Apartment in Humenné – Culture, History and Cycling Route

Humenné combines impressive cultural sites with a historic cycling route and a park featuring rare woody plants. Those who explore the city along its tangible traces encounter folk architecture, sacred art, a Renaissance castle and the history of the First World War. The tour thus leads through different themes and eras, from wooden architecture and domestic culture to church architecture, museum interiors and historic transport routes.

Culture and History

The Humenné open-air museum features 15 wooden buildings. The oldest is the wooden Eastern Church of Saint Michael the Archangel from Nová Sedlica. The open-air museum is located behind the castle in the park, on an area of 4 hectares, and houses an exhibition of folk architecture and domestic culture. The individual buildings illustrate traditional construction methods and everyday life in earlier times.

The Church of All Saints is also part of Humenné’s sacred and historical heritage. It was formerly a Franciscan monastery and is now a Roman Catholic parish church. At the same time, it is a Gothic building from the 15th century. Its former monastic use, present-day parish church function and Gothic architectural history come together at this one site.

The Vihorlat Museum complements these sites with several historical layers. Its art history exhibition presents the aristocracy’s domestic culture from the Renaissance to the 20th century in the historic rooms of a Renaissance castle. Since 2009, the museum has also offered a permanent sacred art exhibition in the original rooms of the castle in Humenné, including the Chapel of the Virgin Mary. Renaissance architecture, aristocratic domestic culture and sacred exhibits thus represent different focal points within the same museum.

Cycling Route and Historic Traces

The 52-km cycling route “In the Footsteps of the Good Soldier Švejk” creates a special connection between exercise, literature and history. It begins at the Laborecké Saddle near Palota and ends at Humenné railway station, by the statue of the Good Soldier Švejk. The route follows a railway line along which front-line troops travelled during the First World War and which is connected with Jaroslav Hašek’s novel.

Along the “In the Footsteps of the Good Soldier Švejk” route, travellers can see numerous military cemeteries and wooden churches. The route therefore combines literary references with the historic traces of the First World War and the sacred wooden buildings along the way.

Nature in the Cityscape

Humenné’s Mieru Park is a national cultural monument with rare woody plants. These include a ginkgo listed in the catalogue of protected trees. The park complements the city’s cultural sites with an independent natural and heritage area.

Transport and Information

The Humenné Tourist Information Centre provides free information about transport connections within and outside the city, as well as taxi services. Information about various transport connections is therefore available for further orientation in and around Humenné.

For the general travel overview: Humenné District.