The town of Prešov is situated at the confluence of the rivers Torysa and Sekčov in the northern part of the Košice basin, which is encroached by the Šarišská vrchovina (Šarišská Upland) from the west. From the south-west the city is surrounded by the Slanské vrchy Mountains. It is located exactly on the 49th parallel, which imaginatively connects it with, for example, České Budějovice, Regensburg in Germany, the French metropolis of Paris, the Canadian island of Newfoundland, or the Ukrainian towns of Severodoneck, Rubizhne, or Kaluš.
Prešov and its history
The official history of Prešov began in 1247, when it was first mentioned in the charter of King Bela IV. In the 13th century, the area was heavily affected by German settlement, and together with its favourable location at the crossroads of important trade routes, it accelerated its transformation from a rural settlement into a town. The origins of one of the most important historical landmarks of Prešov date back to this suburban period.
St. Nicholas Cathedral, when the church of the German settlement stood on this place. After the granting of city privileges in 1374, Prešov became a free royal city. It experienced a significant economic boom in the 14th and 15th centuries, which was also reflected in the splendid architecture of the town houses, whose buildings in the city centre have been preserved to this day. The building of one of them was converted into the town's wine cellar at the beginning of the 16th century and in the 17th century the building was converted into a
City Hall. It ends with one of the oldest monuments in the city - the Gothic
Caraffa Prison with a typical historical appearance, which currently serves as a gallery. The high level of education from this period is evidenced by the history of
old town school. Its development can be traced from archival sources from the beginning of the 15th century.
In the 14th century, the town was transformed into a fortress by building walls. The original part of the
city fortifications was also an inconspicuous ancient Prešov building known as
Kumšt. After its conversion into a water tower, it supplied water to the stone tanks on Main Street until the construction of the town water supply system in the early 20th century. It is one of the unique technical and historical monuments in Central Europe.
The Reformation also affected the city of Prešov and influenced its further development, especially in the field of education. The most important monument to Protestant education in Slovakia is
Evangelical College, which in the first half of the 19th century grew into one of the most important higher schools in the whole of Hungary. Its most beautiful room is the university collegiate library, which contains more than 40 thousand volumes. One of the few Protestant churches built in Prešov during the Reformation - the Renaissance
Church of the Holy Trinity with a baroque organ from 1642.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the history of Prešov was marked, among other things, by rebellions of the Estates and plague epidemics. A sad event was the Prešov Massacre, during which General Caraffa condemned twenty prominent townsmen, who were successively tortured and executed in 1687. In their memory, a monument was erected on the corner of the Evangelical College with a commemorative plaque with the names of those executed. The plague epidemic at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries is commemorated by a Baroque
Immaculata sculpture built in memory of the victims in 1751.
After these events, the town got back on track and started to grow and prosper economically, thanks to salt mining in the village.
Solivar, which is today a local part of Prešov. The unique complex of technical buildings for pumping and boiling salt from brine, dating from the 17th century, is one of the most important technical monuments in Slovakia. The character of the town has been shaped by its inhabitants of different nationalities and denominations. This is evidenced by the diverse cultural and sacral monuments in the town. The majestic Franciscan
Church of St. Joseph connected on the north side with the monastery was built around 1380 on the site of the original church by the Carmelite monastery. Greek Catholic
Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist began to be built in 1429 on the site of the original chapel near the town hospital. In Prešov, in 1950, a chapel was built on the site of the
Orthodox Church of St. Alexander Nevsky, which is built in the spirit of the traditions of Orthodox Russian architecture with five onion-shaped domes. The town has also preserved the magnificent
orthodox synagogue built in 1898 in the Moorish style with several orientalising elements. Art lovers will also be attracted by the varied architectural styles of the historic buildings, which include an Art Nouveau exhibition building
Bosákov's bank built in 1924 on the corner of Hlavna and Levočská Street, rococo-classical building
county house or a jewel of urban renaissance architecture
Rakoci Palace, which was built at the end of the 16th century by Prince Sigmund Rákoci of Transylvania.
Prešov, the metropolis of the Šariš region, the third largest city in Slovakia. It is the only place in Slovakia through which the 49th parallel passes.
You can also read about Prešov on the website
www.presov.sk. You can also visit the following cities -
Prešov,
Bardejov,
Sabinov,
Lipany,
Svidník,
Hanušovce nad Topľou
