Discover Košice: Culture, Nature and City Life

The historic centre of Košice is the largest urban heritage reserve in Slovakia. St. Elisabeth Cathedral is the largest cathedral in Slovakia. A miracle that occurred during a ceremony in St. Elisabeth Cathedral in 1352 made Košice an internationally significant pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages. Visitors can climb the cathedral’s North Tower via a spiral staircase.

Culture and History

St. Michael’s Chapel is a Gothic church from the 14th century with an underground ossuary. Its interior can be visited as part of a guided tour with a guide. The East Slovak Museum has a historical section and changing exhibitions of various kinds. The Košice Gold Treasure is a find from 1935 consisting of 2,920 coins, three medals and a Renaissance chain.

The Kunsthalle was created from the building of a former swimming pool and is now a centre for presenting contemporary art. The National Theatre Košice stages operas, ballets, plays and operettas.

Crafts and City Life

The ÚĽUV Regional Craft Centre Košice offers courses for adults and children, including the basics of wood carving and ceramic modelling. The centre also includes a gallery with themed exhibitions on traditional crafts and a shop selling folk art products. The Craftsmen’s Lane on Hrnčiarska Street is home to several artists and businesses. There, visitors can talk to a local potter about the special features of Habán pottery.

Nature and Family Attractions

The UPJŠ Botanical Garden in Košice comprises more than 4,000 species. It includes a dendrological educational trail, greenhouses, cacti, and orchid and butterfly exhibitions. At Košice Zoo, visitors can regularly take part in animal feedings and observe animals in outdoor enclosures, indoor pavilions and terrariums.

The Košice Children’s Historic Railway travels through the Čermeľ Valley along a forest route towards Alpinka Košice. Košice City Park is suitable for walks at any time of year. Music festivals are held there in a beautiful 19th-century pavilion.

The main themes are clearly divided into culture and history, crafts, nature and animal observation, walks, events and local cuisine. For planning your day, you can weigh these areas separately, arrange them by time and combine different types of visits. This makes it clear whether the day will be shaped primarily by sightseeing, outdoor areas, encounters with craftspeople or local offerings.

Events and Local Cuisine

The Košice Peace Marathon has been held in Košice since 1924. MarathonPoint houses an exhibition about the International Peace Marathon as well as authentic artefacts. At Kino Úsmev, the Street Food Corner offers a variety of food trucks and typical street food from Košice. The Street Food Festival at Kino Úsmev takes place twice a year. The MAME market of local brands is held regularly at Dominican Square.

When choosing accommodation in Košice, the travel period, room category and cancellation conditions provide an objective framework for selection. This information helps establish the organisational framework, while you can plan the content independently according to your preferred areas of interest, the time available and your interests.

For the overarching travel overview: Kaschau.