Sights and landmarks in Košice

Sights and landmarks in Košice

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   Andrassy Palace

   Andrášiho palác

   A three floor Neo-Baroque building constructed in 1899, with the blazon of the family on the façade. Nowadays the building houses a tea house and a restaurant.

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   Anicka

   pronounced as [ahnjiczka]

   A popular park area and easily approachable weekend hangout for many locals. Tennis, playgrounds for children, summer swimming pool, pubs and lovely evening walks by the river. Take bus 71/72/29 north from the city center to 'Mier' stop and ask for directions.

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   Archeological museum Lower gate

   Archeologické múzeum Dolná brána

   Newly reconstructed archaeological basement of the main street at the lower gate of the 13th century fortifications of the city. Additionally you can still find parts of fortification in other places around the city center. All videos and text in the museum has English, Hungarian and Slovak description.

   Mon-Tue Thu-Sat 10:00-18:00, Wed Sun 10:00-22:00·Adults €4

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   Barca Park

   Barčiansky Park

   A nice park, 7 hectares in size in the suburb of Barca. It has a pond, a statue of pope John Paul II (at the tram stop) and is lined by two manors.

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   Beggar's House

   Zobrakov dom

   For an interesting story you may look up the Beggar's House which is one of the historical houses on Hlavna (on the right between the Theater and Immaculata when walking up north). On forefront, at top of the house you will see a statue of a guy with a hat thanking/begging for alms. The story says the career beggar who had no other income had over years used generosity of rich Košice dwellers to build the house at what was then a very 'high-end' medieval (a.k.a. Hlavna Street) part of Košice. This kind of largess may seem to be perceived a bit strange by today's beggars rarely appreciating Košice inhabitants, but it still makes up for a good narrative.

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   Bishop's Palace

   Biskupský Palác

   The archbishop of Eger was exiled in Košice for a long time in the 17th century, but in 1804 the city got its own bishop and four houses next to the cathedral was transformed into a bishop's residence. It burned down in 1841 and was rebuilt in its current form, later the library and left wing was added. The house was empty for much of the Communist Era, but returned to its former use afterwards. In 1995 the pope promoted the office of the bishop of Košice to the status of archbishop, so the building is the residence of an archbishop.

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   Botanical Garden

   Botanicka zahrada

   Different local trees growing outdoors, and a greenhouse with tropical trees and plants. There are regular themed exhibitions related to for instance butterflies, fossils or cacti.

   children €2, adults €3

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   Calvinist church

   Kalvínsky kostol

   Built in 1805-11, with a very simple interior composed of only a pulpit. The metal rooster on the spire is much older, made in 1589.

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   Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God

   Chrám Narodenia presvätej Bohorodičky

   Greek-Catholic church in Neo-Romanesque style built between 1882 and 1898. The iconostasis and chair were installed in 1901, and the church was elevated to cathedral status in 2008.

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    Cemetery Rozália

    The final resting place for many important and wealthy personalities in the city, and many tombstones are quite impressive.

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    Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary/Dominican church

    Dominikánsky kostol

    The oldest building in Košice. The frescoes inside create the illusion that the building has no roof. There's a monastery adjacent to the church.

    Entrée libre

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    Church of the Holy Trinity

    Kostol Najsvätejšej Trojice

    Constructed in 1681 on the place where Protestant Prince George I Rákóczi tortured three Jesuits - Marek Križin, Melicher Grodecký and Štefan Pongrác. They're known as the holy martyrs of Košice.

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    City Park

    Mestsky park

    Main city park created in the 1860s and renovated in 2013. There are very beautiful trees, a kiosk with from time to time a concert, a fountain and lake, a small bridge, a children's playground and fitness facilities.

    Mon-Sun 06:00-22:00

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    Craftsmen's house

    Dom remesiel

    A museum presenting the different crafts that were practiced in the region in the Middle Ages, that also contributed to theur development.

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    Csáky-Dezőfi palace

    Čákiho-Dezőfiho palác

    Count Antal Csáky had this palace built in 1807. Count Abaúj-Torna, the county governor, resided here in the 1840s, then the Dezőfi family. One of the most pompous buildings in the city, it has hosted many important guests including Russian Tsars. In 1965 the palace was turned into an art gallery, and from 1993 to 2007 the Constitutional Court of Slovakia functioned here. Nowadays it's a major library.

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    East Slovak Gallery

    Vychodoslovenska galeria

    Regional art gallery. Includes rotating temporary art exhibitions.

    Tue-Fri 10:00-18:00, Sat Sun 13:00-18:00·Student €5.5, adult €7

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    East Slovak Museum

    Vychodoslovenske muzeum

    Museum was established in 1872 and it is one of the oldest and most significant museums in Slovakia. From an architectural point of view, the buildings of the museum are interesting historical sights. In this museum, the following permanent expositions can be found: the nature of Carpathia, Hundreds of years of art, "Rodosto" – the memorial house of Franz II Rakoczy, Artistic metal founding in Eastern Slovakia and Centuries of Košice – Mikluš's Prison. Except these expositions, there are always some temporary events and expositions.

    Tue-Sat 09:00-17:00, Sun 14:00-18:00·€8 for four exhibitions including Mikluš's Prison, the house of Franz II Rakoczy, and the pharmacy (apothecary) museum. A further €8 for two more exhibitions

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    Evangelical church

    Evanjelický kostol

    Lutheran church built in 1816 after a design by design of Georg Kitzling, a court architect from Vienna. The main attraction is its imposant oval cupola.

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    Executioner's bastion and Rodosto

    Katova bašta a Rodošto

    Katova Bašta is the only remaining part of the city walls. Rodošto is the name of a replica of the house where Francis II Rákóczy (1720–1735) lived in exile at the Ottoman city of Rodosto. He was the leader of a failed revolt against the Habsburg. The building was built in 1943 during the WWII annexation of the city by Hungary. In the courtyard there is a statue of Francis II Rákóczy. The area is part of the East Slovak Museum.

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    Forgács Palace

    Forgács palác

    An Empire style building from the early 19th century with the blazons of the Forgács and Pongrá families on the façade, now a library. In the 1940s, when a bank functioned here, a glass roof was installed, this part is now accessible to the public.

21. See

    Hadik - Barkoczy Palace

    Baroque building from the 18th century, this palace too hosts a library.

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    Holy Spirit Church

    Kostol Svätého Ducha

    The oldest building in the southern part of the city, built on the site of a medieval hospice that was demolished in the early 18th century. Built between 1730 and 1733, it has a tall tower - used for spotting enemy troops which was particularly important because it was outside the city walls and as such unprotected. The main attraction is its fresco depicting the city in the 18th century.

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    Immaculata

    Plague Column

    The Immaculata Statue is the most beautiful Baroque-style sculptured monument in the city. It commemorates the plague from the years 1710‑1711 and is dated from 1720‑1723. It is a 14-m-high column on the stone base with sculptures of Josef, Sebastian and Ladislav. On the top is the sculpture of Virgin Mary. On the pillars of the fence there are sculptures of St. Gabriel, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Margita, St. Michael the archangel and St. Barbora.

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    Jakab Palace

    Erected in 1899 by entrepreneur Arpád Jakab in the pseudo-Gothic style constructed from discarded stones from the Kosice St. Elizabeth's Cathedral. At the end of WWII it was the residence for Czechoslovak president Edvard Beneš. Most of the inhabitants of Košice would choose this building as one of the most beautiful ones.

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    Košice castle

    Košický hrad

    A ruined castle on a forested hill. There's a viewing tower providing amazing views of the city to the south and to the valleys to the north. An association arranges medieval events on the site regularly, including a reconstruction of a medieval military camp each summer. There are several wooden statues and a small playground for kids.

    free

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    Levoča House

    Levočský Dom

    The oldest house in the city. It houses a restaurant, where Gothic vaults are visible.

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    Mikluš's Prison

    Miklušova väznica

    Exhibition focused on the history of the city, it's part of the East Slovak Museum. Built as two gothic houses, it became a prison and is today named after its executioner.

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    Museum of Aviation

    Muzeum letectva Košice

    Museum of Aviation is giving an overview of the technical evolution of aircraft, aircraft engines, equipment and aviation information. We owe the museum's creation to former Slovak President Rudolf Schuster who by his international initiatives and personal contribution helped to build a collection of aircraft from European countries, the United States and China, unique not only in Slovakia, but also in Europe. The museum is divided into five parts: debut of aviation until 1945, aviation since 1945, aircraft engines, the aircraft of the presidential gallery and road transport consisting mainly of old Czechoslovak cars and motorcycles.

    Tue-Fri 09:00-16:00, Sat Sun 10:00-17:00·Adults €8, family €17, child under 3 free

29. See

    New orthodox synagogue

    Nová ortodoxná synagóga

    Synagogue built in 1926-1927, it was renovated in 2007. The synagogue is still active although very little used, the Jewish community of the city having greatly reduced. On the walls, pencil inscriptions dating from May 1944 were retained.

30. See

    Old city hall

    Radnica

    A late Baroque palace built between 1779 and 1790. In the late 1920s it was converted into a cinemand and a library, though in 1996 it was renovated and the city council returned to the building. Part of it is open to the public.

31. See

    Old orthodox synagogue

    Built in 1883 in Moorish style, as of 2018 renovations were underway to make it a cultural center. It's the heart of the Jewish cultural community in Košice nowadays. It has a prayer room, a mikveh and a kosher café.

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    Public cemetery

    Verejný cintorín

    The largest cemetery in the city. A part of it is dedicated to the Jewish community and features a Holocaust memorial. The Star of David on the memorial used to be mounted on the present-day House of Arts that was a synagogue until WWII.

33. See

    Saint Urban's tower

    Urbanova veža

    A Gothic prismatic campanile with a pyramidal roof that dates back to the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. The bell, which was installed in the tower (its weight equals to 7 tones), was dedicated to St. Urban, the patron of wine-prowers, which was cast in a mould by the bell founder Frantisek Illenfeld of Olomouc in 1557. 36 tombstones dating from the 14th century (one of these tombstones is Roman dating from the 4th century) to the 17th century were put into the outer walls of the Tower. In 1966 the tower was damaged by fire, which destroyed the roofing and the bells. In 1967-1971 the tower was restored and renovated.

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    Singing fountain

    Spievajúca fontána

    You may find it difficult not to find the 'singing fountain' in front of the theater enjoyable on warm afternoons or evenings. Calm music tunes and accompanying water salvos provide lovely vibes for couples enjoying their ice cream and serve as a hilarious entertainment for the kids. The music "feature" of the fountain is mostly active hourly on public holidays and/or in the evenings. It was inaugurated on May 1, 1986, it is the oldest fountain of this type of former Czechoslovakia.

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    Slovak Technical Museum

    Slovenské technické múzeum

    The museum presents a collection of objects that describe the history of techniques from the eighteenth century, particularly in the field of metal work, mining extraction, watchmaking, physics and chemistry.

    Tue-Fri 09:00-17:00, Sat Sun 12:00-17:00·8€

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    St Elizabeth's Cathedral

    Dóm sv. Alžbety

    This remarkable medieval monument was built in the High Gothic style. The present cathedral stands on a site formerly occupied by a parish church, which was destroyed by fire around year 1370. The patrons of the church included St. Elizabeth. The construction of St. Elizabeth's Cathedral began approximately in 1378. One of the highlights is the helical double staircase. There is also a possibility to visit the northern tower of the cathedral, which gives you a stunning view of the surrounding historical centre. The height of this tower is 59.7 m and contains 160 stairs in the staircase.

    06:000-19:00. The tower is open all year long between 10:00 and 17:00·Entrance to the cathedral is €2 (€1 for children), or a ticket including the tower and monuments is €6 (€4 for children). St Michael's Chapel (next door) is extra. You can buy the tickets at the entrance to the cathedral

37. See

    St. Michael's Chapel

    Kostol svätého Michala

    The chapel probably dates from the first half of the 14th century and had always been a part of the parish church. It was built as a cemetery chapel in the centre of a cemetery inside the city walls stretching from the Cathedral to the south on the island of the Čermeľský potok (Čermeľ brook) in the place of the present park in the Hlavná ulica (Main street). The outer decoration is Gothic, the turret is fitted in the roof structure. The patron of the dead, the Archangel Michael, vanquishing the Satan as dragon is shown on the altar. There are Archangels Rafael and Gabriel on his sides. In the interior, there is a nice stone tabernacle, the ornamental sculpture "Ecce Homo" and remains of wall paintings from Middle Ages. The oldest coat-of-arms of Košice is above the door leading to the vestry.

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    Sándor Márai Memorial

    A statue of the Hungarian writer born in 1900 in Košice, sitting on a chair facing an empty chair and a pedestal behind him.

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    Sándor Márai house

    Childhood home of writer Sándor Márai (1900-89), part of which has been turned into a museum.

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    The State Theatre

    Štátne divadlo

    The theatre was built in a new-baroque style during the years 1879-1899, according to the projects of A. Lang and A. Steinhardt, where a former theatre building, built in 1788 - 1790, was situated. Before that, a town-hall building was standing here. The interior of theatre is richly decorated with plaster ornaments, the stage is lyre-shaped. The ceiling of the theatre's building is decorated with paintings by the Viennese painter P. Gatseb with scenes from Shakespeare's tragedies Othello, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear and Midsummer Night's Dream. On the main facade of the building a memorial plaque can be found, dedicated to the first director of the theatre after World War II, the national artist Janko Borodac.

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Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Košice (CC BY-SA 4.0).