Children especially enjoyed the many events at the Muráň Plains National Park. (source: TASR)
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.
“We organised Muráň Castle plays together with the Muráň Plains National Park and the Lesy SR state forestry company,” stated the mayor, adding that “together with the Club of Historical Rail Vehicles from Košice we managed to organise a ride with the small historical train Muránska strela on a railway track that is not used anymore”.
The mayor noted that since Muráň Castle can only be reached on foot everyone who attended the theatre performances also did something for their personal fitness by making the hike to the castle.
“The admission fee was voluntary and what we collected will finance our tourist and information centre. Its services are needed and enjoyed during the summer but we must finance its operation ourselves,” the mayor added.
“Fencers and falconers are a tradition but this year many other attractions and competitions were prepared, especially for children,” said Jana Šmídová from the national park, adding that many families came by their own cars or travelled via a shuttle bus coming from the Tesco store in nearby Revúca. Šmídová, an environmentalist with the national park, offered children various quizzes, shows and tests about nature. During the day’s events, “bandits” also staged simulated robberies of visitors but most people gave voluntarily as the “stolen loot” also went to support the town’s information centre.
About 100 people took the nostalgic train pulled by the Muránska strela along a route from Košice through Plešivec, with a stop at the Railway Museum in Lubeník, and continuing on to Muráň.
