Holiday apartment in Bijacovce: Castle, churches and park

Bijacovce combines architectural landmarks, documented history and a protected park with remarkably old trees. The village landscape brings together Csáky Castle, historic religious buildings, a hunting and forestry museum, and special details such as a complete sundial.

Culture

Csáky Castle is a two-storey late Baroque building constructed between 1780 and 1785. A complex of agricultural buildings and a park adjoin the castle. Today, the building houses Bijacovce Secondary Vocational School, which trains specialists for work in the forest.

The hunting and forestry museum is also part of the village's cultural character. It displays trophies, historical objects, and information about wild animals and hunters. In addition, the museum presents the traditions of hunting, forestry and nature conservation.

The Csáky family crypt is located in the Bijacovce cemetery. Albín Csáky (1841–1912) had it built in 1911; he, his wife and his two sons are buried there.

History

Bijacovce was first mentioned in written sources in the mid-13th century as terra Beth. At that time, the village belonged to Spiš Castle. This early mention stands alongside the later architectural landmarks that continue to make different eras visible in the village today.

The Church of All Saints was originally a Romanesque church dating from before 1260 and was later rebuilt in the Gothic style. It is in good condition and continues to serve its religious purpose. The church contains a fragment of a wall-painting cycle depicting the legend of Saint Ladislaus from the second half of the 14th century; figures of the Apostles and Christ are also depicted on the northern side of the presbytery. The Church of All Saints also features a complete vertical sundial in a square shape with clipped corners.

The Chapel of Saints Cosmas and Damian is an originally Romanesque rubble-stone rotunda from the second half of the 13th century, which was given a Baroque makeover between 1740 and 1757. The rotunda chapel is in good condition and continues to serve its purpose. It stands on a rise at the northeastern edge of Bijacovce, at the end of the village.

Nature

Bijacovce Park is protected as a national cultural monument. It contains three pedunculate oaks measuring 16–22 m in height, 313–343 cm in trunk circumference, and 18–19 m in crown diameter, and aged more than 250 years. The precise measurements and great age give this part of Bijacovce just as concrete a profile as the village's historic buildings.

For the oaks, the measurements refer to different aspects of their growth: height describes their vertical extent, trunk circumference the thickness of the trunk, and crown diameter the width of the tree crowns. Together with the age information, they provide a precisely defined picture of the three trees in the protected park.

Other village pages in this selection: Korytné, Granč-Petrovce, Dravce, Spišské Podhradie, Leutschau.

For the higher-level travel overview: Levoča District.