One of the European artistic gems found in the historic heart of Košice

In the cellar of the financial directorate’s building workers found a bundle of gold coins.

Košice Golden TreasureKošice Golden Treasure (Source: Jana Liptáková)

This article was published in the Košice Region Travel Guide. Discover the region on the border between Western and Eastern European culture with our regional guide.

You never know what you will find when you start remodelling: at least that was the experience of a group of Czechoslovak workers on August 24, 1935. They were digging in the cellar of the old financial directorate’s building on the historic Hlavná ulica (street) in Košice when they found 2,920 gold coins, three gold medals and a Renaissance gold chain in an engraved copper casket.

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Lost in Košice? Impossible with this travel guide. Lost in Košice? Impossible with this travel guide.

This discovery, weighing 11.5 kilograms, was one of the largest coin finds in European history and the extensive scope of types and geographic origin of the coins ranks the Košice Gold Treasure among the artistic gems of Europe.

It is speculated that the treasure was hidden between 1679 and 1682 during one of the anti-Habsburg uprisings led by Imrich Thököly. Since it was such an enormous sum for that time, it is suspected that its owner was probably a high-ranking official of the Spiš chamber.

The Košice Gold Treasure returned to Košice in 2013 after the premises of the Eastern Slovak Museum, adapted for its exhibition, underwent reconstruction.

Opening hours:

The museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays.

Ticket prices:

Admission begins at 4€.
For more pricing options see the website of the museum.

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