SK-300148

The Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of Carpathian Mountain were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2008. This site consist of two Roman Catholic, three Protestant and three Greek Orthodox churches built between the 16th and 18th centuries. 

The Roman Catholic Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Hervatov is the oldest and best-preserved wooden church in Slovakia.

 

SK-300148, sent by Dodo.

Wooden church of St. Francis of Assisi has been in the heart of the village since the 15th century. The charming sacred building is made of red spruce and was built under the influence of Gothic style.
Every visitor who enters the church is first captivated by the rich paintings with figural and plant motifs. The center of the church is the main altar depicting the Virgin Mary, St. Catherine of Alexandria and St. Barbara. The most valuable artistic and historical monuments include the figural motifs of Adam and Eve in Paradise, Fight of St. George with the dragon and the Parable of the wise and foolish virgins. - in: https://www.kamnavylet.sk

Gerulata - Slovakia

One of my postcard goals for this year is to reach 1800 sent and received official cards. The other one is to have cards from 1000 UNESCO sites. I'm almost there. Gerulata in Slovakia, was added last year to the WHS List as part of the Western segment of the Danubian Limes of the Roman Empire.

This card with an altar and a stone piece was sent by Misino.

Gerulata was a Roman military camp located near today's Rusovce, a borough of Bratislava, Slovakia. It was part of the Roman province of Pannonia and was built in the 2nd century as a part of the frontier defence system. It was abandoned in the 4th century, when Roman legions withdrew from Pannonia.

Today there is a museum, which is part of the Bratislava City Museum.

Archaeologists have unearthed its remnants and their discoveries are on exhibition in the hall of the museum, which is open in summer and can be found behind the Catholic Church of St Mary Magdalene in the town. Beyond the remains of the Roman forum, fragments of structures and gravestones, bronze, iron, ceramic and stone pieces are on show in a museum showing daily life. - in: wikipedia

Bratislava - Slovakia

Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia at the foot of the Little Carpathians, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two sovereign states. - in: wikipedia

The city may not dazzle like the neighboring countries capitals but it is still worth the visit.

Bratislava is easily accessible. The city is safe, friendly, hassle-free and it’s all there. History, architecture, tradition, culture, art, drinks, food and nightlife.

The city walls and the wonderful St. Michael’s Gate remind visitors that town fortifications were essential in the 1300s. The architecture ranges from gothic to Renaissance, baroque, rococo to neo-classic and empire. The coronation route of Hungarian Kings is marked out in plaques with gilded crowns hammered into the cobblestones. 

© Martin Sloboda

SK-238805, sent by Karol.

Visitors seeking the inside story need only take the tour through the Old Town Hall, including its climb to the top of the bell tower and the castle, which  Maria Theresa used as her favourite residence.

Several parts of the city were changed during socialism and for those curious about what happened during the 40-year communist era, Bratislava offers a chance to get beyond the generalisations. There is abundant evidence of the boldness of the communism experiment, the remarkable housing project at Petržalka, the concrete bunkers dotting the border between Austria and Slovakia, the striking UFO bridge, the memorials to the fallen soldiers who liberated Bratislava from the Nazis, as well as the memorial to those who lost their lives attempting to flee across the Iron Curtain in Devín where another castle is located. While the castle is largely unreconstructed, there are some historical exhibits to help the visitors appreciate its story. - in: https://www.visitbratislava.com/about/come/

Happy Postcrossing from... Slovakia

My 8th postcard from this collection arrived a few days ago. I got it through a swap with Lubeno, who is from Trencin, where the castle on the vintage stamp of former Czechoslovakia is located.

www.papersisters.de

Besides the castle of Trencin, some of the most well-known attractions in the country are the castle of Bratislava and the most famous statue of the capital, Čumil, "the observer", which represents a worker from the communist era taking a break or maybe trying to peek under the ladies' skirts; the wooden church in Tvrdosin; the ice cave at Dobsinka, classified as a World Heritage Site; the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth in Kosice. It is also worth exploring the Tatra Mountains and discovering the country's castles.

When it comes to food and drinks, the products that deserve to be highlighted are Bryndzové halušky (one of the national dishes of Slovakia that consists of baked pieces of potato dough and soft sheep's cheese, optionally sprinkled with cooked pieces of bacon) and Borovička, an alcoholic drink flavored with juniper berries.

Spiš Castle - Slovakia

Another well preserved medieval town to add to a list of places to visit in Slovakia, is Spišská Kapitula. This ecclesiastical town is located on the outskirts of Spišské Podhradie and overlooks Spiš Castle. The town consists of St. Martin's Cathedral (dedicated to St. Martin of Tours); a former monastery; and a single street, all of mediaeval construction and enclosed by a wall.

The cathedral was built between the 13th and 15th centuries in the Romanesque and Gothic styles. It is one of the largest and most interesting Romanesque monuments in Slovakia. It contains many mediaeval carved altars and is the resting place of many lords of Spiš Castle. - in: wikipedia

Photo by Alexander Jirousek

SK-21635, sent by Natasa.

Classified as a National Cultural Monument, Spiš Castle with its area of more than four ha, and partially in ruins, is one of the largest castle compounds in Central Europe.

Construction of the medieval castle on a travertine hill dates back to the beginning of the 12th century.

In the second half of the 15th century the reconstruction of the castle fell upon its new owner Štefan Zápoľský whose intention was to remake it into a stately aristocratic residence. He had made a palace, a knight hall and chapel of St Elisabeth in the castle. His son Ján, later King of Hungary was born at the Castle.

The last building works at the Upper Castle were made under the orders of the Thurzos' and the Csákys'.

In 1780 the castle compound was destroyed by fire and the proud Spiš Castle gradually fell into ruins. The total decay of the castle was prevented only through the intervention of conservationists who in 1970 got down to the difficult job of preserving the walls and palaces threatened by the instability of its rocky base.

At present there are the collections of the Spišské múzeum placed in the castle documenting its history, along with medieval arms and feudal jurisdiction. - in: http://www.slovakia.travel/entitaview.aspx?l=2&idp=2105

Bardejov - Slovakia

Collecting UNESCO cards has made my must visit list much longer than I ever thought. A medieval town like Bradejov really fits the category of places I like to visit. Maybe one day I get to explore some of Slovakia's UNESCO sites. 

The town of Bardejov, located in north-eastern Slovakia, is a small but exceptionally complete and well-preserved example of a fortified medieval town, which typifies the urbanisation in this region. 

Bardejov is dominated by the monumental church of St. Aegidius, mentioned for the first time in 1247. A three nave basilica with multiple chapels was completed by the 15th century. It hosts eleven precious Gothic winged altars with panel paintings. - in: wikipedia

Foto © Alexander Jirousek

SK-176246, sent by Branislav.

The unspoiled town cobbled square is a picture postcard view of town life in late medieval and early renaissance Europe. The dominant theme is rows of affluent merchants’ houses of German influence, each with its own variations of pastel colouring, roofing and other details. - in: https://www.slovakia.com/bardejov/

Europe RR - Group 53 * Castles

This was the 1st time I joined this RR and decided to take part in 2 groups, castles and churches. The churches group is still not complete.

The castles group was a group with 5 persons from 5 different countries, each one of us was supposed to get 4 cards but only 3 arrived to our mailboxes.

Susi from Austria sent this card with a water castle in Kottingbrunn. Couldn't find much information about the castle. 

© MS AGENCY

From Slovakia a card with Bratislava castle sent by Laco. 

Bratislava Castle, the landmark overlooking the Capital, was built in the 9th century. As an agelong symbol of the city, it proudly stands on the hill above Danube river. Eleven kings and eight queens were crowned in Bratislava in the past. - in: http://www.slovakia.com/castles/bratislava-castle/

© Schöning GmbH & Co. KG

I believe this is my 1st card from Hanau, a town located 25 km east of Frankfurt. 

One of the most beautiful places in Hanau is the Baroque palace of the XVIII century Philippsruhe Palace off the coast of the Main river. The castle, the construction of which began in 1700, served as the summer residence for Count Philipp Reinhard of Hanau. Over time an extensive park was created around the palace with an orangery and a tea house and the building was significantly expanded. Today Philippsruhe houses the history museum. - in: https://tourism.restaurantsworld.com/germany/place/philippsruhe-palace/

The card was sent by Svea. 

SK-123808

In 11 years of Postcrossing this is only my 3rd official card from Slovakia. 

Foto: Blazej Babik

SK-123808, sent by Peter.

Images on the card: High Tatras, a mountain range along the border of  Slovakia and Poland; Bratislava with the castle; St. Elizabeth Cathedral in Kosice and St. Emmeram's Church in Nitra's castle. 

Levoča - Slovakia

Here it comes another card from Slovakia, this one sent by Andrzej. The historic town of Levoča together with the Spiš Castle and the associated cultural monuments, is an UNESCO site since 2009. 

The historic town Levoča, situated in the east of the Spiš region, is a true cultural and historic jewel among the Slovak towns as it possesses a great number of architectural monuments linked with the glorious past of the town.

The Spiš town of Levoča (population 14,500) situated in the east of Slovakia below the mountain range Levočské vrchy, because of its rich history, is one of the most visited by tourist in the country.

Foto © Ladislav Jirousek

The dominant part of the old Levoča is the large rectangular square, with the Roman-Catholic St. James church from the 14th century, which is one of the most important sacral buildings in Slovakia. 

The church neighbours with the arcaded building of the former Town Hall which was built after the fire in 1550 and is one of the finest buildings of secular Renaissance architecture in Slovakia. - in: http://slovakia.travel/en/levoca

Slovak Castles

These cards are so, so beautiful!! They were also sent by Emerich. 

© 2012, fotografie Ladislav Renner

 Čachtice castle was one of the boundary royal castles defending the western border of the Kingdom of Hungary. It was built in the first half of the 13th century and widened in the 15th century. 

Elizabeth Báthory lived here at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. For her sadist habits she was called ”the bloody countess”. She allegedly killed 600 young girls bathed in their blood in order to stay forever young and beautiful. 

The countess was condemned to a lifelong prison in 1611 by the Paladin Thurzo in Bytča and died in 1614. The story of the bloody countess became subject of numerous literary or theatre works.

The castle was burnt during the Rebellion of Estates by the soldiers of Francis II Rákoczi and fell in decay. Today its picturesque ruins offer a nice panoramic view. - in: http://slovakia.travel/en/the-castle-of-cachtice

© 2014, fotografie Ladislav Renner

Standing on a steep high cliff above Vah - the longest river of Slovakia, magnificent ruins of Beckov castle are a dominant feature on the horizon.

Beckov Castle is one of the oldest castles of former Austro-Hungarian Empire. The first written records of the castle date back to 1208! The legend has it that the castle was built on demand of Duke Ctibor for his clown Becko.

Among the most famous owners of the royal castle was King Matus Cak of Trencin (late 13th century), who reconstructed it extensively. In 1996 the ruins were reinforced and castle was open to the public.

Visitors can see remains of rich Gothic and Renaissance decorations, stone water tanks, water well, Gothic staircase in the castle chapel and other interesting historical architectural elements.

The castle features a magnificent view of the slopes of White and Little Carpathians. - in: http://www.slovakia.com/castles/beckov-castle/

© 2014, fotografie Ladislav Renner

The Castle of Trenčín built on top of a steep rock is undoubtedly the dominant feature of the town Trenčín and the region of Považie. The castle, which is along with those of Spiš and Devín one of the biggest in Europe.

History of the castle goes back to the age of the Roman Empire, which is proved by the inscription on the castle cliff proclaiming the victory of Roman legion II. against Germans in the year 179.

 First mentioned in 1067 as a royal Hungarian sentry fortress, it was gradually augmented until by the 15th century it dominated the northern reaches of the Hungarian Empire.

The castle fell in decay after fire in 1790, as its owners, the Illésházy family preferred to move to the more comfortable manor house in Dubnica. 

Today the castle houses exhibitions of the Trenčín Museum, documenting the history of the region and of the castle. 

Bratislava Castle - Slovakia

Bratislava, Slovakia's capital city is only 130 kms from Brno, that's about 1 hour and 45 minutes by bus. Beeing this close, we didn't miss the opportunity to visit another country. Someone told us not to go, that the city wasn't that interresting but we wanted to go any way and I really liked it. 

This card was also sent by me. I only have a few cards from Slovakia and only by second from Bratislava. 

Bratislava castle is a historic dominant of Bratislava. It towers over the river Danube, on a castle rock in the height of 85 metres. Bratislava castle stands in the place of an old Slavic hill-fort from the 9th century and its first written record, under the name Pressalauspruch falls back to the year 907. From the times of Great Moravian empire, the bases of threenaved basilica were maintained in its grounds. Today’s architecture of Bratislava castle has a regular quadrangular ground-plan and carries characteristics of Renaissance and early Baroque. Even the empress Marie Therese had taken care of one of the most important building reforms. Bratislava castle burnt down in 1811. His reconstruction started in the middle of 20th century and it was accessed for public in 1968.  in: http://www.visitslovakia.com/bratislava-castle/

Banská Štiavnica - Slovakia

This card from Banská Štiavnica in Slovakia is my 780 UNESCO site. I've got it thanks to Mircea.

Banská Štiavnica  is a town in central Slovakia. It is a completely preserved medieval town. Because of their historical value, the town and its surroundings were proclaimed by the UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site on December 11, 1993. - in: wikipedia

Foto: Andrej Ebert

Over the centuries, the town of Banská Štiavnica was visited by many outstanding engineers and scientists who contributed to its fame. The old medieval mining centre grew into a town with Renaissance palaces, 16th-century churches, elegant squares and castles. The urban centre blends into the surrounding landscape, which contains vital relics of the mining and metallurgical activities of the past. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/618

Bratislava & Domica

Emerich also sent me cards from Slovakia. The 1st one is from Bratislava with the Devin Castle and the 2nd is also from the slovak capital city and it shows the St. Elisabeth Church. The 3rd is a new unesco card, Domica, which is part of Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst site.

On the back of the card: "Devin Castle (13-19th cent.) in a western suburb of Bratislava was built on the top of a 80m high rocky outcrop over the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers that constitute Slovakia's border with Austria.

Blown up by Napoleon's troops in 1809, Devin Castle offers breathtaking views into the surrounding countryside."

"Officially known as the Church of St Elizabeth of Hungary, but commonly referred to simply as 'the Blue Church' for obvious reasons, this is Bratislava’s most appealing art nouveau building. Its style, sometimes known as Hungarian Secession, is repeated in the nearby grammar school on Grösslingová Street. Both were designed by Budapest architect Edmund Lechner and built in the early twentieth century (the church was consecrated on 11 October, 1913).

Both the interior and exterior of the church are painted in shades of pale blue and decorated with blue majolica; even the roof is tiled with blue-glazed ceramics. The structure incorporates a 36.8-metre round tower." -in: http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/o_utvar.asp?id_org=700014&id_u=1613&p1=3996

"Domica is the biggest cave in the Slovak Karst in southern Slovakia. It is a part of the cave complex that continues into the cave Baradla (Aggtelek) in Hungary. It was discovered in 1926 by Ján Majko. Since 1932, 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) of the 5,140 metres (16,860 ft) are open to public. The cave is included in the Unesco World Heritage list since 1995 as a part of Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst site." - in: wikipedia

SK-10378

My 1st official from Slovakia. I've received it last week but i forgot to scan it.

The card is from Presov, a city in eastern Slovakia, the third largest in the country.

SK-10378, sent by Antonia.

St. Nicholas Concathedral is one of the biggest's Slovak churches. It's the dominant of the Presov city. It was built in the middle of 14th century. Today's look is from the years 1981-1989. The concathedral is built in gothic style.

Vlkolínec - Slovakia

Time now for my latest received unesco, new unesco, cards.

A few days ago i tagged Joanna on the "you choose unesco tag" you requested a card from Hungary. Later i saw she was offering some unesco cards and contacted her for another trade. This last week i've received her envelope with 1 tag and 2 trade cards.

This one is from Slovakia.

"Vlkolínec, Slovakia, is a picturesque village under the administration of the town of Ruzomberok. Historically, however, it was a separate village. The first written mention of the village came from 1376 and after 1882 it became part of Ružomberok. Its name is probably derived from the slovak word "vlk", i. e. wolf.

Vlkolínec has been listed as a Unesco World Heritage site since 1993, and is one of ten Slovak villages that have been given the status of a folk architecture reservations. This status was granted because the village is an untouched and complex example of folk countryside architecture of the region of the Northern Carpathians.

Vlkolínec, situated in the centre of Slovakia, is a remarkably intact settlement with the traditional features of a central European village. It is the region’s most complete group of these kinds of traditional log houses, often found in mountainous areas. The village consists of more than 45 log houses each of them made up of two or three rooms. A wooden belfry from the 18th century as well as the baroque chapel has also been preserved. Houses No. 16 and 17 are turned into the folk museum with all the instruments of daily life and work." - in: wikipedia

Carpathian Wooden Churches - Slovakia

Joanna also sent me this unesco card from Slovakia, my 1st unesco card from this country.

"Carpathian Wooden Churches is the name of a UNESCO World Heritage Site that consists of nine wooden religious buildings constructed between the 16th and 18th centuries in eight different locations in Slovakia. They include two Roman Catholic, three Protestant and three Greek Catholic churches plus one belfry in Hronsek. In addition to these churches there are about 50 more wooden churches in the territory of present-day Slovakia mainly in the northern and eastern part of the Presov Region." - in: wikipedia

Slovakia

"Slovakia is a landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about 49,000 square kilometres (almost 19,000 square miles). The Slovak Republic borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava." - in wikipedia.
Card sent by "bajuska1".

6 cards, a new country

Everyday should be like today, 6 beautiful cards in my mail box, including a new country, Ukraine. I'll show 4 now.

Senggigi beach on the island of Lombock in Indonesia.

Pieskowa castle in Poland.

Betliar Manor House in Slovakia.

Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine.

All of the cards were sent by Andrzej "Andes1".