Poprad & Spis Castle

On Sunday we went to Slovakia. Our first stop was at a gas station just past the Polish-Slovak border to buy a vignette, which you need to drive on Slovak highways.

Next we headed to Poprad, where we arrived at noon. We did some grocery shopping and had lunch at the Utopia restaurant. We chose that restaurant based on the recommendations from the Foursquare app. The recommendation was justified - they have a very good pizza. The décor is quite unusual - e.g. you can eat while sitting on the beds.

The main tourist attraction, which we wanted to see that day, was Spis Castle. The castle ruins are located 50 km east of Poprad. The drive goes quickly since a large part is on the highway. However, our car navigation kept trying to send us onto a highway section that was still under construction. The route went by highway to Spišský Štvrtok, where we turned onto a local road through Levoča (a very charming town) and continued towards Spišské Podhradie.

Access to the ruins is via a dirt road and the ruins are located on a hill. The road was covered with ice and snow and we were not able to reach the top of the hill by car - it was an opportunity to take a walk. At the top we found beautiful castle ruins and a museum. Unfortunately, in the winter the museum was closed.

Fun fact: scenes from the film "Dragonheart" (1996) were shot at the castle. The ruins played Avalon, where the knight Bowen seeks advice from the spirit of King Arthur.

The ruins are amazing. This is one of the largest castle ruins in Central Europe. The whole site covers 4 ha, and part of it has been turned into a museum. It is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Fun fact: construction of the castle began in the 12th century, and the first written record of it dates from 1120. In 1780 the castle was destroyed by a fire whose cause is still unknown. It was added to the UNESCO list in 1993.

In the evening we went back to Poprad, where we spent our first night in Slovakia.