Kosice & the east
Eastern Slovakia is a land of soaring castles and beautifully preserved medieval towns far off the tourist trail. Its crown is Spis Castle, one of the largest castle complexes in Central Europe, a vast sprawl of pale stone ruins, towers and ramparts crowning a green hill above the plain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that looks straight out of a fairy tale.
Nearby lie the perfectly preserved walled town of Levoca, whose St. James Church holds the tallest Gothic wooden altar in the world, carved by Master Paul, and the lively city of Kosice with its magnificent Gothic St. Elisabeth Cathedral, the easternmost in Europe of its kind. Scattered through the surrounding hills are the UNESCO wooden churches of the Carpathians.
It is a region of grand history, folk tradition and very few crowds, the soulful heart of the Slovak east. With the right timing and a little local knowledge you can climb the ramparts for the long view, wander a medieval square at an unhurried pace and still have time to seek out a wooden church in the quiet countryside before the day softens.
