The second-largest city in Slovakia, the southeastern centre of the country, is Košice. The city along the Hornad River has a rich history and cultural heritage. It has many attractions, most in the historic city centre. Not far from Košice, you can discover several natural values.

The Slovak name of the town with an area of ​​242,768 km² is Košice. Its population is almost 240,000; only Bratislava has bigger numbers.

Overview

Kosice Details
Country Slovakia
Location Eastern Carpathians, Kosice basin
Slovak name Kosice
Distance from Bratislava 4.5 hours / 400 km
Area 242,768 km²
Population 240 000 p
Website website

Where is Kosice?

Address, map, distance, approach

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Košice is located in the southeastern part of Slovakia, only a few kilometres from the Hungarian border. It is located in the Košice Basin and is part of the Eastern Carpathians. The city is divided by the river Hernád.

  • Distance to Bratislava: 4.5 hours / 400 km

City centre

Hlavné námestie

There are so many monuments in the centre of Kosice that they form the largest urban monument reserve in Slovakia. The main attraction of the monument reserve is the main square, which is constantly bustling with tourists.

#1 St. Elizabeth's Cathedral

The main square is surrounded by beautiful historic buildings. Here you will also find the Gothic-style St. Elizabeth's Cathedral, the largest church in Slovakia.

St Elizabeth's Cathedral

#2 Urban Tower

On the north side of the cathedral, you will find the 14th century Urban Tower. The tower is the second oldest monument in Košice. It was built in the first half of the 14th century, originally as the belfry of the church. In front of the tower, you can see today the renovated Urban bell, which was destroyed in the 1966 fire.

#3 St. Michael's Chapel

St. Michael is the patron saint of the dead. A 14th-century chapel was built in his honour, which served as the cemetery chapel belonging to the city. The cemetery lay south of it. Today it stands on the main square next to the Urban tower.

#4 Musical fountain

Next to the square, you find the Spievajúca singing fountain, which entertains those who pass by.

#5 City Wall, Lower Gate

To the south of the main square are the remains of a medieval city wall. Here you will also find the so-called Lower Gate, which is a unique archaeological complex. Here you can see some of the 13th-century castle walls of Košice.

The remains of the city's lower gate were excavated during an extensive reconstruction of the main street between 1996-1997. The castle walls showed here date from the second half of the 13th century, the fortification of the town was completed in the period 1706-1710.

#6 Coat of arms statue

The Coat of Arms statue (Erb mesta Košice) can be found in the main square of the Old Town, on the south side of the Chapel of St. Michael. The statue is a public bronze statue of the angelic coat of arms depicting the city from 1502. Behind the statue is the tower of the Košice Cathedral.

#7 Pest Monument

The Pest Monument (Immaculata) is a 14-meter-high ornate column built in 1723. At the top is the figure of the Virgin Mary, with statues of St. Joseph, St. Sebastian and St. Ladislaus on the sides. The statue was erected at the site of its former loss, expressing gratitude for plagues, wars and famine.

#8 James Palace

The neo-Gothic building was built in 1899 by the famous local architect Árpád Jakab. One of the curiosities of the building is that the owner of the brick factory built the palace as a residential building, for which even the building stones scrapped during the reconstruction of St. Elizabeth's Cathedral were used.

Once the palace stood in a quiet corner of the city, today the main square is next to it. It is located in an idyllic setting on the corner of Mill and Štefánik streets.

#9 Botanical Garden

If you love flowers and gardens, you should visit the Kosice Botanical Garden. The 20-hectare area is just a 30-minute walk from the city center. In addition to local specimens, tropical plants can also be found in the greenhouses.

  • Admission: 3 euros
  • Opening hours in summer: 09:00 to 18:00
  • Opening hours: 09:00 to 15:00
  • Address: Mánesova 23, 040 01 Sever, Slovakia
  • Website

#10 ZOO Kosice

If you come to Kassa with children, you can not miss the huge zoo, which is 20 minutes away from the city. The park has 285 species of animals and a total of 1,500 specimens for children and adults alike. The zoo also has a dinosaur park.

  • Adult ticket: between 4 and 6 euros
  • Address: Ulica k Zoologickej záhrade 1, 040 01 Kavečany, Slovakia
  • Website

#11 DinoPark Kosice

The Dinosaur Park is located in the zoo, 25 minutes from Košice. It offers an ideal half-day program with children. You can walk the forest path on a comfortable, well-designed road, where life-size dinosaurs are waiting for you.

  • Adult ticket: 8 euros
  • Kosice distance: 25 minutes by car
  • Address: DinoPark Kosice, 040 01 Kavečany, Slovakia
  • Website

#12 Bobsleigh track

Bobová dráha Košice - Kavečany

The summer bobsleigh track is 1-2 minutes from the zoo, outside the city of Košice. The 800-meter-long course with bends has been made even more exciting. It also promises to be a great program with kids.

  • Adult ticket: 3 euros
  • Opening hours: 09:00 to 19:00
  • Košice distance: 10 km, 15 minutes
  • Address: Kavečany 346, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia
  • Website

#13 Kosice Historic Children's Railway

Košice Castle

The children's railway is located only a few minutes away from Kassa. The railway was built in 1956 and today operates as a museum railway. The train will run until the end of October.

  • Ticket: 4 euros
  • Address: Čermeľská cesta, 040 01 Sever, Slovakia
  • Website
Kosice train | source: website

History

Košice was already a populated place in the 13th century, when the hospes who immigrated to Hungary settled here. The name of the village first appeared in written form in 1230 (it was still a royal estate at that time).

It is worth highlighting that Hungarian king Bela IV. gave some privileges to the city.

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For hundreds of years, Košice has been the most important commercial, industrial, cultural and educational centre in the region. In the 14th century, its population grew rapidly, including people from present-day Germany.

After the extinction of the Hungarian Árpád dynasty, it functioned more and more as an independent settlement. In 1307, Charles I of Hungary even received industrial patents from Košice. Then the conflict between the king and the city escalated. In 1312, Károly Róbert besieged the town supporting Matthew III Csák.

From 1347 it became a free royal city. The city belonged to the Principality of Transylvania for a long time in the 17th century. In 1644, the orders proclaimed György I. Rákóczi the prince of Hungary.

The town was the seat of the bishop of Eger between the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1657, the Jesuits founded a college and a printing press here. The city walls were gradually demolished in the late 18th century, leaving only a few parts of it (Executioner Bastion and some sections of the wall).