Kežmarok lies in the northern part of Slovakia surrounded by picturesque Spiš nature below the High Tatras. The town was formed by the merger of several settlements populated by Slavs and Germans.

In the 15th to 19th centuries, more than 40 guilds were active in the town, making it one of the first four cities in Slovakia. The document from 1715 indicates that there were 263 craft workshops in the town. Many important writers, artists and scientists known throughout Europe have also studied and worked in Kežmarok.

Kežmarok castle EN Audio

More than seven centuries of existence of the town got reflected in its architecture styles that range from Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque to Classicist. A peculiarity is the square designed into a forked shape with a town hall located in the middle and a town castle at its end.

Kežmarok. Zdroj foto: Peter...

Kežmarok boasts with a number of cultural monuments, attractions and various opportunities for relaxation, entertainment and sports.

Evangelical Lyceum and Library in Kežmarok

The Evangelical Lyceum in Kežmarok is a cultural monument with a rich history. Many important figures of Slovak and European history worked and studied here - many of them became important Slovak, German, Hungarian and Serbian artists, scientists, politicians.

The Lyceum houses a library - the largest school library in the Central Europe. The library was established at the same time as the school. The library houses 150,000 volumes of books on all possible scientific fields and written in several world languages. 

The first reports on the existence of the Kežmarok town school date back to 1383 - 1392. However, it is assumed that the first school, a parish school, had already existed a century earlier. With the arrival of the Reformation in Kežmarok, the school transformed into a Protestant grammar school in 1531. In Slovakia there were only four lyceums - it was not possible to continue to university studies without graduating from the lyceum. The lyceum and the library are open to the public.

Evanjelické lýceum. Zdroj f...

Renaissance bell tower

Next to the Basilica of St. Cross there is a belfry. It is considered the most beautiful renaissance belfry in Slovakia. According to a historian Chris Genersich, construction of the belfry began already in 1525, but the whole construction was completed only in 1591.

 

Renaissance bell tower EN Audio

 

Kežmarský hrad. Zdroj foto:...

Wooden articular church in Kežmarok, UNESCO

The church is located next to the New Evangelical Church, which resembles a mosque. You will probably not find a similar combination of such architectural styles anywhere in the world.

The church comes from the time of religious oppression of Protestants who on the basis of the 26th article of the Sopron Assembly of 1681 were allowed to build churches only outside the city walls at a precisely specified place and solely at the expense of the Church. The cheapest building material was wood, the material of choice for building Protestant churches at that time. The last five original churches, which have been preserved in Slovakia today, were built of wood. The first construction of the wooden church was standing already in 1687. In 1717 the church was built in less than three months, and it still stands in its original form today. The prototype of the church was a wooden church with a floor plan resembling the isosceles Greek cross standing in Amsterdam at Noorder Kerk.

This type of church spread to Germany and the Nordic states and via Silesia to Austria-Hungary. The funds for the construction of the Kežmarok church, which is consecrated to the Holy Trinity, were obtained through fundraising efforts of Protestants from all over northern Europe. The King of Sweden and the King of Denmark even raised funds for the church in their own countries. It is said that Swedish sailors helped build the church, as evidenced by the upper part of the interior which resembles the inverted bow of the ship and round windows, much like those found on ships.

In fact, the inhabitants of other towns also with the construction of the church, too. The church is built in folk Baroque style. The massive painted vault is supported by four spiral columns and circumferential walls. The ground floor and six choirs can hold more than 1,500 people. After an extensive renovation between 1991 and 1996, the church became again an active place of worship.

The wooden evangelical articular church was entered in the UNESCO list as part of the set of wooden temples in the Slovak part of the Carpathian Mountains in 2008.

Drevený artikulárny kostol...

New Evangelical Church

Given that the articular church was not able to meet the basic security requirements, Kežmarok decided to build a new church combining different styles. Does the design of the church seem a little off? Spot on! The original church design was planned to be used to build a mosque or a synagogue in the countries to the east. 

It is interesting that the building is longer by 10 m and one window was added as compared with the original design. The reasons for doing so are unknown.

Nový evanjelický kostol. Zd...

Museum of Burgher Housing Culture, Kežmarok

This unique exhibition presents art-craft exhibits from the 17th century, as well as the 19th century burgher house interior. The intention of the installation was to re-create period interiors and to create a representative cross-section of all rooms of a typical burger house (kitchen and dining rooms, salons, bedrooms). The core of the exhibition (and the most valuable pieces) are the objects that once belong to the last countess of Kežmarok (1895 – 1973).

Múzeum bytovej kultúry. Zdr...

Thermal swimming pool Vrbov

Only 7 km from Kežmarok, in the beautiful nature of the Tatras, there is a thermal swimming pool Vrbov. It has seven swimming pools with a temperature ranging from 26 °C to 38 °C. 

Vrbov. Zdroj foto: Thermal pa...

 

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https://www.kezmarok.sk/brozury-dovolenkove-tipy-videa.html

 

Zdroj textu a titulnej foto: OOCR Tatry Spiš Pieniny

 

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