MUSEUMS IN THE TATRAS

The visit to the Tatras is not only about mountain hikes; during your Tatra visit you may consider visiting one of many interesting museums, where you can learn about the history of the Tatra region.

 

The museum in Poprad was established back in the 19th century by a local museum association. It presents the archaeology, history and ethnography from the Tatra area. You can find the oldest evidence about the life of prehistoric inhabitants of the Tatras here. Another interesting museum is located in Kezmarok. You may see the old Thokoly Castle, with a special section dedicated to the work of Dr. Vojtech Alexander, the first radiologist in Slovakia. 

 

The Spis Museum, a branch of the Slovak National Museum, runs four different exhibitions.  Three of them, the Old Town Hall, the House of Master Paul and "Art in the Spis Region," are located in Levoca. The Museum also manages the Spis Castle, one of the largest castle compounds in Europe, which together with the city of Levoca, are listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.

 

There are several interesting museums in the Liptov region, in the Western part of the Tatras. You should not miss two of them in Liptovsky Mikulas, the Janko Kral Museum and the Slovak Museum of Speleology and Nature Protection. The Liptov Gallery of Peter Michal Bohun in Liptovsky Mikulas presents one of the most comprehensive collections of Slovak art and will be an eye-opening experience about the material culture of the Tatra inhabitants. In the nearby village of Pribylina you will find an impressive open-air-museum with examples of the folk architecture of the Tatra region.

 

There are also attractive museums on the northern side of the Tatras. Visiting in Zakopane, the main Polish Tatra resort, you should not miss exhibitions of the Tatra Museum, which has several branches. One of the most interesting is the Stanislaw Witkiewicz Museum of Zakopane Style housed in the Koliba House, an emblematic edifice designed by the architect.