List of author's articles, page 46
Bratislava hosts vintage train show
THE PREMISES of Engine Depot (or the Old Depot as it is popularly called) celebrated the 14th national reunion of historical railway engines and vehicles called Rendez 2012. The Slovak railway nostalgia club sent five still-operable steam engines, ten vintage locomotive engines and five railcars for the exhibition. Other historical railway equipment were sent by the Strasshof Railway Museum in Austria, by Czech Railways, by Slovak passenger rail company Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko (ZSSK) and by Cargo Slovakia, the freight handling rail company as well as a special train from Hungary.
700th anniversary of the Battle at Rozhanovce
THE BATTLE at Rozhanovce – or Razogny in Hungarian – was celebrated in Košice on June 15 as the battle 700 years ago was of great importance for the city as well as for the whole region. Košice residents fought alongside the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and Malta, commonly called the Order of Malta, and an army from Spiš region in support of Charles Robert of Anjou, later to be named King Charles I of Hungary, against the family of Palatine Amade Aba.
UNESCO site now has a ban on smoking
THE VILLAGE of Vlkolínec, on UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites since 1993, now has a ban on smoking and open fires effective June 1. The village, which is an administrative part of the town of Ružomberok, is a folk architecture preserve with traditional wooden houses, one reason why the rules have been made so strict, the SITA newswire wrote.
Rare owls nesting in Záhorie
RARE OWLS have been founding nesting in the Záhorie region as ornithologists first discovered nesting pairs of short-eared owls (Asio flammeus) near the town of Skalica as well as near Moravský Svätý Ján. Later two male European scops owls (Otus scops) were discovered in Prievaly and Kuchyňa, according to Michal Noga of the Raptor Protection in Slovakia organisation. The SITA newswire wrote that both species are among the rarest birds nesting in Slovakia.
Godparents congratulate Bojnice Zoo’s orang-utans
THE SUMMER season opened in Slovakia’s oldest and biggest zoo in the town of Bojnice with several new attractions: a large terrarium with native African rocks that houses turtles, lizards, snakes and other reptiles and a living area for mini-mammals that live in baobab trunks. And five meerkats (Suricata suricatta) are another novelty at the Bojnice zoo.
Elderly Ladice woman accosted in her home
A WOMAN from the village of Ladice in Nitra Region, aged 84, had a shocking experience in early June when she was accosted in her home in the pre-dawn darkness by a male stranger who shined a flashlight beam in her eyes and announced that he was "her guardian angel".
New record set by a sweet and edible fujara
TIBOR Koblíček, who turned 75 at the beginning of June, got a record-breaking fujara for his birthday from local confectioners. The cake was a replica of a fujara, the traditional Slovak musical instrument, and was unique enough to make it into the Slovak Book of Records. Confectioners from the municipality of Cinobaňa in Poltár district handcrafted the cake in the form of the instrument to honour Koblíček, who is famous for making fujaras and other folk instruments.
Cultural Summer opens in Bratislava
The 37th annual Cultural Summer and Castle Festival (Kultúrne leto a hradné slávnosti) in Bratislava opened on June 20 when Jozef Adamovič, an actor and professor, placed his memorial plaque on the pavement in front of the City Theatre of P.O. Hviezdoslav.
Ružomberok feasts
THIS YEAR the city of Ružomberok is celebrating its City Days (Dni mesta Ružomberok) for a full two months. The celebration began at the beginning of May and ends in June after about 70 different events, Michaela Milá, the spokeswoman for the city, told the SITA newswire, noting that its City Days officially opened the summer season. Over the two-month period the city is sponsoring a host of sports, artistic, adventure and leisure events and activities for Ružomberok residents and visitors.
Muráň Castle offers theatre and a hike
THEATRE performances offered at the Muráň Castle had the goal of luring more visitors, tourists as well as locals, to the town of Muráň as well as to help revive tourism in and around the Muráň Plains National Park (Národný park Muránska planina). The plays were held on June 9 and marked the unofficial opening of the summer season, Muráň mayor Roman Goldschmidt told the TASR newswire. Visitors could also see performances by the Berezun historical fencing ensemble and falconers from Banská Štiavnica on the same day.
Slovak dance team waltzes off with first place
THE SLOVAK dance team of David Schavel and Barbara Bilkovičová went home with a first place finish in the first annual Košice Open dance festival. The event combined a training camp for talented youngsters in international competitive ballroom dancing as well as Latin dancing at the World Dance Sport Federation level. It took place between May 31 and June 5.
Ortona exhibits Slovak bookplates
AN EXHIBITION of bookplates called Slovenský EX LIBRIS opened on May 24 in the Italian town of Ortona. The exhibition was prepared by the Slovak Institute in Rome for Ortona’s Mediterranean Museum and Gallery, Museo Ex Libris Mediterraneo that specialises in bookplates in addition to the other artistic forms.
Rare Renaissance frescoes uncovered in Beluša
Research ordered by the Monuments Board in Trenčín at St Elisabeth’s Church in Beluša in the Púchov district has uncovered a series of rare 17th century Renaissance frescoes. According to preservationists and historians, this unique discovery in the Považie (Váh River) region, could turn out to be the first of its kind ever found in Slovakia. Perhaps the most notable element in the find is ornamental painting dating from 1631 that decorates the entire dome of the church. The work consists of ornamental geometrical patterns containing plant motifs painted with authentic fresco technique. Through the centuries the frescoes had been painted over a number to times, the last being in 1940.
Café in Prievidza uses sign language
AT THE end of April a unique café opened in Prievidza in which sign language is used as the normal means of communication. Three waitresses with hearing disabilities serve guests at the café: Erika Gyetvaiová and Jana Izáková, both in their 30s, and the café’s owner, Lucia Ďurkovičová who is 26. Ďurkovičová dreamed of owning her own café and managed to make her dream come true thanks to a grant, the help of her family, as well as from other supportive people. The café is named U dobrej šálky (At the Good Cup) according to the owner’s mother, Silvia Bošnovičová, the TASR newswire wrote.
Young Slovak takes 3rd prize at Intel competition
AT THE Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) held in Pittsburgh, Peter Horváth, a student at the Ján Chalupka gymnázium in Brezno, took third place and a prize of $1,000 in the chemistry category for his innovative method to detect the concentration of cadmium, a toxic metal, in water such as that in sewerage systems.
Bratislava tests new tram
A NEW tram made by the Bombardier company of Canada has gone on trial service in Bratislava. The city is getting the five-unit tram for free because the manufacturer wants to test how Bratislava residents and visitors view it. Passengers can ride the new tram without a ticket.
Public bed draws crowds in Senica
A BIG BED was installed on the Small Square (Malé námestie) in Senica and people were offered an opportunity to lie there in public for a pre-arranged time. The exact time had to be booked in advance and there was a huge demand for this form of what the organiser called “public idling”.
Radnička café re-opens again
THE GRAND re-opening of the Radnička café at its original location in Bratislava’s Old Town Hall was held on April 21. The café is a protected workplace, meaning that six of its eight employees have some type of disability.
Rare eagle undergoes surgery
VETERINARIANS from Košice, environmentalists from the Raptor Protection Society of Slovakia (Ochrana dravcov na Slovensku) and Východoslovenská energetika (VSE), an electricity distribution company with headquarters in Košice, worked together to save a male Eastern imperial eagle, about four years old, which was electrocuted at the end of March.
Commemorating Hans Christian Andersen
BIBIANA, the International House of Art for Children in Bratislava, organised a week in April to celebrate the writings of Hans Christian Andersen, the world-renowned writer of children’s books. The week from April 17 to April 22 was also part of a Danish-Slovak project that celebrated the Danish presidency of the European Union.
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- Neo-Nazi gang in Bratislava plotted armed attack and called their leader ‘Mr Führer’, court documents reveal More articles ›
