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KEZMAROK |
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Just 14km up the road from Poprad, KEZMAROK (Käsmark) is one of the
easiest Spis towns to visit from the High Tatras. It's an odd place,
combining the distinctive traits of a Teutonic town with the dozy feel
of an oversized Slovak village. Kezmarok is dominated by the giant,
gaudy Lutheran Church (May-Oct daily 10am-noon & 2-4pm; Nov-April Tues &
Fri 10am-noon), built by Theophil Hansen, the Danish architect
responsible for much of late-nineteenth-century Vienna, and funded by
the town's merchants. It's a seemingly random fusion of styles -
Renaissance campanile, Moorish dome, Classical dimensions, all dressed
up in grey-green and rouge rendering. Next door is an even more
remarkable wooden Lutheran Church (daily 9am-noon & 2-5pm), a work of
great carpentry that's capable of seating almost 1500 people.
The old town itself is little more than two long leafy streets which
fork off from the important-looking central town hall. The town's
Catholic church, sv Kríz , is tucked away in the tangle of dusty back
alleys between the two prongs, once surrounded by its own line of
fortifications. It is now protected by a Renaissance belfry whose
uppermost battlements burst into sgraffito life in the best Spis
tradition. The Castle or zámok (entry every hour Tues-Sun 9am-4pm), at
the end of the right-hand fork, is impressively fortified and decorated
with Renaissance crenellations, but the interior doesn't really justify
signing up for the compulsory hour-long guided tour. A better idea is to
head for the town museum , back along the street at Hradné námestie 55 (Tues-Sat
9am-noon & 1-5pm), which contains, among other things, the personal
effects of Countess Hedviga Mária Szirmayova-Badányiova.
The tourist office , opposite the town hall at Hlavné námestie 46 (Mon-Fri
8.30am-5pm, Sat 9am-2pm; May-Sept also Sun 9am-2pm), can help with
accommodation . The best place to stay is the pleasant Hotel Club , on
ulica MUDr Alexandra (tel 0968/4524 0512; £10-15/$16-24), though the
Penzion Regent , 63 Stary Trh (tel 0968/452 4258; £5-10/$8-16), a
ten-minute walk from the train station at the foot of the castle gates,
provides some stiff competition. For budget travellers the Start (tel
0968/4522 916; under £5/$8), which lies in the woods to the north of the
castle, is good value. The Castellan Club tucked into the side of the
castle provides a watering-hole late at night.
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