These articles were published in the Spectacular Slovakia travel guide, published annually by The Slovak Spectator since 1996. The latest editions can be obtained from our online shop.


Trnava

Little Rome

By Martin Pokluda and Daniel J. Stoll

    
 
 photo: TASR

As dawn breaks on June 1, 1846, excited passengers sit on the first horse-pulled train to operate in the Hungarian Empire, which enveloped Slovakia at the time. Embarking from the busy cosmopolitan town of Pressburg (now Bratislava), their destination is the provincial village of Trnava, about 50 kilometres to the north-east. After a two-hour ride, the steeples of Trnava's many churches appear on the horizon. The people stand, greeting the town with cries of "Vivat!" as the dusty train pulls into the countryside station.

Even today, people come to Trnava to see the steeples, which is one reason why the town is sometimes referred to as 'Slovakia's Rome' or 'Little Rome'. By the Middle Ages, there were five churches in Trnava, their capacity far exceeding the town's population. With five more Catholic and one Evangelical church having been built since then, Trnava now boasts 11 Christian houses of worship, along with two Jewish synagogues, all from the 19th century.

Trnava also gained its reputation as a second Rome from the populace's vigorously Catholic spirit, which was rewarded when the authorities moved the bishopric here after the Turks threatened the seat in Esztergom (in present-day Hungary) in 1543.

Myths flourish about Trnava's roots. One legend says the two trade routes stretching across the Danube Lowland grew tired of bearing travellers. "Why don't we rest?" one road asked the other. And so they did by prudently deciding that a settlement be built over the routes' junction on the banks of the Trnávka River.

    
 
 photo: TASR

The settlement slowly grew into a town. King Béla II, nicknamed "Slepý" (Blind), enlarged the town's borders in the 13th century to a circle whose circumference was set at the distance a pair of horses walking at an ordinary gait could cover in an hour's time.

Then came the beetling fortifications, with 52 sections in all for the town wall. The river's water filled the moat, and wooden draw-bridges were constructed to turn the once defenceless town into a fortified island.

In 1238, Béla IV allowed Trnava to become the first free royal town on the territory of modern-day Slovakia, an act which ushered in a heyday of prosperity for handicrafts and trade. Among other privileges, locals were allowed to brew beer and execute criminals by hanging.

Much has changed since those glory days. The ancient fortifications, for example, have become a nuisance by confining the growing town to the narrow embrace of the city walls. But some traditions are worth keeping. The reopening of Trnava University in 1992, after a 215-year hiatus, put Trnava back on the higher education map, a fact reinforced by the opening of the University of Saints Cyril and Methodius in fall 1997.

With frequent cultural events, passionate football fans and a rich history being resuscitated, the heart of Trnava is beating strongly once again.

These articles and related information were published in Spectacular Slovakia 2001.


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