Wanders in Kosice

Wanders in Kosice is a guidebook to Kosice with stories and curiosities. It was written by local guide Milan Kolcun, author of photographs is Alexander Jirousek.

"Wanders don't intend to be the most detailed, just preferably shorter. They don't pretend to be the most faithful historically, but preferably fascinating. They don't mean to be very descriptive, so they just talk about interesting things which still exist today, and you can easily go and have a look at them in the city, or recall them in your own memory," writes author of text.

The Wanders were originally written for the Kosice radio station, TOP Radio and later (2003) appeared in book form as well. There have been three reprints of a book. The Wanders do intend to be a "manual" for your walks around Kosice. They want to inspire you where to go.

Preview from the book

Urban the Bell

If your knowledge of the history of Kosice is less than complete, you can improve it just by reading some of the texts you come across in the city streets. For example, this one:

"In the year of Our Lord 1556, when two comets were visible and the machinations of certain rebellious magnates against His Royal Majesty were growing in strength, the royal city of Kosice, in the wake of these terrible events and on the day following April 13th, almost completely burnt down, together with its sacred churches and beaufiful buildings. So that future generations should know about this misfortune, this solemn council, with Reeve Imrich Patschner at its head, has had this work cast, in the year 1557, from fragments of those bells which were destroyed by the fire. "

As you read this text on Hlavna Street, you will soon notice that it is written in Latin and that "the work" it is embossed on is the bell known as "Urban", which has been standing for many years in front of the tower with the same name.

And so we know that, from the remnants of the melted down bells, the Bell named Urban was cast in 1557 by Frantisek Illenfeld, native of Olomouc, and named after St. Urban, the patron saint of vintners. Because Kosice was then surrounded by vineyards, their owners hoped the saint would protect them from such perils as hail, frost and storms.

At the time though, there was nowhere to hang the bell. It was believed that none of the towers in St. Elizabeth's Cathedral nor any other towers in the city, many of which had been damaged in the fire, could have withstood the bell's immense weight (of around five tons). So it was stored away in the city hall and not used until 1628, by which time the tower had been rebuilt and renamed, after the bell, as Urban's Tower, where the great bell was now hung. When the wind blew in the right direction, its proud and jubilant peal could reputedly be heard as far away as Presov.

For hundreds of years Urban resounded through the city until fire broke out in the tower. It was December 13th 1966 and the bell was 410 years old when its support beams caught fire from the transformer in the building and the bell plunged into the burning debris on the ground floor. This time it did not melt but instead broke into pieces after contact with the water from the fire hoses. All these pieces were later kept in the East Slovakian Museum until 1989, when they were stuck back together again and the bell was placed in front of its home tower. So although now we can no longer hear its deafening peal, we can at least see and admire the creative effort which went into making it.

Fortunately, since September 1996, it has had a replacement. For the first time ever the VSZ steelworks had experience of casting, or founding, a bell. After it was made, it was put in its original place through the upper window of the tower. You can still see white marks on the edges of the window today. This is because it had to be taken out so that the bell, which at 1.92 m is wider than the window, could actually get in.

An Alphabetic Wander with Addresses

The Altar to Kosice Martyrs (Oltar kosickych mucenikov) - in St. Elizabeth's Cathedral (page 43)
The Altar to St. Elizabeth (Oltar sv. Alzbety) - in St. Elizabeth's Cathedral (37)
The Amphitheatre (Amfiteater) (78)
The Adrassy Mansion (Andrassyho palac) - Hlavna 81 (94)
The Archbishop's Mansion (Arcibiskupsky palac) - Hlavna 28 (28)
The Archeological Excavations (vykopavky) (11)
The Aviation Museum (Letecke muzeum) - at airport, www.cassovia.sk/letmuzeum/ (77)
The Beggars House (Zobrakov dom) - Hlavna 71 (79)
The Black Eagle (Cierny orol) - Hlavna 25 (23)
The Botanical Gardens (Botanicka zahrada) - Manesova 23 www.bz.upjs.sk (8)
The Calvary (Kalvaria) (89)
The Calvinist Church (Kalvinsky kostol) - Hrnciarska Street (81)
The Carillon (Zvonkohra) - Hlavna Street (61)
The Cathedral Stairs (Schody v Dome) (40)
The Childrena's Railway (Detska zeleznica) -in Cermel Valley (60)
The Church of the Most Holy Trinity (Kostol najsvätejsej trojice - Hlavna 67 (73)
The City Presbytery (Mestska fara) -Hlavna 26 (31)
The Csaky-Dessewffy Mansion (Cakyho-Dessewffyho palac) -Hlavna 72 (88)
The Czech Centre (Ceske centrum) -Razusova 13 (29)
The Division (Divizia) - Hviezdoslavova 3 (72)
The Dominican Church (Dominikansky kostol) - Dominikanske namestie (41)
The East Slovakian Museum (Vychodoslovenske muzeum) - Nam. Maratonu mieru 2 (63)
The Eight-Storey Building (Osemposchodak) - Hlavna 4 (93)
The Europa Hotel (Hotel Europa) - Mlynska 29 (24)
The Executioner's Bastion (Katova basta) -Hrnciarska 7 (14)
The Forgac Mansion (Forgacov palac) -Hlavna 10 www.svkk.sk (4)
The Franciscan Church (Frantiskansky kostol) - Hlavna 81 (97)
The Gajdovka Spring (Pramen Gajdovka) - in Anicka Park (50)
Gerster's Birthplace (Gersterov rodny dom) -Hlavna 9 (11)
The Grand Casino (Velke kasino) - Hlavna 76 (56)
The Greek-Catholic Cathedral (Greckokatolicka katedrala) - Moyzesova 42) (17)
The Hadik-Barkoczy Mansion (Hadik Barkoczyho palac) - Hlavna 48 (83)
The Historical Town Hall (Historicka Radnica) - Hlavna 59 (64)
The House of Art (Dom umenia) - Moyzesova ul. 38)
The House of Footwear (Dom obuvi) - Hlavna 29 (22)
The Imperial Reformatory (Cisarska polepsovna) - Komenskeho 73 (39)
The Industrial College (Priemyslovka) - Komenskeho 2 www.spsske.sk (92)
The Infirmary (Spital) - Juzna trieda 4 (9)
The Jakab Palace (Jakabov palac) - Mlynska 30 (54)
The Jewish Ritual Bath (Zidovsky ritualny kupel)- Krmanova 6 - in courtyard (5)
Kosice Castle (Kosicky hrad) - Hradova Hill (80)
The Kosice Catastrophes (Katastrofy) (51)
The Kosice City Coat-of-Arms (Kosicky erb) -Hlavna Street www.kosice.sk/history/erb (13)
The Kosice Golden Treasure (Kosicky zlaty poklad)- Nam. Maratonu mieru 2 (95)
The Kosice Legends (Legendy) (71)
The Kosice Marathon (Medzinarodny maraton mieru) www.mmm.sk (74)
The Lapidarium (Lapidarium) - Hlavna Street (62)
The Levoca House (Levocsky dom) - Hlavna 65 (70)
The Liberations Memorials (Pamätniky oslobodenia) - Nam. osloboditelov (36)
The Little Stream (Potôcik) - Hlavna Street (32)
The Lutheran Church (Evanjelicky kostol- Mlynska 23 (65)
The Marathon Statue (Socha Maratonca) - Nam. Maratonu mieru) (59)
The Miklus Prison (Miklusova väznica) -Pri Miklusovej väznici 10 (21)
The Minorities Club (Klub narodnostnych mensin - Mäsiarska 35 (6)
The Musical Fountain (Hrajuca fontana) - Hlavna Street (58)
The New Synagogue (Novsia synagoga) - Puskinova 3 (27)
The Observation Tower (Vyhliadkova veza) - Hradova Hill (20)
The Old Craftsmen's Row (Ulicka starych remesiel) (Hrnciarska Street) (44)
The Old Shire Hall (Zupny dom) - Hlavna 27 (19)
The Old University (Starobyla univerzita) - Hlavna 67 (42)
The Oldest Preserved Synagogue (Najstarsia zachovana synagoga) - Zvonarska Street (16)
The Old-Town Town Hall (Staromestska radnica) - Hviezdoslavova 7 (47)
The Pechy Mansion (Pechyho palac)- Alzbetina 14 (15)
The Plague Column (Morovy stlp) - Hlavna Street (82)
A Poetic Wander (1)
The Puppet Theatre (Babkove divadlo) -Tajovskeho 4 www.cassovia.sk/bdk/ (86)
The Rakoczi Crypt (Rakacziho krypta) - in St. Elizabeth's Cathedral (49)
The Railways Headquarter (Riaditelstvo zeleznic) - Zeleznicna 1 (26)
The Rodosto House (Rodosto) - Hrnciarska (35)
The Romathan Theatre (Divadlo Romathan) - Stefanikova 4 (66)
The Rosalia Cemetery (Cintorin Rozalia) www.kosice.sk/rozalia (18)
The Royal Court of Justice (Kralovska sudna tabula - Srobarova 2 (75)
The Slavia Coffeehouse (Kaviaren Slavia) - Hlavna 63 (67)
The Slovak Technical Museum (Slovenske technicke muzeum) - Hlavna 88 www.stm-ke.sk (91)
The Spis Chamber (Spisska komora) - Hlavna 68 (85)
The Squires' Boarding School (Zemiansky konvikt) - Hlavna 91 (12)
The Srobarova Grammar School (Gymnazium Srobarova) - Srobarova 1 www.srobarka.sk. (45)
St. Elizabeth's Cathedral (Dom sv. Alzbety) - Hlavna 30 www.rimkat.sk (46)
The St. Michael's Chapel (Kaplnka sv. Michala) Hlavna Street (25)
The State Theatre (Statne divadlo) - Hlavna Street www.sdke.sk (76)
The Sun-Dial (Slnecne hodiny) - on Cathedral (34)
The Technical University (Technicka univerzita - Letna 9 www.tuke.sk (84)
The Thalia Theatre (Divadlo Thalia) -Timonova 3 www.cassovia.sk/thalia/ (96)
The Transport Companies (Dopravne podniky) - Bardejovska 6 www.dpmk.sk (53)
The Twelve Apostles (12 apostolov) - Kovacska 511 (48)
U. S. Steel Kosice - Kosice-Saca (68)
The Underground Museum (Podzemne muzeum) - Hlavna Street (7)
Urban the Bell (Zvon Urban) - Hlavna Street (52)
Urban's Tower (Urbanova veza) - Hlavna Street (55)
The Ursuline Church (Kostol Ursulinok -Mäsiarska 25 (57)
The Vitez House (Vitezov dom) - Hlavna 40 (90)
A Wander around Kosice 1 - Herlany, Jasov (98)
A Wander around Kosice 2 -Zadiel, Medzev (99)
A Wander for Guides (101)Wander TabIe of Contents (3)
A Wander Round this Book (2)
The White House (Biely dom) -Trieda SNP 48 (87)
The Wooden Church (Dreveny kostolik) - Hviezdoslavova Street (33)
Your Wander(wherever) (69)
The Zoological Garden (Zoologicka zahrada) - Kavecany www.kosice.sk/zoo/ (30)