Spišská Nová Ves
The first written mention of the town is from 1268. The town was founded by the integration of an old Slavic village ‘Iglov’ and newer German village ‘Nová Ves’. Nowadays, the town has approximately 38 000 inhabitants, who live in an area of 66,67 km2. Spišská Nová Ves is a seat of a district, it is a cultural and social, administrative and economic centre of the southern Spiš. It is an ideal start base for lovers of hiking and admirers of the Gothic and Iron Routes monuments, or the monuments inscribed on the UNESCO′s World Heritage List, located in the Spiš region.
MONUMENTS: The natural beauties of the Slovak Paradise National Park, that is located in the close proximity of the town, are are complemented by many historically remarkable objects in the town itself. Majority of them are situated on the lenticular shaped Town Hall Square (Radničné námestie), which is ranked among the most beautiful in Slovakia and the longest of its kind in Europe. Since 1992 the town has been declared an Urban Conservation Area.
Neo-Gothic tower of the Roman-Catholic Parish Church of the Virgin Mary′s Assumption (from the 14th century), built in 1893 – 1894, is a dominant feautre of the town profile. Thanks to its height of 87 m it is the highest church tower in Slovakia. On its four sides are located 7 clock faces that are run by a single clock mechanism. The tower offers beautiful view. During an ascent onto the tower you also can admire 5 bells (the oldest one is from the year 1486).
Remarkable is also the Town Hall, built in the Classicism style (1777 – 1779), with imposing ceremony hall extending over two floors. At the ground floor, there is the original statue of the Immaculate Virgin Mary – Immaculata from the nearby Maria Column, which has been standing in the town since 1724.
The Provincial House, with unique Rococo stucco decoration of the front façade, will also get your attention. It is a reminder of the old times when Spišská Nová Ves was the capital of the Province of XIII, later of the XVI Spiš Towns. The building used to be the town hall from the Middle Ages until 1777. Today it houses the Spiš Museum (Múzeum Spiša).
The Evangelical Church with its ground plan in the form of a cross was built in the Classicism style (1790 – 1796). Thanks to its excellent acoustics it is a popular place for organizing concerts and festivals of the classical and organ music. Inside you will find the original statues of four evangelists (St. John, St. Luke, St. Mark and St. Matthew). Their accurate copies decorate the place above the entrance to the town cemetery.
The Art Noveau building of Reduta is (1902 – 1905) is also interesting. There are only 8 similar buildings preserved in Slovakia to this day. In the middle of the building there is a beautiful concert hall. Reduta houses the Spiš Theatre (Spišské divadlo), the Town Cultural Centre (Mestksé kultúrne centrum), local TV Reduta and restaurant with a café.
In the Levočská street, there is the second oldest church in the town – the Roman-Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary (also called the Slovak Church) with the Baroque decoration. Originally, it was a chapel from the 14th century.
The modern Greek-Catholic Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord will enchant you by traditional Byzantine elements. Its most imposing feature is the unique mosaic created according to the school of Father Marko Rupnik from Centro Aletti in Rome. His works are located in Fatima, Lourdes or Vatican.
In the town part of Sídlisko Západ, near the village of Smižany, there is the Roman-Catholic Church of Divine Mercy. Inside is the world’s largest glass cross placed in a church (a height of 5,6 m, a width of 3,6 m). The church is a place of pilgrimage. There are relics of three saints and unique exhibition of gifts dedicated to the Pope John Paul II that is unique in Slovakia.
The Jewish Cemetery, located in the eastern part of the town, is the last surviving monument of Jewish culture in the town. The oldest grave is from 1880, the youngest one is from 1961. Cemetery was included among the monuments of the Slovak Jewish Heritage Route.
ATTRACTIONS: Next to the Town Hall, there is the memorial called Place of Wishes – a memento of the first Gothic bell-foundry workshop in the Spiš region, founded in the town in 1357 by Master Konrád. Here you can silently express your wishes and by symbolic ringing a bell send it to the heaven, or you can touch the medieval bell, made in the Konrád′s workshop at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. In Spišská Nová Ves you also can find one of the four Slovak zoological gardens.
ACCESS: In the town, there is a bus station for short-distance, long-distance and international bus lines, and a railway station on the line Bratislava – Žilina – Košice.
