This is from a June 2003 letter: There’s a valley on the Slovak-Polish border that’s been a constant battle-ground, so much so that its official name is Dolina smrti, the Valley of Death.  The Dukla pass is where the Poles and the Habsburgs and then the Russians and Habsburgs fought during the 18th and 19th centuries.  In the twentieth century, during the First World War, more than 1.8 million people died in Eastern Slovakia, mostly in battles in this area.  In the Second World War there was a two-month battle between the Germans and the Red Army in which, on … Continue reading The Valley of Death (Dukla Pass), Slovakia

In Eastern Slovakia there are many fine old towns, often settled by German craftsman and guildsman brought in by various emperors to jump start the economy.  They are still working towns.  One of the most beautiful, Levoča, which is noted for its fine wood carvings, has gothic and baroque buildings still lived in.  It has a museum dedicated to the alter carvings of Master Pavol.  The main street has grocers and hardware stores vying with ice cream stands, coffee shops and “souveniry” stands.  It is kind of the way Bratislava was when we lived here.  But I wonder for how … Continue reading Levoca, Slovakia

This is from a June 2008 letter. On Saturday afternoon at one most of the stores in downtown Kosice close and the town gets down to the real business of a June Saturday afternoon, manufacturing brides.  St. Elizabeth’s Cathedral is running an assembly line.  Earlier in the week I wondered why there were so many catholic churches in old town Kosice.  On Saturday afternoon I didn’t need to ask.  Wedding bells and organ music sang from each of them.  Following the ceremonies the newly minted brides (and grooms) strolled the streets of the old town almost always followed by some … Continue reading The Kosice Bride Industry

Kosice is particularly active at night.  There is a musical fountain in the main square between St. Elizabeth’s Cathedral and the National Theater.  It’s a gathering point. Continue reading Kosice. Slovakia, at night

Kezmarok is a town at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. Continue reading Kezmarok, Slovakia

This is from a letter written in June 1999.  I was musing on the Celtic revival in Central Europe.  Devin Castle was an old Celtic fortification that became Roman, then Slavic, than Austrian.  The Hungarians may also have been involved.  It is just outside Bratislava where the Morava River joins the Danube at the Austrian border. According to some histories the Celts formed as a culture at the spot where the Danube cuts through the Small Carpathian Mountains, exposing veins of copper.  That would be at Bratislava.  The site of Devin Castle was occupied by Proto-Celts in the 5th millennium … Continue reading Devin Castle, Bratislava, Slovakia

Čičmany is not a UN heritage site but it should be.  There are wooden houses painted with different geometric designs and animal figures.  They were originally designed to ward off evil spirits.  The fact that the town mostly survived fire and the Second World War is a testament that the designs (as well as the many images of the Blessed Virgin) just may work.  I like the interplay of Pagan and Catholic.  The town is off the main road but tries to be accommodating to those of us who find it.  There is a charming plaque in several languages, in … Continue reading Čičmany, Slovakia

Bratislava is a river town.  In season we watched the cruise boats going between the Black Sea and the North Sea along the Danube and Rhine.  Sometimes they stopped in Bratislava, sometimes they sailed by heading to Vienna or Budapest, their loss.  We also watched freight boats and noted flags from the Ukraine to the Netherlands and all the countries in between.  During the NATO bombing of Serbia much of the traffic stopped.  That hurt the port of Bratislava and, down river, in Budapest, the boats rafted up waiting for the river to clear. One of the pictures is a … Continue reading Bratislava, River Town.

We lived in an old German neighborhood with houses and mansions owned by German Merchants.  Our apartment building was in the garden of an old mansion.  It was built to house doctors.  We rented from a couple, both of whom were doctors.  We got good medical care along with the rent.  Each month when the landlord came to collect the rent and have coffee she inquired about our health and, several times, arranged visits to their clinic.  There is a picture of the balcony off the children’s room in the flat. (It is the lead pic on this page.) We … Continue reading Bratislava, Our Neighborhood.

We lived about a 5 minute walk from Michael’s Gate, which is the entrance to the Old Town of Bratislava.  It  was almost a daily walk for us to cafes, restaurants, museums, the newsstand or performances.   It is where … Continue reading Bratislava Old Town

Bratislava is mostly known for its old buildings, or 19th century Empire or Art Nouveau, but there are some modern buildings as well.  The SNP bridge, with its space age pretensions is a controversial symbol of Bratislava.  To build it the approaches ripped through the old town taking out the Jewish quarter.  However, 40 years after it was built it has become an accepted symbol of the city.  The New Bridge, (which is what the SNP bridge used to be called, (It is officially the Apollo Bridge) is a graceful arch over the Danube. Many old buildings have been given … Continue reading Blava Modern

This is from a May 2002 letter. Another specter is haunting Europe, at least central Slovakia.  Every year between May 1 and VE Day the town of Bojnice hosts the “Scary ghost festival.”  The town has a fine castle, re-built in the French Renaissance style in the 19th century on the foundations of a 13th century keep by a nobleman who had overly romantic notions of what a castle should look like.  Every year the town haunts the castle, this year with vampires, not a normal Slovak feature, as well as scary ghosts.  This is a Halloween in May type … Continue reading Bojince, Slovakia

Bratislava has many fine Art Nouveau and Austrian Secession buildings.  There are several pictures in this gallery of the Blue Church.  Next to it is a school building built by the same architect.  The school had not been painted and maintained as well as the church, but you can see they are a two of a piece.  The Roland Café in the main square in the Old Town across from Old City Hall is a fine example of the form.  I have included a full front to show it in context and several shots of detail on the building.  These … Continue reading Blava Nouveau

At night Bratislava lights up.  There is a light show projected onto the clock tower in the old town square.  It first becomes a digital clock and then, the clock face swirls and changes.  Before the clock show there was a laser that started in Michael’s Gate and was reflected, by a series of mirrors through the old town streets. Continue reading Blava by Night

The city of Banska Stiavinica, an empire mining town, is a world heritage site.  The legend is that a shepherd saw two salamanders, one silver and one gold.  He watched them crawl under a rock and discovered the mother lode.  The town’s symbol is a shovel, pick and two salamanders.  Empress Maria Theresa founded the School of Mines here, it was the first technical university in the world.  The town mostly is in need of restoration.  This actually makes it seem more “real.” Continue reading Banska Stiavinica, Slovakia

In Eastern Slovakia there are three shakers on the table, sometimes labeled “black,” “white” and “red;” salt, pepper and paprika.  This region mixes cultures as well as spices.  The towns were settled by German (Saxon) craftsmen, ruled by Hungarian nobles, administered by Austrian bureaucrats, Slovaks and Ukrainians did the farming and Roma handled the transport.  Kosice, Slovakia’s “Second City,”  is the business center of Eastern Slovakia.   It is also a mix of all of those cultures.  Kosice is a wonderfully restored old city that has a beggar as its mascot.  The “Golden Beggar” sat on the main square for … Continue reading Kosice, Slovakia

When the 20th Century started Bratislava was Pressburg, part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.  It had an ethnically mixed population, German, Hungarian, Jewish and Slovak.  Over the course of the 20th century, through two wars and 3 or four countries, depending … Continue reading Bratislava, Slovakia

We lived in Slovakia for 27 months between 1997 and 1999.  It was a wonderful place to live. Bratislava is small enough to get around on foot if you live in the center.  Traffic was not terrible so we could … Continue reading Slovakia