. Natural healing sources – thermal mineral water and unique mud are the cornerstones of the Piešťany spa which has become world famous thanks to its modern methods of treating rheumatism and other disorders of motion.

The healing sulphur mud in connection with thermal mineral water is absolutely unique. Thermal mineral water in spa Piešťany has a high content of minerals (1 500 mg per litre). The temperature of water in spring is 67 to 69 OC. The Spa Island is the oasis of peace and relaxation but also of an active sport recovery.

The beautiful park is ideal for walks and many cafes and restaurants offer local and world specialties.

The department of cultural service of the Health Spa Piešťany organizes attractive program for the leisure time of the spa guests. We can choose from a rich selection of classical music concerts, operas, musicals, jazz concerts as well as walks and excursions.

Piešťany is very nice town.

Written by Matej Vallúš

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Liptovský Mikuláš Liptovský Mikuláš is located in the north of Slovakia, in the middle of Liptovská valley. It is near our town Poprad. It´s surrounded by the highest and the most beautiful mountains. A bigger part of the city is located on the banks of the river Váh. The most famous in this city is water reservoir Liptovská Mara. There you should go fishing, swimming, there are also cottages and you can also go camping there. The city is named after his patron Saint Nicholas. It consisted of only the Roman Catholic Church and a few houses around long time ago.

In the year 1713 it was the place where a legendary Slovak outlaw Juraj Jánošík was sentenced and executed. The church of St. Nicholas is the most famous monument of the city. It stands in the southern part of the square. The city is an important centre of tourism. It is a natural starting position to the beautiful Low Tatras (mountains), to the Western Tatras or to the Chočské mountains.

In your free time you can go to Aquapark Tatralandia. It is the largest aqua park in Slovakia. The Aquapark has 28 waterslides. There are two Caribbean pools, eight all the year round pools and three swimming pools. The pools are filled with thermal water. The island of the Pirates from the Caribbean is full of wellness pools. There is also Hawaiian Bar and the view on the Tatras. You do not need to go on holiday to Egypt you should go to Liptovský Mikuláš. There is a new tropical paradise with sea water in two pools, snorkeling and looking at a real coral reef with sea anemones and colourful fishes is possible too. Thanks to the special cover you should tan even in the middle of winter. Holiday Village Tatralandia is accommodation place near the aqua park.

There is the western city next to the Aquapark Tatralandia. The western city Tatralandia is a copy of th the city of American countryside at the end of the 19 century. There are held variety shows in the style of a wild west full of stunt and acting pieces. You should go by train, ride a horse, ride an artificial bull, go to the Labyrinth Planet, go to a haunted house or shoot an arrow from a bow and a lot of other attractions.

Written by Patrícia Čížiková

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The Slovak Paradise It is a national park in the east of Slovakia near Spišská Nová Ves. The Slovak Paradise is the most beautiful place of the natural areas in Slovakia.

There is a wide range of places where you can go for hiking. There are some difficult places to overcome.

There are 30 meters long ladders near beautiful waterfalls. The longest waterfall is called Závojový and the water falls from the height of 75 metres. In the Slovak Paradise there are many caves too.

The most beautiful cave is the Dobšinská ice cave. Many people go to Čingov, Kláštorisko or Podlesok.

The Slovak Paradise is full of forests. There are beautiful birds, especially

endangered

species

of

birds. We can find there wolves, lynxes, foxes, eagles, hawks, falcons or chamois.

Written by Štefán Lazorčák

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Slovakia – The Tatra Mountains Slovakia is a beautiful republic in the middle of Europe. People call it the Europian heart. The inhabitants are polite, kind and helpful. People speak Slovak language and children at school learn English and German languages too. Traditional food is ´halušky´ - dumplings with cottage cheese and ´pirohy´- filled pasta with meat stuffing. In our republic there is the range of mountains call the Tatras.

The Tatras are very popular in the whole world. Some people from England, the Czech Republic, Hungary or Poland arrive to Slovakia just because of the Tatras. You can visit one of beautiful peaks for example ´Kriváň´, ´Slavkovský shield´, ´Lomnický shield´ or ´Gerlach´s shield´ which is also the biggest peak of all. The Tatras are part of Carpatian´s arch and there are a lot of mountain lakes of glacial origin. The Tatras can be divided into three parts. The West Tatras, The High Tatras and The Belian´s Tatras.

You can find there a lot of caves. The most famous of them is the Belian´s cave. There is also a rack railway. It is the railway with a toothed rack rail usually between the running rails. The first rack railway was the Middleton Railway between Middleton and Leeds in West Yorkshire, England, UK. The Tatras are full of beautiful waterfalls. Among the best known belong the Huge waterfall, ´Rohačský waterfall´ and the most famous and also the most biggest waterfall of them is ´Skok´. Its height is 30 metres and a lot of people visit it every year.

Lots of people from abroad arrive to Slovakia during the whole year to see Slovak mountains.

Every Slovak is proud of them.

Gerlach´s shield:

Waterfall Skok:

Written by Vanesa Šeglová 11

Trenčín Do you know where Trenčín is located? It is located in Slovakia. Slovakia is a small mountainous country in the middle of Europe. It is famous for its fresh air, mountains- the Tatras and clear water. There are many warm-hearted people (but not all of them) from many nations: Gypsies, Ukrainians, Ruthenians, Hungarians, Chinese and many others. In winter there is a lot of snow and cities are decorated with colourful lights. Also you can go to mountains to breathe fresh, sharp air. Your cheeks will be red and your face will get the right colour. You can also go skiing, because there are many ski resorts. So do not forget to take your skis and also cap, gloves, jacket and thick socks to keep you warm. The temperature in winter ranges from -2 to 16°C. In summer there are also many things to do and you certainly will not get bored. For example hiking, climbing, collecting mushrooms, etc. Summers in here are not so cold and also not hot. The temperature reaches about 21-27 °C. Slovakia is divided into three regions- Western, Eastern and Central. Trenčín is situated in Western Slovakia. It lies in the Trenčín district. It has a population of 55 825, which makes this town the ninth 2 largest city in Slovakia. It is one of the oldest cities in Slovakia. The area of Trenčín is 81.996 km . The River Váh (the longest river in Slovakia) divides Trenčín into two halves. In the one half there is a medieval castle, which is located on a rock above the city. Trenčín Castle is the third largest castle in Slovakia. Trenčín Castle is divided into upper and lower section. The upper castle has several palace buildings which surround the central medieval tower, which contains the highest point of the city. Bellow the castle, on the hillside, there is an old church and a small upper square which is reached by historic covered stairs as well as by winding side streets.

The old town has a large main square with a large baroque church and a variety of shops, as well as a town tower. Under Trenčín Castle is the Tatra Hotel. Pohoda, the most visited music festival in Slovakia, has taken place in Trenčín since 1997. Football club FK AS Trenčín plays in the Slovak first league (season 2011/2012). The ice hockey club HC Dukla Trenčín plays Slovak Extraliga and is a four-time winner of the domestic league.

Trenčín is the home town of professional ice hockey players: New York Rangers – Marián Gáborík, Boston Bruins – Zdeno Chára and Chicago Blackhawks – Marián Hossa, all playing in the National Hockey League of North America, and playing football for Liverpool – Martin Škrtel. Jews visit the synagogue in the city centre of Trenčín. Trenčín is home to the public Alexander Dubček University with 7,140 students, including 110 doctoral students, and the private College of Management in Trenčín with 1,275 students. The city`s system of primary education consists of nine public schools and one church primary school. Trenčín is also famous for the legend written on the rock by Roman people. It was done by855 Legionaries of the Augustus victorious army, which was stationed in Laugariciu. It was done under supervision of Maximus Legatus of II legion. Trenčín is a quite big city with lots of sights you can visit. You can also go shopping and maybe you will find something that suits your pocket and taste. There are also a few antique shops where you can find some rare books. So do not miss the chance to visit this beautiful city.

Written by Veronika Kováčiková

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Poračska valley

Poráčska Valley is situated in the Slovak Rudohorie, close to the National Park – the Slovak Paradise. Some people say that this valley is the second most beutiful valley in Slovakia.

And it is true and I also think that it is the most wonderful place which I have ever visited. You can find there a lot of very interesting things and historical monuments. One of these historical monuments is a small bell tower in the middle of valley. It is really very old but people who lived in the village in used it the past. On the other side of the Poráčska Valley you will find the village Slovinky with Greek-Catholic and Orthodox churches.

There are also the “Red Rocks“ that stretch around the Poračska Valley. You can find there a beautiful and amazing nature. There is also a settlement of tourist cottages and ski centres such as Brodok and Suchý vrch (Dry Hill) in the valley offering lots of housing facilities. You can also do there a lot of interesting things as a climbing, hiking, bicycling and skiing. In the middle of the valley there is also a hotel where you can accommodate here and it is very comfortable.

You cannot miss the chance to go there because I think that this place is fantastic, wonderful and memorable.

Written by Viktória Skokanová

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