Miners congregated under Rožňava's belltower. (source: SITA)
THE USUALLY relaxed mining town of Rožňava in Košice Region was quite busy at the end of August as host of the 4th year of a gathering of miners from towns and villages from across central Europe, and the local residents were pleased to offer their guests a sampling of traditional Upper Gemer hospitality.
Miners marching in their uniforms spread across the streets of Rožňava on August 27, representing mining towns and miners’ associations from Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland who all took part in the parade.
“About one thousand people took part in the festive morning parade,” Ondrej Bolaček, one of the organisers, told the TASR newswire. “We registered more than 36 representatives of mining towns, villages and guilds,” he added, saying there were 40 symbolic ribbons for flags from the individual municipalities.
The festival included shows of uniforms, visits to museums, theatre performances and similar activities. Representatives of mining towns could also take part in optional trips over the weekend of August 27-28 to experience the mining history of the Gemer region and the general public took in sites like the Museum of Mining in Rožňava or the nearby castles in Betliar and Krásna Hôrka.
The get-together for the miners and mining enthusiasts was organised by the town of Rožňava and the Gemer Mining Association Brotherhood.
Each visitor was greeted with the traditional miners’ greeting “Zdar Boh”. Because of its mineral wealth much of the territory of Slovakia was destined to be involved in mining and many towns have mining symbols in their coats of arms.
