Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

Banská Bystrica is a city in central Slovakia and is located about halfway between Bratislava and Košice, the country's two largest cities.  Banská Bystrica sits on the Hron River, encircled by three mountain ranges, and with 76,000 inhabitants it is the 6th largest city in Slovakia.  

The town was founded by German settlers in 1255 and quickly became a copper mining town.  During the Austro-Hungarian Empire it was called Neusohl until 1867 when it took the Hungarian name of Besztercebánya and Banská Bystrica has been the official name since 1920.

During WWII, when Slovakia was a Nazi puppet state, Banská Bystrica became the centre of Slovakian anti-Nazi opposition when the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) began in August 1944.  The SNP was put down a couple of months later before being occupied by the Germans until Red Army and Romanian troops liberated the city in March 1945.

Today, it is a lovely university town and with warm summers and cold winters, the surrounding mountains make it a popular tourist destination.

SNP Square is the town's main square and home to many of the town's historical sights with several cafes and restaurants.

The clock tower was built in 1552 and it leans 40 cm (16 inches).

The plague column was erected in the 18th century.  I read that in 1964 it had to be temporarily moved when Nikita Khrushchev visited because the communists didn't want a religious symbol in the background when he gave a speech.

The town hall was originally built in the 16th century but has had numerous renovations over the years.  The facade has both Renaissance and Baroque features and a modern glass pyramid on the roof.

The "Wolf's Lunch Building" used to the town hall.  It was built around 1400 at the start of the 15th century.  I heard a couple of different stories about where the name came from but more or less that from this spot there was a tradition of feeding the poor and that included the wolves from the surrounding forests as well.  

There's a black obelisk, unveiled in 1945, to commemorate the Soviet and Romanian soldiers that liberated the city.  Somehow it is the property of the Russian Federation but I don't get how.  I heard that the granite used to build it came from the stockpile that Hitler planned to use fr victory monuments in Moscow and Leningrad, which never came about.  Not sure if this is true or not but an interesting twist.

The Thurzo House dates back to the 15th century and it is one of the city's oldest buildings.  It was once the headquarters for a mining company and today it hosts a museum.

The St. Francis Xavier Cathedral was consecrated in 1715 and it has been the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese since 1776.  The exterior was renovated in 1999.   

The St. Elizabeth Church was built in 1303.  It's also known as the Spiral Church because it was built next to the hospital for sick and unfit miners.  

The Central Slovakia Gallery is one of the oldest regional galleries in the country.  The collection focuses on modern art.

The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was built in the mid-13th century.  It is also known as the German Church because it had been built by wealthy Germans townspeople on the foundation of a basilica.  It's the oldest building in town.

The Kammerhof building used to be one of the town's three breweries.  The building was renovated in 1954 and since 1958 it houses museum exhibitions.

The Bishop's Palace was built in 1776.  It boggles my American brain that this building is as old as the U.S. Declaration of Independence and this isn't even the oldest building in town.

Apparently we had just missed "American Day in Banská Bystrica."

Józef Dekrét Matejovie Park was founded in 1971.  It's named after a pioneer of modern forestry during the 18th and 19th centuries who contributed to forest improvements that had been devised due to local mining.

The State Opera house was completed in 1929.  It is one of three state opera houses in the country.

The Museum of the Slovak National Uprising was impressive.  It opened in 1955 and it is one of the reasons that I wanted to visit the town.  It did not disappoint.  Very interesting and here's a short video I found on YouTube. 

©goguliver.sk

Banská Bystrica had been on my list of places to visit for more than 10 years.  We really enjoyed it and I'd like to explore a bit more of Slovakia.  We also took a day trip out to visit nearby Hronsek and Slovenská Ľupča.

Žabovřesky Walk

A while ago I found a map for a self-guided walk of Žabovřesky at the Tourist Information Office.  Since yesterday was Labour Day so decided to get some fresh air and go for a walk.  

Žabovřesky is one of Brno city districts, next to where I live, that covers 4,35 km² (about 1.7 miles²).  It dates back to the Middle Ages.  It was an independent municipality until it was annexed to Brno in 1919.  The name translates to "Frog screams."

Kounicovy koleje are student dormitories that were built in 1922.  Following the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, on 17 November 1939, about 200 students were taken from the dormitory and sent to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.  From 1940, the Gestapo used the facilities for interrogations and as a prison.  Tens of thousands of prisoners passed through the prison and at least 800 people died here.

After Brno was liberated, it became a prison for Nazis and collaborators from May to September 1945.  During this time at least 300 people died there from torture and were buried in mass graves at the Central Cemetery.    

In 1978, the dorms were declared a national cultural monument and in the garden is a memorial for the victims and to victory over Fascism.  

Since 1999, the dorms belong to the Brno University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Across the street from the dormitories is the headquarters of the Národní úřad pro kybernetickou a informační bezpečnost (NÚKIB).  The National Office for Cyber and Information Security is the central office for cybersecurity and cryptography.  NÚKIB has jurisdiction over the National Security Centre (NCKB).

Bohuslav Fuchs House was built in 1928, by the renowned architect who worked from a private studio in his villa.

In 1929, he resigned from his position as the city's main architect but continued to work from his home office.  He then connected his villa to the neighbouring house. 

Kino Lucerna is began screening films on 29 May 1915.  The single-storey Art Nouveau building still functions as a single-screen movie house.  It is the oldest operating cinema in Brno and the second oldest in Czechland.  

The Church of Our Lady Help of Christians was built in 1994 and consecrated in 1995.  The 500 seat church was built on the original site of Church of the Salesian Order.  The original church was built in 1939 but the order was banned in the 1950s by the Communist regime.

Sono Centrum is a multi-purpose facility that opened in 2016. The  "Death Star" is a nine-story building that combines a hotel, a music club, a conference hall and a restaurant.  

The Masaryk University Faculty of Law opened in 1919 and is one of four law schools in the country.  The present building opened in 1932 until 1939 when the Gestapo made it their headquarters until 1945.  Classrooms were used as cells and interrogation rooms.  Eventually the building was used by the Military Academy until after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 when it was returned to the Law Faculty. 

In 2010, a monument of former President Edvard Beneš was unveiled in front of the faculty.  The statue cost 1,6 million Kč (~$77K) and ame at the request of members of the Czechoslovak Legionnaires' Association and the Association of Czechoslovak Foreign Pilots 1939-1945.  Although not at some controversy as the Beneš Decrees played a significant role in relocating ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia after the war. This is locally know as the Brno Death March.  Later this year it will be 75 years since he passed away.

The Chapel of St. Wenceslas was built in 1906 and is dedicated to the patron saint of Czechland.  The chapel facade is a protected cultural monument and the the building was renovated in 2018.

The Dušan Jurkovič Villa was built in 1906 by one of the best 19th century architects in Central Europe.  

Wilsonův les, Wilson's Forest, is a 34,4 hectare (85 acre) forest park on the southern edge of the Žabovřesky.  In 1888 it was called Kaiserwald, the Imperial Forest, to honour Emperor Franz Joseph I who was celebrating the 40th anniversary of his reign.  In 1918, it was renamed in honour of American President Woodrow Wilson who supported the establishment of an independent Czechoslovakia.  During WWII it was called Kaiserwald again and from 1953 to 1991 it was known as Jirásek's Forest after writer Alois Jirásek.  I guess having a forest named after an American President isn't something that would have been something favoured by the Communist regime.

From the hill you get a great view of the city.

There's quite a bit to see just walking around Žabovřwsky.  Of course I supposed it couldn't be called "Frog Screams" if there wasn't some kind of frog motif.  

The art nouveau building, built in 1908, has a golden frog at the entrance.

The weather was perfect so it was great to walk around the neighbourhood all day.  Definitely need to explore some other Brno neighbourhoods as well.

Malý Mehrin Museum

Today's Brno adventure was brunch and then we went to check out the new Malý Mehrin Museum which opened back in February.  Malý Mehrin means "Little Mehrin" and it is the temporary Moravian Jewish Museum which is located in a house until a permanent museum is built.

"Mehrin" is the Yiddish slang word for Moravia.     

There's currently an exhibition of 13 stops focused on stories of Moravian Jews.  

Due to the Nazi occupation and anti-Semetic policies of the post-war Communist government, the vast majority of the information in the exhibits came from outside of the country.

The museum will offer talks, lectures and children's programmes.  It will operate until the new "big Mehrin" gets built.

Back in 2021, it was announced that Brno was going to get a new Moravian Holocaust Documentation Centre.  In 2022, the name was changed to the Mehrin Moravian Jewish Museum.  

The Japanese architect Kengo Kuma won the competition for the design of the new museum.  There were three other firms in the running but the winning design was unanimously selected by a nine-member international jury.  

The building will be in the shape of an endless white ribbon with a tree in the centre.  It should be built in the city centre, between the bus and train stations, where there's currently a parking lot.

There's an endowment fund in place but the total cost of the new museum is expected to run hundreds of millions of Czech Crowns so it's not known when construction will actually begin.

ESTA Visa Application

Kája and I are planning to go to the USA in July for a three-week holiday.  We'll visit Steven and Michael in Atlanta for a week, then fly to Arizona to visit my folks for a week.  Then all of us are driving to California to visit my sister for a week.  Since Kája is Czech he needed to apply for an ESTA in order to visit the USA.  ESTA is the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation under the Visa Waiver Program and it's quicker than applying for a regular tourist visa.

A U.S. Tourist Visa costs $185 and requires an in-person interview at the American Embassy in Prague,  The visa is valid for up to 10 years, is good for multiple entires, and a person can stay up to Six months at a time.

The Visa Waiver Program is for citizens of specific countries, including Czechland, who want to visit the USA for up to 90 days at a time.  The ESTA only costs $21, can be applied for online, so no in-person interview is required, and while good for multiple visits, it is only valid for two years.  

An ESTA is only valid for citizens of the following countries:

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.  

The applicant must have an e-passport and must have either a return or onward ticket to leave the USA.  

If you've visited North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, or Yemen after 1 March 2011, or if you've visited Cuba after 12 January 2021, then you can't apply for an ESTA.  You must apply for a normal travel visa.

This must be a bummer for all of the Europeans who visit Cuba on holiday because once they have, they can't get an ESTA.  

An ESTA can be applied for no later than 72 hours before entering the USA.  Kája applied for his ESTA on the weekend and has already received his confirmation.  He won't have a visa in his passport but he will need to show this document at the airport during check-in to confirm he's authorised to enter the USA.

Here's a short YouTube video I found about applying for an ESTA.

©ESTA Online Service

English Language Day

Today is English Language Day at the United Nations.  It falls on 23 April which is traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare.  English Language Day at the UN started in 2010 and there is a day for each of the UN's six official languages.

French Language Day is 20 March, Chinese Language Day is on 20 April, Russian Language Day is on 6 June, and Arabic Language Day is on 18 December.  Spanish Language Day also falls on 23 April.  Seems kind of odd to me that English and Spanish both share the same day.

English isn't the world's most spoken language but it is the official language of 67 countries and is spoken as a first language of about 372,9 million people and the world's most popular foreign language.  There are about 1,4 billion people in the world who speak English.

Here's a short video I found on YouTube from the UN about English Language Day.

©UNIFIL

Petrov Birthday Wine Cellar Party

Yesterday we went to Petrov, about 4 km (2,5 miles) southeast of Strážnice, to celebrate his friend Verča's birthday. 

The area has about 80 wine cellars that date back to the 15th century.  

The wine cellars form a street with two squares and is frequently visited by wine tourists.  In the past, local farmers weren't able to build wine cellars under their houses due to the high groundwater level.  So instead, they set up cellars on a slope a short distance behind the village where it wasn't suitable for cultivation.

During WWII the cellars served as shelters for people who were illegally escaping from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia to the Slovak puppet state.  

The wine cellar area was declared a monument reserve by a decree of the Ministry of Culture of the Czechoslovak Republic on 15 September 1983.  I understand that it took more than 10 years of effort before the government listed it as a monument.

The party was a lot of fun and obviously there was plenty of wine for the celebration.

Museum Island, Berlin, Germany

While in Berlin last week, for the Johannes Oerding concert, we wanted to visit Museuminsel, the Museum Island.  It's a complex of five museums, sitting on 8,6 hectors (21 acres) in the historic part of the city, on Spree Island, located near the Berlin Cathedral and Humboldt Forum.     

The five original museums, originally built from 1830 to 1930, are the Altes Museum, the Neues Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, the Bode-Museum, and the Pergamon Museum. 

In 1999, Museuminsel was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In 2019, the James Simon Gallery opened which is an art gallery and visitor centre.

The Altes Museum, the oldest on the island, was built in 1830 is known for Greek and Roman art.

The Neues Museum was completed in 1859.  It was renovated in 2009.  

Famous for Egyptian and Etruscan sculptures including the bust of Queen Nefertiti.

The Alte Nationalgalerie was comped in 1876 and hosts 19th-century art.

The Bode-Museum opened in 1904 and is home to late Antique and Byzantine art.

The Pergamon Museum was completed in 1930.  It contains the Greek Pergamon Altar and Ishtar Gate of Babylon.

Here's a short DW video I found out on YouTube about Museum Island.

©Deutsche Welle

We wanted to check out the some of the museums because the area is about to go under significant renovation but everything was sold out.  I believe that everything is supposed to be completed by 2025 to 2026.  

Update December 2025:  Here's a short YouTube video about the Pergamon Museum renovations.

©Deutsche Welle

Johannes Oerding Concert

Back in 2020, for Christmas, I gave concert tickets to Tünde, for the three of us to see Johannes Oerding at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in February 2021.  

However, due to Covid restrictions, the concert kept getting pushed back.

Much like the Pet Shop Boys concert, that I bought tickets for in 2019, but we didn't get to see until 2022. 

The concert last night was great!  We really enjoyed ourselves.  

©Jens Hettwer

The opening act was ELIF, who's real name is Elif Demirezer, a local Turkish-German singer.  She also later performed a duet with him.  

Here's a YouTube video I found of her singing Alles Brennt with him.

©Uli Mü

He also had another Turkish performer join him on stage.  Zeynep Avci, also a Berlin local, competed on season 11 of The Voice of Germany, where Johannes Oerding was a judge. 

Here's them singing Stärker.  

©Uli Mü

A fun weekend but to Berlin and back for a concert was a bit much.  Still worth it and Tünde finally got her 2020 Christmas present.  I guess I lucked out that after 2,5 years, he's still one of her favourite singers.