Performing Arts Festivals

Opera, ballet and drama make themselves at home in Bratislava at the Slovak National Theater, while concerts and visiting symphonies are on stage at the Slovak Philharmonic. Come summer in the capital, there is an outburst of performing arts - chamber concerts, opera, drama, jazz, folk music, brass bands and films in locations around the old towns of major cities.

Bratislava: Bratislava Music Festival, the city’s largest music event. (late-September. to mid-October)

Trencianske Teplice and Bratislava: International Film Festival (Artfilm). (June)

Kremnica: International Organ Festival. (July)
Locator: 10 mi. west of Banska Bystrica

Banska Stiavnica: International Festival of Classical Music. (July)
Locator: 30 mi. south of Banska Bystrica

Traditional Events

Trencin (western Slovakia): Medieval Days held in Trencin Castle: held nightly in summer months.
Locator: 2 l/2 hours by bus or train from Bratislava

Vychodna (central Slovakia): Vychodna Folk Festival, a masterful showcase of folk music and dance. (late June/early July)
Locator: 10 mi. east of Liptovsky Mikulas

Bojnice: The International Festival of Ghosts and Spirits. (first weeks of May)
Locator: 40 mi.west of Banska Bystrica; 40 mi. south of Zilina

Trnava: International Folklore Fest
Locator: from Bratislava, 40 minutes by train to Slovakia’s oldest town

Spisske Podhradie: Spis Folkore Fest. (June)
Locator: 2 hours by rail or bus from Kosice

Piešťany: Music festival Country Lodenica – country music, folk, bluegrass and much more is to be seen every year in Autocamping Lodenica in town Piestany.
Locator: 50 min. north from Bratislava

Bratislava: Bratislava Jazz Days – International festival of jazz music held every year on October in Bratislava.

Bratislava: Coronation ceremonies - the largest cultural event in Slovakia; held in Bratislava, gives a real taste of the ancient coronation ceremony of Hungarian kings. The event is held each year in the first weekend of September and respects the chronological order of individual kings and queens that were crowned in Bratislava.

Capitals & Elsewhere

Bratislava: Today’s Slovakian capital was once capital of Hungary and for 300 years site of the coronation of Hungarian kings and queens. A walking tour of Bratislava reveals a 17th century world of Baroque palaces from the Habsburg era of Maria Theresa, the New Bridge over the Danube, the Slavin World War II Memorial. The city’s major art collection is in the Slovak National Gallery, a modern building incorporating an 18th century palace, while other art-loving attractions include the holdings of the rococo-style Mirbach Palace. Overlooking the Danube is the Bratislava Castle, with its interesting Museum of Folk Music, and at the foot of the castle hill you’ll find the Decorative Arts Museum, the Museum of Clocks and the Museum of Jewish Culture.
Locator: 40 mi. from Vienna; 115 mi. from Budapest

Kosice: Second only in size to the capital, Kosice sits in southeastern Slovakia. President Rudolf Schuster was once mayor here and encouraged the restoration of the historic center - now the largest protected area in Slovakia.

Chief among renovation projects is the late-Gothic Cathedral of St. Elizabeth, and of particular interest is the Kosice Gold Treasure housed in the East Slovak Museum, and the trio of attractions - Miklus Prison, Ferenc Rakoczi House Museum and the Weapons Museum - in the Executioner’s Bastion, which was a part of the city’s 15th century fortifications.
Locator: 55 mi. from Miskolc, Hungary

Levoca: Dating from the Middle Ages, Levoca is one of the best-preserved, walled towns in Slovakia, and Gothic, Baroque and early Renaissance houses distinguish the central square. There are still 14th and 15th century fortifications; a handsome arcaded Gothic Town Hall; Master Pavol’s carved altar (the largest Gothic altar in the world) and the gilded Madonna in the St. Jacob's Church; and wonderful medieval rooms in the Spis Museum.
Locator: 15 mi. east of Poprad

Bardejov: Close to Levoca, Bardejov is another eastern Slovakia town that enjoys an old medieval square lined with Gothic-Renaissance merchant houses - a Unesco Heritage Site. Also well preserved are the town walls, the moat, towers and bastions. One of the most remarkable buildings in the country is the 14th century Church of St. Egidius, with no less than 11 Gothic altarpieces. At the Saris Museum on the main square, see the altarpieces and the historical displays in the 16th century Town Hall, the museum housing a collection of icons, and a good natural history exhibition.
Locator: 45 mi. from Kosice

Banska Stiavnica - the gem among the towns of Slovakia is undoubtedly Banska Stiavnica situated in the heart of the Stiavnicke vrchy Mountains. Its undeniable values and beauty caused that it is one of the first Slovak towns that has been included into the List of the World Cultural Heritage of UNESCO in 1996. Banska Stiavnica was formerly one of the most significant centers of precious metal mining, mining science, technology and education in Europe. The dominant of the town centre is Starý zámok (Old Castle) standing on the west terrace of the Trojičné námestie square.
Locator: 2 hours north-east of Bratislava

Special Museums

Just outside Bratislava, the Danubiana Bratislava occupies an impressive position on a spit of landing jutting out into the Danube. The red, blue and silver building houses some of the country’s most cutting-edge collection of modern art.

In Kremnica, the Museum of Coins and Medals, was originally (1328) a manufacturing company and still operates as a mint; as a museum, it showcases the long history of coin production.
Locator: 100 mi. from Bratislava

Medzilaborce: Andy Warhol Modern Art Museum, with 23 original works of this famous pop artist, whose parents came from the neighboring village.
Locator: 60 mi. from Kosice

Pribylina: Opened in 1991, the Museum of Liptov Village is the youngest of the open-air museums in Slovakia; its structures were relocated to this location following construction of the Lipovsky Mara Dam. Each structure within the village - from school to church to peasant homes to manor house - depicts a different social-economic level, from the poorest way of life to the richest.
Locator: 10 mi. east of Liptovsky Mikulas

Betliar: Surrounded by parklands and housed in the former hunting palace of the Andrassy family, the Betliar Museum occupies a designated National Cultural Monument, and its focus is on documenting the history of the gentry and their hunting passions, as reflected in its design and interiors.
Locator: 2 mi. from Roznava

Cerveny Kamen Museum - the most beautiful castle in the mountains Malé Karpaty, situated several tens of kilometers from the Capital Bratislava is one of the best preserved Slovak Castles. The Cerveny Kamen Museum is a specialized museum that documents the development of residences of the aristocracy and the urban classes in Slovakia, emphasizing the art-history character of the objects and history of the Cerveny Kamen Castle.
Locator: 20 min. north of Bratislava

Regal Sites

Spisske Podhradie (East Slovakia): Located just outside town, the spectacular Spis Castle sits ridge-top and is one of the largest fortified castle ruins (partially reconstructed) in Central Europe; in summer it hosts medieval festivals which consist mainly of concerts and mock battles. This is a Unesco-designated monument, whose adjacent sites of Zehra, Spisska, Kapitula and Spisske Podhradie are also of interest.
Locator: 10 miles east of Levoca

Bojnice (Central Slovakia) The Bojnice Chateau is the most visited castle in Slovakia; highlights include the Golden Hall with its gilded ceiling and a small cave system below the courtyard, and exhibits include furniture, painting, weapons, glass and porcelain in lavishly decorated rooms.
Locator: 40 mi. south of Zilina

Oravsky Podzamok (Central Slovakia): Overlooking the village, the Orava Castle is hard to miss, for its pointed towers rise Disneyland style from a narrow blade of rock. Its rooms are full of weapons, paintings, tapestries and period furniture, and highlights include the Rococo Chapel and the Citadel.
Locator: 19 mi. north of Ruzomberok

Trencin (West Slovakia): built on top of a steep rock it is undoubtedly the dominant of the town Trenčín and the region of Považie. The Castle, which is along with those of Spiš and Devín one of the biggest in Europe, is the National Cultural Monument. It was the royal castle from the 11th century and had an important role above all in time of Turkish attacks.
Locator: 1,5 hours north of Bratislava

UNESCO World Heritage Sites (5 sites nationwide)

Vlkolinec: Located in the Demanova Valley of the Low Tatras Mountains, this small folk village is admired for its 405 remarkably well-preserved log houses, one of which has been turned into a museum; the oldest traditional house dates from the 15th century.
Locator: 3 mi. from Ruzomberok

Banska Stiavnica: The Heritage Site combines the oldest mining university in Central Europe (1762) and its adjacent mining relics.
Locator: 30 mi. southwest of Banska Bystrica

Dobsinska Ice Cave, in Eastern Slovakia, is the site of Europe’s oldest ice cave. The specific caves, designated by Unesco as a World Natural History Site, are the caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst.
Locator: 20 mi. from Roznava

Spissky hrad Castle: with its surrounding settlements, (Spišské Podhradie, Spišská Kapitula and the small church in Žehra) form a single historical settlement unit. Spissky hrad Castle was constructed in the 12th century and belongs to the largest of its kind in Central Europe.
Locator: 60km north-west from Kosice