Slovakia - Levoča and Spiš Castle

The historical heart of Slovakia

The old centre of Spiš in picturesque Slovakia is a place deeply rooted in history. Visiting Levoča was one of the big items on our wish list.

The city, rich in monuments and architecture from times past, offers (like almost everything in Slovakia) a quiet and relaxed atmosphere. And: Since 2009, the entire old town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The history of the town goes far back into the past. The first written mention dates back to 1249. In the course of time, the town received numerous privileges and became the most important centre of the region settled by the Spiš Saxons.

Why are cities historically important? Defence system, trading rights, duty-free transport of goods. Despite some setbacks such as Turkish raids, a devastating city fire in 1550 and a devastating epidemic that killed half the population, the city has retained its medieval beauty.

From the town we "remotely view" the pilgrimage church on the Marienhügel.

In the heart of the city, which is car-free like almost everywhere else in Slovakia, there are impressive Gothic and Renaissance houses. A special jewel is the Church of St James with the largest Gothic altar in the world. Unfortunately, a wedding was taking place, so we could only peep through barred windows from the outside.

Oh yes, also on the town square: some very good restaurants, which of course we couldn't test all of them. But: we did our best and feasted on Slovak cuisine!

In the afternoon we went to Spišský hrad, the Spiš castle. Unfortunately, it is currently being renovated, so we could only live out our love of castles within the outer walls. But the 3D animation programme was great; here we were immersed almost lifelike in the history of the region.

"Minne Lust und Elend, Königstreue und Verrat, Tapferkeit und Feigheit, fürstliche Pracht und Kerkerjammer mit den pleichen Knochen der Gefangenen," reads a report from that time about everyday life in the medieval castle. (Source: Travel guide Slovakia Michael Müller Verlag)

Here, too, we are two of 5 visitors, are happy about the opportunity to explore everything and are now probably thinking about where the path leads. High Tatras? Further east? Or perhaps straight to the south? Hach, this haphazard journey offers so many possibilities.

Arriving at the car park, we have long since made up our minds. And we are glad that we could visit the castle almost alone. Because two coaches with quite a few people are just arriving. Once again, we are lucky!

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Merci for "travelling with us

We are thinking about taking another break from travelling in the summer and visiting our families in Germany and Switzerland. One of the ideas is to organise a Lecture about our long journey to the Persian Gulf to prepare. If you would like to, what would interest you the most? We will also tell stories here that don't find a place here on the blog. We're thinking of the Bern and Berlin area - simply because we have family there. But other places are also conceivable. Feel free to write to us.

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