The cultural remains

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The cultural remains
The cultural remains
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Coat of arms

• Statue of the first municipial coat of arms in
  Europe - Koice, Slovakia
• Koice, today in Slovakia (then part of the
  Kingdom of Hungary) was the first town in Europe
  to be granted its own coat of arms. It was
  granted by King Louis I the Great at the Castle
  of Diósgyor in Diósgyor, present
  Miskolc-Diósgyor, Hungary in 1369.
• The original coat of arms featured only the red
  and silver stripes and three fleur-de-lis in a
  blue background (1, first picture). The coat of
  arms used today features symbols of historical
  counties (Abov, Gemer, Spi, Turna, Uh, Zemplín)
  and hasn't changed since 1502.
• Koice is unique in that it was the first city in
  Europe to gain a royal warrant for a coat of
  arms. The city is further unique in that by the
  year 1502, in the period of active heraldry, it
  had obtained altogether four armorial warrants
  from four monarchs.
• The statue of the first municipal coat of arms in
  Europe (its author is famous Slovak sculptor
  Arpád Racko) was inaugurated in December 2002 at
  Hlavná ulica (Main Street).

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The Dominican Church

• The Dominican Church (Slovak Dominikánsky kostol
  ) at Dominikánske námestie (English Dominican
  Square) is the oldest church in Koice, Slovakia
  and also the oldest preserved object in the town
  at all.
• In the first written document from 1303 it is
  mentioned as an already existing church. It was
  built in about 1290. The oldest part of the
  church is the Romanesque nave with narrow
  windows. During the Baroque reconstruction they
  had been broadened into the present shape. The
  sanctuary is build in the Gothic style as well as
  the tower on the northern joint of the nave with
  the sanctuary. The 68 metres high conical tower
  is the highest in Koice.
• After the big fire in 1556, the damaged church
  served as a store-house up to the beginning of
  the 18th century, when it was rebuilt in the
  Baroque style. The interior is richly decorated
  by wall paintings. The ceiling was painted in the
  years 1750-1758 by tefan Voro. The main altar
  illustrates the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
  The altar of the Rosary Virgin Mary is also to be
  mentioned as it is believed that the Rosary is
  the idea of Saint Dominic, the founder of the
  Dominican Order. Paintings and statues in the
  church represent those who are the most famous of
  numerous the Dominican saints Dominic de Guzman,
  Catherine of Siena, Thomas Aquinas or the
  Dominican nun Margaret, daughter of the King Béla
  IV.

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The East(ern) Slovak Gallery

• The East(ern) Slovak Gallery (Slovak
  Východoslovenská galéria) in Koice was founded
  in 1951 as the first regional gallery in
  Slovakia.
• The Baroque-Classical palace-type building was
  erected in 1779 for the needs of the Abov
  comitatus council. The building continued to
  serve as a comitatus hall until 1928. For several
  weeks starting in April 1945, it was used by the
  government of Czechoslovakia, temporarily
  resident in Koice at that time. On April 5, 1945
  the first post-war political programme was
  announced in the ceremonial session chamber,
  known as the Koice Government Programme. In the
  years 19731975 the building was reconstructed
  and converted into a museum.

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The Franciscan Church

• The Franciscan Church (Slovak Frantikánsky
  kostol ) or the Seminary Church (Slovak
  Seminárny kostol ) at Hlavná ulica (English Main
  Street) is the second oldest church in Koice,
  Slovakia.
• It was built for Franciscans by the Perényi
  family from Perín after the big fire in 1333. Its
  preserved Gothic elements document a beautiful
  plastic Gothic decoration. The reliefs above the
  entrance, stone seats close to the altar and
  vaults above the sanctuary and former chancel
  (dedicated to Saint Nicholas) are original. After
  the fire in 1556, the church served as a military
  store-house and the sanctuary as a bishop
  cathedral of the bishop of Eger who settled here
  during the occupation of Eger by Turks
  (1597-1671).
• The interior is baroquized, the main altar has a
  valuable baldachin structure. The statue of Saint
  Charles Borromeo, a patron of the seminary, is on
  its copula. Almost all the altars, the pulpit and
  other moveables are from years 1760-1770.
• The founder of the first University of Koice,
  the bishop of Eger Benedikt Kisdy, was buried in
  the crypt under the main alter. All the crypts
  were plundered by soldiers after the World War II.

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The Holy Spirit Church

• The Holy Spirit Church (Slovak Kostol svätého
  Ducha) or Hospital Church of the Holy Spirit
  (Slovak pitálsky kostol svätého Ducha) is the
  eldest building of the city part of Koice-Juh
  (Koice, Slovakia). It is located at beginning of
  Juná trieda (South Avenue), close to the
  historic centre of medieval Koice.
• It is a baroque church erected between 1730 and
  1733. The capacity of the interior is moderate -
  it is only for 200 people. The vault painting is
  highly interesting. It shows a view of Koice of
  the first third of the 18th century, when the
  town was surrounded by high town walls. The whole
  church emanates the atmosphere of bygone days.
• The church is situated in the axis of former
  hospital buildings erected in the 13th century.
  The word hospital used to be a designation of a
  charity organization for the very old, the poor,
  orphans, the homeless, the sick. The hospital was
  situated outside the town walls and the church
  was a part of it from the beginning.
  Unfortunately, it was pulled down in the
  beginning of the 18th century.
• At present, the House for pensioners is placed in
  the building.

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The Orthodox synagogue in
Koice

• The Orthodox synagogue in Koice (Slovak
  Ortodoxná synagóga v Koiciach) was built in the
  years 1926-1927 at Pukinova Street in the
  historic centre of Koice, Slovakia.
• The Orthodox Jews built a representative
  synagogue with 800 seats with a school and the
  Talmud Torah school haeded by rabbis. The
  designer of the synagogue was Ludovít
  Oelschläger, a Christian architect, and it was
  built by Hugó Kabo.
• The Holocaust memorial plate
• The bronze Holocaust memorial plate was installed
  on the front of the synagogue in 1992. It informs
  that more than 12,000 Jews of Koice were taken
  to concentration camps in 1944. Unfortunately, it
  does not mention that more than 2,000 Jews from
  Koice's surroundings were concentrated here and
  then also sent to the concentration camps. Only
  400 of all transported Jews survived.
• The region of Koice was a part of Hungary during
  World War II (after the First Vienna Award). The
  transports of Jews to the Nazi camps were
  commanded by Ladislav Csatári. He disappeared
  after the war and was captured 50 years later in
  Canada

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The St. Elisabeth Cathedral

• The St. Elisabeth Cathedral (Slovak Dóm sv.
  Albety, Hungarian Szent Erzsébet-székesegyház,
  German Dom der Heiligen Elisbeth) is a Gothic
  cathedral in Koice. It is Slovakia's biggest
  church.
• This medieval monument was built in the High
  Gothic style between 1378 and 1508 in several
  stages on the site of a parish church that burned
  down in 1370.
• The cathedral was often damaged by calamites that
  is why the building underwent numerous
  restorations. The most extensive restoration
  works took place in the years 1877-1896. During
  the last phase of the restoration a crypt was
  built under the northern nave of the cathedral.
  In 1906 the remains of Francis II Rákóczi and his
  friends from Turkey were buried there.
• The present appearance of the St. Elizabeth
  Cathedral preserves a five - nave planning with
  intersection of the main and traversal naves and
  with polygonal presbytery. A metallic tower is
  placed at the point of intersection of the naves.
  On its southern side there is an entrace chamber
  with the royal oratory above it and chaples on
  its sides. The southern steeple, the so-called
  Matejova, dates from 1461 and the northern
  steeple with Rococo helm dating from 1775
  complete the western front of the cathedral. The
  western portal is decorated with embossed scenes
  with the following biblical motifs Jesus in the
  Gethsemane garden, Piety and Towel of St. Verona.
  The richest and artistically the most valuable is
  the northern portal with the embossed painting.
  The Last Trial executed in two rows one above the
  other. Also to be seen here are embossed
  paintings from the life of St. Elisabeth, Virgin
  Mary with women, St. John with soldiers. Above
  them there is one more paiting the Crucifixion.
  In the middle of the northern portal there is a
  sculpture of St. Elizabeth. The southern portal
  has two entrances and forms an integral part of
  the whole composition according to the original
  design of the southern entrance chamber.
• The interior of the St. Elizabeth Cathedral is
  very imposing and valuable. In this respect
  particular mention should be made of the main
  altar of St. Elizabeth, a hanged sculpure of
  Immaculata, the Late Gothic altar Visit of Virgin
  Mary, a stone epitaph of the Reiner family, a
  wooden sculpture of Virgin Mary, fragments of the
  wall painting The Last Trial, the side altar of
  St. Anton Paduansky, a wall painting The
  Resurrection, the bronze font, the altar paiting
  of St. Anna Metercia, Gothic Calvary, the lantern
  of the king Matthew, wooden polychrome
  sculptures, the side altar Worship of Three
  Kings, Neo-Gothic stone pulpit. Valuable
  masterpieces and relics are preserved in the
  treasury.

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The State Theatre

• The State Theatre, Koice (Slovak tátne divadlo
  Koice) is situated in the centre of Koice,
  Slovakia.
• The representative building of the State Theatre
  was built in a Neo-baroque style according to
  projects of Adolf Lang during the years
  1879-1899.
• The interior of theatre is richly decorated with
  plaster ornaments, the stage is lyre-shaped. The
  ceiling of the building is decorated with scenes
  from William Shakespeare's tragedies Othello,
  Romeo and Juliet, King Lear and A Midsummer
  Night's Dream.
• HISTORY OF THEATRE
• The State Theatre of Koice comprises of 3
  independent ensembles drama, opera and ballet.
  It performs on two stages in the Historical
  Building and on the Little Stage.It has 2 scenes
  - in Historical building and Little scene. In
  Koice City (centre of East Slovakia) theatre has
  more that six hundred years tradition.
• In Koice, the metropolis of Eastern Slovakia,
  the theatre has more than six hundred years of
  tradition. The theatre was performed in diverse
  places in the open air, on the provisional
  stages of wooden shanties, in schools, as well as
  in various buildings. The current building of the
  State Theatre of Koice whose name changed many
  times during its history up to now, is a
  historical building. It belongs to the
  distinguished cultural monuments of the City
  moreover, it is an important dominant of the
  historical core of Koice City. The building
  dating from 1899, the work of the architect Adolf
  Lang (history labels him to be one of the most
  gifted architects of 19th century in Europe),
  ranks as one of the most beautiful theatre
  buildings in Europe.
• The State Theatre of Koice was established in
  1945 under the name East-Slovakian National
  Theatre (later on, its name changed many times,
  similarly to other Slovak theatres). When
  founding the new theatre, its foundation director
  Janko Borodác followed the structure of the
  Slovak National Theatre of Bratislava. He
  therefore banked on integrity of the artistic
  work of three ensembles drama, opera/operetta,
  and ballet. At the beginning, he failed to create
  the latter. For the long two years the ballet was
  just a service body
• The drama ensemble of Koice theatre entered into
  the context of the Slovak stagecraft with the
  premiere of the play Marína Havranová (on 15
  September 1945). At almost the same time, also
  the team of opera ensemble introduced with the
  premiere of the operetta Polish Blood (on 6
  October 1945). The first ballet evening in Koice
  was in 1947 on the programme there were the
  ballets Les Sylphides, The Little Mermaid, and
  The Polovec Dances.
• The artistic development of Koice State Theatre
  drama has so far been mostly influenced by the
  stage director Janko Borodác. In Koice, he
  stage-managed 24 plays, a half of them were
  titles from Slovak and Russian classics. The
  Borodács systematic formation of the ensemble in
  the spirit of realistic methods of stage-managing
  left an everlasting track on the histrionic work
  of its members. And the stage-managers, who were
  operating in Koice for a long time after
  Borodacs departure, were also his direct pupils
  or grew under his pedagogical and artistic
  influence. At present, after a period of a kind
  of consolidation after previous restructurings
  that has reflected on the troupe, dramaturgical
  choice and the quality of productions, the drama
  is being revived. The art chief has even two
  stages for that purpose in addition to the main
  stage in the historical building of the theatre
  also a small stage in the former studio Smer
  (Direction).
• Nowadays, the largest body of the Theatre is the
  opera ensemble. For the period of its 60- years
  existence the body performed a number of opuses
  from the worldwide, Slovak and Czech opera
  literatures. Of the singers who were performing
  in the State Theatre of Koice, and rose to
  become soloists of international significance we
  can mention here the names such as Sergey Kopcák,
  tefan Margita, and Ida Kirilová. The opera
  ensemble has the works like Carmen or The Barber
  of Seville in its repertoire. Moreover, on the
  regular basis, the body also introduces the
  operetta works and the works for children (The
  Puss in Boots, The Merry Widow).
• The Ballet of Koice State Theatre is one of two
  Slovak professional bodies that perform classical
  ballet literature. At present, the ensemble has
  titles for all the age categories of audience in
  its repertoire, from fairytales to modern dance
  works (The Little Prince, Bolero, Carmen, The
  Badly Watched Girl).

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Protestant Church

• Church or Protestant Church The Evangelical
  (Slovak Evanjelický kostol) at Mlynská ulica
  (Mill Street) in Koice is one of the most
  beautiful Neoclassical evangelical church
  buildings in all Slovakia.
• It was built in 1816 based on the design of Georg
  Kitzling, a court architect from Vienna, for the
  German and Slovak Protestants of the town of
  Koice. During the construction of the church,
  Hungarian Protestants joined German and Slovak
  and bought the bells. The cross from old wooden
  church made in 1735 was transferred into the new
  church.
• The Evangelical church in Koice is an oval
  central church building. Typical Lutheran
  chancels are situated in side spaces. The
  visitors are fascinated especially by the copula
  with a panel ceiling. The main altar has a column
  architecture. The church is joined by the rectory
  and the choir house.

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The Immaculata

• The Immaculata (or The Plague Pillar, Slovak
  Morový stlp) is a Baroque plague column in
  Koice, Slovakia. It was erected at the place of
  medieval gallows at Hlavná ulica (Main Street) in
  1723 and it commemorates the end of the plague of
  1710-1711.
• It is a 14 metre high column on the stone
  basement with sculptures of Saint Joseph, Saint
  Sebastian and Saint Ladislaus. There is a
  sculpture of Virgin Mary on the top of the
  column. The sculptures of Saint Gabriel, Saint
  Elizabeth of Hungary, Saint Margaret, Saint
  Michael the Archangel and Saint Barbara are on
  the pillars of the fence.
• The statue was damaged during the World War II.
  It was restored by academic sculptor Vojtech
  Löffler in the years 1949-1951 and 1971-1972. The
  last reconstruction took place in 1996-1998.

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The Premonstratensian church

• The Premonstratensian church (Slovak
  Premontrátny kostol ), initially Jesuistical
  church (Slovak Jezuitský kostol), is the most
  valuable Baroque object of Koice, Slovakia,
  especially notable for its interior.
• It the Middle Ages, the Royal House (a seat of
  the Royal Chamber), stood in the place of the
  present church. The Captain Andrew Dóczi
  established there a dwelling and a chapel for
  Jesuits in the Protestant town at the beginning
  of the Recatholization. They were tortured here
  to death in the night from 6th to 7th of
  September, 1619 by soldiers of George I Rákóczi,
  the father of the Prince of Transylvania George
  II Rákóczi. They are the well-known Saint Martyrs
  of Koice (Marek Kriin, Melicher Grodecký and
  tefan Pongrác).
• The bestial murder of the Jesuits shocked the
  town. All the Rákóczi ladies in fear of the Gods
  anger tried to achieve a pardon for the family.
  The wife of George II Rákóczi purchased the real
  estate for a church construction for the Jesuites
  inspired by the famous Church of the Gesù in
  Rome. The church was finished in 1681. In 1811 it
  was given to the Premonstrates. Today, the church
  is consecrated to the Holy Trinity

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The St. Michael Chapel

• The St. Michael Chapel (Slovak Kaplnka sv.
  Michala) is a Gothic Chapel in Koice, Slovakia.
• It was probably erected in the first half of the
  14th century. It was built as a cemetery chapel
  inside the town walls in the place of the
  present-day park at Hlavná ulica (English Main
  Street). The lower part of the chapel was
  initially an ossarium, the upper one served for
  offices for the deceased.
• The patron of the dead, Saint Michael the
  Archangel, trampling the Devil, is shown on the
  facade. The archangels Raphael and Gabriel are on
  his sides. In the interior, there is a nice stone
  tabernacle, the ornamental sculpture Ecce Homo
  and rests of wall paintings from the Middle Ages.
  The first municipal coat of arms in Europe (dated
  back to 1369) is situated above the door leading
  to the vestry.
• The chapel served as a Slovak church whereas the
  St. Elisabeth Cathedral was a German and
  Hungarian church.
• During the rebuilding in the years 19021904,
  they pulled down the northern aisle (it was
  erected in 1508) and bricked 17 old gravestones
  (coming from the 14th till 17th century) into the
  exterior walls of the chapel to save them from
  destruction.
• Bad condition of the building was the reason of
  the complex reconstruction in the years
  19982006. The reconstructed chapel was
  consecrated on January 22, 2006 by Koice's
  archbishop Monsignor Alojz Tkác.

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The (St.) Urban Tower

• The (St.) Urban Tower (Slovak Urbanova vea) in
  Koice, Slovakia is originally a Gothic prismatic
  campanile with a pyramidal roof. It was erected
  in the 14th century.
• A church bell installed in the tower has been
  dedicated to Saint Urban, the patron of
  vine-dressers. The bell was cast in a mould by
  the bell-founder Franciscus Illenfeld of Olomouc
  in 1557. Its weight is 7 tones.
• In 1775 the pyramidal roof was constructed with
  annion in the Baroque style with an iron double
  cross. An archade passage was erected around the
  tower in 1912. There are 36 old gravestones
  (coming from the 14th and 15th centuries, one of
  these comes from the Roman Empire and dates back
  to the 4th century) bricked into the exterior
  walls of the St. Urban Tower.
• In 1966 the tower was damaged by fire and the St.
  Urban Bell was destroyed as well. The
  reconstructed tower was reopened in 1971. The
  renovated bell was located in the front of the
  tower and a copy of the bell (made by Moravian
  family Dytrych in 1996) was installed in the
  campanile.
• The East Slovak Museum set up an impressive
  exhibition of foundrywork in the tower after the
  reconstruction in 1977. It was removed in 1995.
  Today, there is a unique wax museum exhibition in
  the tower.

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The Greek-Catholic Church

• The Greek-Catholic Church of Virgin Mary's Birth
  (Slovak Gréckokatolícky kostol narodenia Panny
  Márie) is located at Moyzesova Street in the
  historic centre of Koice, Slovakia.
• Greek Catholics started to settle Koice in the
  17th century. As late as in 1852 their bishop
  established a chapel in Koice. Till then, the
  divine services were served in the Franciscan
  Church, rarely at Premonstrates or in the St.
  Michael Chapel.
• In 1880, the community were able to buy grounds
  neighboring with the chapel and to buid the
  church in the Neo-Romanesque stylecitation
  needed in the years 1882-1886.
• In the Communist era of former Czechoslovakia,
  the church was given to the Orthodox Church which
  was the only officially supported church. After
  1990, it was returned back to the Greek Catholics
  and the church was restored and repaired.

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The Calvinist Church

• The Calvinist Church (Slovak Kalvínsky kostol )
  at Hrnciarska ulica (English Pottery Street) in
  Koice, Slovakia was initially an army
  store-house.
• In the years 1805 1811 it was rebuilt to a
  Calvinist church with a new 48 metres high
  slender spire. The church interior is very
  simple, the only presentable piece is the pulpit.
  A metal rooster made in 1589 was given on the
  spire. Initially it was installed on the northern
  tower ot the St. Elisabeth Cathedral.

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