Diapositiva 1

1
D.E.S.T.IN.A.T.I.O.N. EUROPEDeveloping
Sustainable Tourism In A Travel Information
Overseas Network PROJECT MEETING IN SLOVAKIA
April 2007
2
Welcome to Nitra
3
Nitra

• From a historical point of view, Nitra is
  considered to be the mother of Slovak towns, a
  centre of education and culture of Slovakia and
  one of the oldest settlements in the country.
  From the 9th century it was the seat of the
  Princes of Nitra and the sovereigns of the
  Great-Moravian Duchy and later of a successor to
  the Hungarian throne. In 830 the first
  historically documented Catholic Church in
  Slovakia was built and in 880 a bishopric was
  founded in Nitra. In 863 St. Cyril and St.
  Methodius, the Thessalonian brothers, came as
  missionaries and laid the foundations of Slavic
  literacy, education and culture. At the time,
  when the Great-Moravian Empire reached its
  climax, Nitra was its significant centre. In the
  11th century, the town was the seat of the Bishop
  of Nitra and an administrative centre of the
  Hungarian comitatus (county district). The
  further development of Nitra was facilitated with
  a charter issued by Béla IV in 1248, which
  granted the town new liberties and the privileges
  of a free Royal town. From the 15th to the 17th
  century Nitra suffered a lot during the Wars with
  the Turks and in 1663 it was almost completely
  destroyed. At the beginning of the 18th century,
  the city was captured again. Rákoczys forces
  left it completely in ruins, so Nitra had to
  recover from the disaster the houses were
  restored and many new significant buildings were
  added. The castle and the cathedral were
  rebuilt, the pilgrimage church of the Mother of
  God was restored and the construction of the
  Piaristic monastic complex was finished.The
  medieval city was divided into the Upper Town and
  the Lower Town the latter arose from market
  settlements along the roads leading to the
  castle.

4
Opening of the Project Meeting by the Mayor at
the Town Hall
5
.....to school
6
The Castle of Nitra is a National Cultural
Monument consisting of four individual
parts. The Castle Fortification The present
fortification was gradually constructed through
the 16th and 17th centuries. Bishop Pálfy ordered
the massive wall to be built in 1673, during the
reign of Leopold I (as it appears from the Latin
inscription above the entrance), as a protection
against the Turks. It is a star-shaped
fortification system with five impressive
bastions. On each bastion there is a stone carved
portrait of one of Leopolds commanders.
7
Proglas is the Millennium Memorial located close
to the Castle entrance. This work by Marián ilík
features the poetic preface to the Gospel,
written by St. Constantine Cyril using the
original Cyrillic script.
8
Vazils Tower
9
Vazils Tower

• Vazils Tower is another remaining part of the
  medieval fortification. The tower is named after
  Vazul (Vasil), who was the prince of Nitras
  domain at the beginning of the11th century.
  According to the legend, his life ended
  cruelly.The first Hungarian king Stephan I did
  not like his cousin Vazul. He disliked him so
  much that he imprisoned him in the Castle. He did
  not take into consideration the fact that Vazul
  had just become the prince of Nitra. Stephans
  only son, Imrich, died suddenly and the king
  named his nephew Peter Orseol as his successor.
  There was, however, a legitimate claim by Vazul
  and so the king sent an executioner to Nitra to
  blind the unfortunate prince and to pour hot lead
  into his ears. Later chroniclers justified his
  cruel act as a way to protect Christianity
  against the pagan prince Vazul.
  Another
  story says that a monk, Brother Fulgentius,
  called down a curse upon the city For the eyes
  of prince Vazul, which were shining like two
  suns, there will be two days of dark in town.
  According to the old reports, the town was really
  darkened, because of many grasshoppers which
  destroyed the harvest.

10
The Statue of Prince Pribina represents the
Slavic prince who lived and ruled in Nitra in the
early 9th century and ordered the construction of
Slovakias first Christian temple. The Statue,
unveiled in 1989, was created by Tibor Bártfay, a
native of Nitra. Even though at the beginning
Prince Pribina was a heathen, he built the first
Slovak Christian Church in Nitra in 828. The
church served first his wife Adelaide, who came
from the Bavarian duke family of Wilhelm. It was
consecrated by archbishop Adalram from Salzburg.
There is a report that Pribina built the church
for his wife, who married him because of her big
love in spite of his heathenism. Slovak
archaeologists have searched for Pribinas famous
church for several centuries. At the beginning
everything seemed to be very clear. The
Romanesque chapel of Nitra castle had been
considered the oldest Christian church in
Slovakia. The excavations on the castle hill in
1930 did not support this theory. A grave dating
from the 11th century was found under the
building, which shifted the age of the church to
the period when Prince Pribina had already died.
Therefore, the archaeologists attention focused
on other parts of the city.
11
The Grand Seminary is a protected cultural site.
It was built under Bishop Gustíni in 1764 1770.
It was designed by Schmidt and Lippert, but in
1876 1878, Bishop Rokováni had another wing
added to the Baroque building. Now it houses the
valuable Diocesan Library. It is protected as a
National Cultural Monument hosting some sixty-six
thousand volumes. 76 of them are rare 15th
century prints (incunables). The Neo-Classical
building of the Grand Seminary is regarded as one
of Nitras architectural treasures.
12
The Canon House is a protected cultural site. The
construction of this Empire style building in
1818 - 1921 was ordered by Bishop Kluch. It
served the canon priests. The statue of Atlant
(generally known as Corgon) supporting the wall
in the corner is a piece by Vavrinec Dunajský.
Corgon was a smith in the Upper Town. He had an
enormous strength and everybody admired his stout
body. According to the legend he saved the town
from the first Turkish incursion. The hero of
the legend, Corgon, is represented by the statue
of Atlant, the son of Titan Jaspetos, condemned
by God to hold the sphere forever. Above the
entrance, a couple of angels are holding Bishop
Kluchs coat of arms. Attached to the House there
is a low 17th century building. The gate of this
building is exactly the same as the gate of Zobor
Monastery.
13
The Marian Sculpture - also known as the Black
Death Column is located in front of the Castle
entrance. The Baroque sculpture was built in 1750
by Bishop Eszterházy to commemorate the plague
epidemics in 1710 and 1739. On the column top
there is a statue of the Virgin Mary, while the
lower part is covered with stone carvings
depicting her life. The whole sculpture is a
piece by M. Vogerle, an Austrian artist. It is
one of the most valuable and most beautiful
plague columns in Slovakia.
14
The Cathedral of the Castle is composed of three
churches
The Upper Church - This one-nave Gothic cathedral
was built on the highest point of a rocky
elevation on a narrow space between a steep hill
and a Romanesque church, with which it is
connected. The construction took place from 1333
to 1355. After 1711, when the castle lost its
strategic importance, the whole cathedral complex
was rebuilt in Baroque style after the design of
the Italian architect Domenico Martinelli. The
most precious monument of the Upper Church is the
main altar of the Saviour, with a fresco by the
Austrian painter Anton Galliarti.
15
The Lower Church is the latest section of the
Cathedral, built between 1621 and 1642. The most
precious object inside the church is a convex
sculptured relief called The Deposition" ,by the
Austrian artist Johann Pernegger. Under this
sculpture, in a predella, there is a smaller
marble relief with a scene of "The Burial of
Christ". This sculpture has been ascribed to the
renowned Italian sculptor Donatello or to his
school.
16
St. Emerams Church The small Romanesque church
is the oldest part in the Cathedral. Originally
it was built in the 11th century. Later it was
modified using Gothic architectural elements. Its
present appearance is the result of a
reconstruction in 1931 - 1933. The site is
considered to be one of the possible locations of
Slovakias first Christian temple, built by
Pribina. St. Emerams hosts the remains of St.
Andrew, St. Benedict and St. ConstantineCyril.
The relics of St. Cyril were sent here from Rome.
17
The town centre of Nitra
18
Welcome reception at the Tourist Information
Centre
19
Nitriansky Expres (train sightseeing tour)
20
A sword as a symbol of peace (at the entrance
of the Museum) The bronze sword is an enlarged
copy of a sword found in a noblemans tomb in the
9th century. The bronze handle is covered with
geometrical ornaments and masks. The blade is
buried in the ground, which makes it a symbol of
peace.
21
The Music clock is almost five metres tall and it
is made chiefly of stone and bronze. The
settlement of Nitra has always been dependent on
the river , which is represented here by a bronze
engraving on the lower part of the column . The
double face clock, 90 centimetres in radius, is
designed to recall the early 20th century. The
clock strikes a high tone every quarter of an
hour and a low tone every full hour the latter
is followed by a short tune, played according to
a set order. In the morning you can hear a
chicken and a rooster, then a series of Slovak
folk instruments (the violin, the fujara, the
cymbal and the bagpipes). At noon, a chorus of
children sings the piece Nitra, dear Nitra.
During the afternoon, the musical style moves
from folk through modern to classic. At 10 p. m.,
French horns announce the coming of the night and
after midnight, marked by Yesterday by The
Beatles, the clock strikes every hour with short
quiet tunes.
22
The Bronze well pump is a stone and bronze piece
surrounded by a bronze grid, a Great Moravian
symbol. The slender column of the pump ends in a
breast shaped top, a symbol of persistence and of
the secrets of life
23
The Town Theatre
The central square is dominated by the new town
theatre building which was designed by a group of
architects led by Jozef Hlavica from the
Institute of Design in Bratislava. The decoration
of the interior was assigned to foremost art
designers such as the national artist Tibor
Bártfay and others. The most valuable work of art
is the main curtain with the theme of Great
Moravia. With regard to the past history of the
central square, it is worth mentioning that in
the Middle Ages the Parish Church of St. James
with its tower stood on this spot. It was damaged
during the Turkish wars. In the place of the
tower, a Marian Column with a statue by the
renowned Czech sculptor A. Brandl was later built.
24
The Synagogue is a protected cultural site. It
was built in 1910 1911, following the project
of L. Baumhorn, the designer of many other
monumental synagogues across the former Hungarian
Kingdom. It is a square structure with
multi-storey galleries. The façade is richly
decorated with Byzantine and other Oriental
patterns. Across the street, there once stood the
Uránia Cinema, which was destroyed by 1945 air
raids.
25
(No Transcript)
26
St. Ladislavs Piarist Church and Monastery. This
complex of buildings is a protected cultural
site. In 1698, the Piarist monastic order came to
Nitra with the aim of educating poor children.
The foundations of their church and monastery
were laid in 1701. Frequent fires prevented the
building from completion. In 1716, the almost
completed church was destroyed by another fire.
Instead of repeating the work, a new two-steeple
church designed by Kristián Morvay, a Piarist
monk, was built in 1742 1748. The most valuable
part of the temple is the richly decorated main
altar by M. Vogerle, an Austrian sculptor. The
vaults supporting the roof are covered with three
magnificent frescoes depicting the history of
Slavic Nitra by Edmund Massányi, a native of the
town. The small square in front of the temple
includes statues of the 12 Apostles and a Baroque
Calvary by A. Brandl.
27
The Virgin Marys Assumption Church is a
protected cultural site. There was a temple
standing on this site in the 13th century the
present late Renaissance building was completed
in 1678. Pilgrims have been coming here since
1747. The present Calvary was built during the
general reconstruction, including its 14 chapels
with late 19th century stone carvings depicting
the Passion of Christ and the Saint Cross Chapel
on the top of the hill.
28
The Monastery (the Mission House on the Calvary)
the impressive Mission House was built in 1765
for the Nazarene Order. Nowadays the building is
used by the Divine Word Society (Societas Verbi
Dei), a Roman Catholic order, and by the Mission
Museum, where we can see a permanent exhibition
of artefacts collected by Roman Catholic
missionaries across the world.
29
Agrokomplex In the sixties, Nitra became a place
of an agricultural exposition, later a place of
the all-state harvest-home celebrations and since
1974 the all-state agricultural exposition
Agrokomplex has taken place here every year. The
Slovak Museum of Agriculture collects objects of
social life giving evidence of the agricultural
origin and cultural traditions of the peasants
community in Slovakia .
The objects of
the Open-air Museum (bakery, milk cooling
equipment, mills, distillery, seed cleaner,
school, oil presser, wax extractor, haylofts, bee
house, winegrower's house) underline the
irreplaceable importance of the exhibits
collected and of the acquisition activities of
the museum employees in 75 years. An attractive
part of the open air museum is a narrow-gauged
field railway. The exposition ground of
Agrokomplex with its total area of 125 ha is the
largest one in Slovakia.
30
THE ROMANESQUE CHURCH IN DRÁOVCE

• St. Michaels church is located near the village
  of Dráovce, which during the Great Moravian
  Empire was an important Slovak site and burial
  place. It is an important and dominant feature of
  the landscape, dating back to the early 12th
  century. In good weather the little church can be
  seen from Nitra Castle and all the way from
  Topolcany. The Romanesque one-nave church ends in
  a semi-circular apse. The nave has got a flat
  ceiling and a two-level choir on the west side.
  The façade is plain. In the middle of the
  frontage there is a tower ending with a pyramidal
  roof. The church had two choirs, one below the
  tower and the other one on the Epistle Side. On
  the altar there were statues of St. Michael, St.
  Rochus, St. Rosalie, St. Sebastian and a painting
  of the Virgin Mary. This area originally belonged
  to Zobor monastery. The church became a parish
  church in 1787. Although the one-nave little
  church with its entry on the southern side
  underwent many modifications in nearly every
  century, it has retained its Romanesque look up
  to now. Near the church there is a cemetery with
  graves dating back to the 11th and the 17th
  centuries.

31
A curiosity One of the motifs on the reverse
side of the 50 SK (crowns) banknote is the
silhouette of the medieval church at Draovce, a
symbol of early Christianity on our territory. A
legend A legend says that king St. Stefan had
this church built because he believed that the
hill was a holy place. When the work started,
blood trickled from the stone hill, confirming
that this was indeed hallowed ground. This story
spread quickly and the church became a pilgrimage
place. People visited the church only once a year
, on St. Michaels day, when a special mass was
served. One day a sexton was cleaning the church
when he noticed a shiny figure before the altar
paintings. He ran to the village, crying A
miracle happened. A shiny figure of the Virgin
Mary with Jesus in her arms appeared in the
church. Only few people believed the sextons
story, but the Virgin Mary continued to appear
again and again. Later a shepherd gave an
explanation. He said that while he was walking
past the church, he had heard a strange music
coming from the church. He had looked inside and
he had seen the Virgin Mary pointing sadly to the
crumbling roof and walls. People understood the
reason of her apparitions. Several centuries had
passed since the church had been built and nobody
had taken care of the building, so they decided
to renovate it, and they have been taking care of
this church ever since. A special mass is
celebrated every year on September 29th to honour
Saint Michael on his name day.
32
A walk to the wildlife reserve ZOBORSKA LESOSTEP
33
The Spanish student Laura Lozano Medina was the
only foreign guest to reach the top of the
mountain
34
Demonstration of traditional lace making by a
woman from Banská Bystrica (a master of the
art)
35
Museum of the Slovak National Uprising in Banská
Bystrica
36
The exposition presents the Slovakian
anti-fascist resistance movement in Europe in the
years 1939-1945. The exibition is divided into 13
chronologically ordered topics. Each of them
represents a different chapter of the World and
Slovak history events. Visitors can see short
authentic documentary movies on plasma screens.
Besides all this photographic and film
information many three -dimensional objects are
also displayed in the showcases.
37
One of the earliest references to pania dolina
dates from about 4000-4500 years ago. The village
is situated in the eastern part of the Low Tatra
Mountains. High quality mineral water springs are
to be found in the area of pania dolina. The
village has got a long history of mining. Gold,
silver and copper were the main articles of
commerce in the history of the village. Heavy
black copper contained about 60 of silver and
therefore it was a very popular commodity for the
Venetian merchants, who extracted the silver
which was used to produce the famous Venetian
mirrors. When Columbus anchored in Cuba, he had
many copper rods and bars on board of his ship,
which all originated from the pania dolina
region. The wreck of Columbuss ship was found in
1998 and bits of local copper were found on
board. In 1992 copper was also used for the
reconstruction of a church in Munich.
38
pania dolina and lace making. Local women (and
few men) are still keeping the local tradition of
lace making alive. Beautiful and valuable lace of
different shapes is made in the village and it is
known all over the world. It can be made on
request for those who prefer a particular size,
shape or design. Some lace items can be seen in
the small local lace making museum, where people
can also find a book, written by the lady who
presented us the lace making craft in Banská
Bystrica

39
The minersclock
40
(No Transcript)
41
Brezno in the Low Tatras
42
Slovak Eurosala in Michalová presentation of
the shepherds work and preparation of typical
Slovak food
43
Zubria zvernica (a bison menagerie) in Lovce
44
Topolcianky The National stud farm
45
Topolcianky - Hippology Museum
46
The Castle in Topolcianky, the former royal
estate and the presidents summer residence
47
Coronation of The Queen of Nitra
48
C O R O N A T I O N S P E E C H

• 1. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
  friends,
• On behalf of our Election Committee, I am
  honoured to present the results of the election
  of the Queen of DESTINATION kingdom for the year
  2007.
• I also wish to thank everyone who ran in the
  election and went through the examination.
• On the basis of the examination results, the
  Election Committee has decided to nominate
• Miss Melania for the post of the Queen of
  DESTINATION kingdom for the year 2007.
• Please, welcome our Queen.
• 2. The Coronation Oath
• a) Madam, is your Majesty willing to take the
  Coronation Oath?
• Queen I am.
• b) Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern
  the People of DESTINATION kingdom according to
  their respective laws and customs?
• Queen I solemnly promise to do so.
• c) Will you solemnly promise to be a good example
  for all your people in studying and living?
• Queen I solemnly promise to do so.
• d) Will you solemnly promise to work tirelessly
  days and nights for the good name of our
  DESTINATION kingdom?
• Queen I solemnly promise to do so.
• (Queen kneels saying these words)
• The things which I have here before promised, I
  will perform and keep.
• Remember the motto of our kingdom
• STUDY AND PLAY ALL THE DAY, TRAVEL AND MAKE NEW
  FRIENDS EVERYWHERE.

49
(No Transcript)
50
see you next year!!!