Holiday apartment in Bartfeld: Market Square, Basilica and Jewish Suburbium

Bartfeld is characterized by historic urban structures, sacred art and routes through the rural surroundings. In the Bardejov Urban Conservation Reserve, the preserved urban layout features a regular street plan arranged around a spacious market square. Burgher houses dating from the first half of the 15th century surround three sides of the market square. The historic center of Bardejov is surrounded by a fortification system that was among the most advanced in Central Europe at the time of its construction. The urban layout, burgher houses and fortification system thus represent different historical layers of the same townscape.

Culture

The historic character of the town is reflected in several architectural forms and collections. The Basilica of St. Egidius in Bardejov is a three-nave Gothic basilica with a valuable collection of eleven Late Gothic altars. The 72-meter-high tower of the Basilica of St. Egidius serves as a viewing point for tourists. This combines the appreciation of the church architecture with a viewing point within the same building.

The historic town hall stands in the middle of Town Hall Square and is considered the first secular Renaissance building in Slovakia. Bardejov Town Hall houses the Šariš Museum exhibition “Bardejov – Free Royal Town”. Town Hall Square thus brings together the central location of the historic building and the exhibition established there.

The Jewish Suburbium of Bardejov is a unique 19th-century urban complex. The complex comprises a synagogue, ritual baths (mikveh), an assembly building (beit midrash) and a commercial section. The synagogue features rich ornamental paintings with plant motifs from the late 19th century. The various components make the complex recognizable as an architectural unit, while the paintings form a distinct detail of the synagogue.

The cultural attractions also include exhibitions with different focuses. In Bardejov, a specialized exhibition presents icons of the Eastern rite; it is considered the only exhibition of its kind in Slovakia. A presentation of more than 1,700 exhibits from one geographical region is complemented by a permanent exhibition of exotic wildlife. Thus, sacred art, regional exhibits and depictions of exotic wildlife are presented side by side in the town in different exhibition formats.

Nature

The surroundings are also among the different features that characterize Bardejov. The area around Bardejov has a network of marked hiking trails. The surrounding area also offers hundreds of kilometers of rural roads with light traffic, providing conditions for cycling. Hiking and cycling here refer to two different ways of traveling through the surroundings: marked trails on the one hand and rural roads with light traffic on the other.

Visitor information: Bardejov's tourist information office provides information about sights, hiking opportunities, restaurants, transport, and sports and cultural activities. It offers guided tours in Slovak, English, German, Polish and French. The information service thus covers both guidance on the topics mentioned and guided tours in five languages.

Other local pages: Smilno, Regetovka, Zborov, Bartošovce, Stebnícka Huta, Malcov, Bardejovské Kúpele, Fričkovce.

To the overarching travel overview: Bardejov.