Slovakia has a rich cultural heritage. Its location in the heart of Europe has placed it on some of the great trading routes over the centuries.
Not surprisingly it has also been coveted by many more powerful nations and empires. The influence of the Austro-Hungarian empire was huge
but also the Polish in the north and the Germans to the west have contributed to the diverse cultural and folkloric mix that is seen today.
The period after the second world war changed things dramatically but now with the relatively recent independence the country and culture
is experiencing a renaissance.
Stunning Slovakia acknowledges this cultural heritage by including some of the most impressive sites of the region in its longer itineraries.
We also offer day trips to some of the gems that we have found it impossible to combine with our full nature programmes.
The Spis Region
This region is basically located to the south and east of the High Tatras peaks. The Hungarians conquered the southern part of the territory
in the 11th century and by the end of the 13th they had expanded their rule to the Dunajec river, the current border with Poland.
From the mid-12th century the Hungarians invited many German traders and miners to the region to populate it and help protect it
from the invading Tartars from the north. In 1412 13 of the towns in the Spis region were mortgaged to the Polish crown in return
for money to help fund the continual wars between Hungary and other states. This obviously led to an influx of Polish influence.
This arrangement was in place for an amazing 360 years, the towns were finally 'given' back in 1772. The remaining 11 Spis towns stayed
under the control of the province, the administrative centre of which was Spis Castle.
Over the years the economic focus of the area has shifted from ore mining, principally iron, copper and silver, to agriculture.
Trade has always been an important economic activity due to the location and the diversity of the population, this led to the development
of a number of craft industries including wood carving, fabric weaving, glass painting and metal work.
The major town of the Spis region is Levoca. This delightful town has a wonderful square and churches which contain wooden altars
made by Master Pavol, the master carver of the time.
Castles
Due to the constant need to protect these strategically valuable lands Slovakia has a plethora of castles.
The biggest and most imposing is the UNESCO World Heritage site of Spis Castle. We visit this on some of our
Tatras Bear Week
and
Nature Week tours
and also on our
Day Trips.
However there are also a number of smaller but no less impressive sites that we can take you to see.
Full descriptions are on our Day Trips page
Wooden Churches
In the east of Slovakia and the neighbouring areas in Ukraine and Poland there are a number of wooden churches.
These are characteristic of the area and well worth a visit. A full day tour is on our
Day Trips page
Festivals
Festivals in Slovakia take many forms and are performed in all corners of the country. If you have not been to one, it is very difficult
to describe, except to say that the combination of music, dance and theatre leaves an indelible picture of the people and their way of life.
Summer in Slovakia is the time for folklore festivals and almost every regions has a major event, the most famous being
the Vychodna and Detva festivals held traditionally in the first and second weekend of July. We visit Detva on our
Slovak Bear Week Tour.
The Detva festival itself coincides with our Nature Week Tour , we can rearrange the itinerary if you are interested.
If you would like to come specifically for these festivals then we can arrange a cultural programme on a private basis, we would combine
them with a selection Day Trips and maybe some mountain walking where butterflies and flowers will be out in force.
More recently there has been a classical music concert in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Levoca.
This year it runs from 30th September to 5th October and coincides well with the best Bear Watching times.
http://www.lblfestival.eu
