Good evening. Here is the Wednesday, December 11 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Slovak town ditches street named after Nazi collaborator
The Jozef Tiso Street in Varín (source: SME/Jozef Jakubčo)
Although there are many streets named after controversial people in towns across Slovakia, the one in the village of Varín, Žilina Region, has been contentious in particular.
One of its streets bears the name of Jozef Tiso, Catholic priest and president of the clerical-nationalist Slovak State and Hitler's collaborator who was responsible for sending tens of thousands of Slovak Jews to their deaths during WWII.
Dr. Jozef Tiso Street was approved by councillors in 1993, but nobody in the village knows why or who prompted the change; originally it bore the name of a Slovak National Uprising SNP hero. The street will bear the name no longer. With nine out of 10 councillors in favour, it will be renamed Mons. Jozef Noga Street.
Jozef Noga was priest and Papal prelate born in the village.
For many years Varín resisted the pressure to change the name. When a Sme daily reporter talked to the residents in 2020, most locals in Varín refused to discuss the street. Either the street did not bother them, or they did not care what its name is.
Two years ago, a referendum whether to change the name was held, but the turnout was only 47.13 percent of registered voters. Only 360 voted in favour of the name change, with 1,053 inhabitants voting against.
Varín local and town councillor Lenka Ticháková has been the only council member campaigning against name for a long time. By her own admission, she was ashamed of it.
However, in May 2022, General Prosecutor Maroš Žilinka proposed removing Tiso's name, arguing that the name goes against the law. The Varín council did not comply and instead voted to keep the wartime president and convicted war criminal in the name of the street. Only one councillor - Lenka Ticháková - was against it. Because of that, Žilinka filed a lawsuit in the Regional Court in Žilina in September of that year.
In June this year, the Banská Bystrica Administrative Court has sided with Žilinka. The Varín council had six months to change the name.
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FEATURE STORY
Spiš counts on Slovak Paradise crowds
The Suchá Belá gorge in the Slovak Paradise national park. (source: TASR)
Eight years ago, Dušan Bábel and his family returned to Slovakia, settling in Hrabušice. Nestled at the gateway to Slovak Paradise National Park, the village became the foundation of their foray into the tourism industry. Using their savings, they first purchased an older house in the nearby village of Štôla, near the High Tatras, and turned it into a successful rental property.
Although the area lacks infrastructure, it has seen several improvements over the last few years, helping tourism a lot. Tourists from as far as England are not a rarity.
EVENT FOR THE WEEKEND
See what students have been up to
Works of Academy of Fine Arts and Design students from two years ago. (source: TASR)
Once again, the Academy of Fine Arts and Design (AFAD) in Bratislava is holding another edition of the Winter Semester exhibition, showcasing the newest student work from fine arts, design, architecture and restoration. The event starts on Friday and lasts until Sunday, and is being held in two AFAD buildings on the Hviezdoslavovo Námestie square and Drotárska Street. The venues are open between 09:00 to 18:00. Find out more about what you can see here.
IN OTHER NEWS
Due to occurrence of avian flu, the Košice Zoo closed on Wednesday and will remain so for at least 21 days depending on how the situation develops. The virus was detected in the hooded merganser, a species of duck native to North America. All events planned on the premises until the end of the year have been cancelled. (TASR)
After nine years, the town of Prešov, eastern Slovakia, is losing a full-fledged train connection with Prague. Czech private carrier Leo Express decided to remove the Prešov stop from the schedule of its trains in the direction of Košice. According to the carrier, this will save 30 minutes of travel time. However, passengers will still be able to board Leo Express trains in Prešov in the direction of Prague. The change will come into effect on Sunday, December 15. (Korzár)
Sixteen more doctors from the University Hospital in Bratislava have withdrawn their resignations, in addition to 37 who had done so on Monday. Nevertheless, there are 427 doctors out of a total of 480 who didn't. Due to dissatisfaction with the conditions in healthcare, more than 3,300 doctors from hospitals across the country have handed in resignation notices at the end of October, but are willing to withdraw them if their demands are met. The solution for the situation, the result of which may be unavailable health care as of next year. On Sunday, the government approved a proposal of Health Minister Kamil Šaško (Hlas) who wants to force doctors to stay under the threat of prison. (TASR)
The parliament approved that Slovakia will recognise the qualification of nurses who have undergone their professional training in Romania. The new law comes as reaction to an European Parliament directive and a recommendation of the Council of the European Union. The amendment should take effect as of March 1, 2025. (TASR)
A house in the village of Henckovce in the Rožňava district, southeastern Slovakia. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR THURSDAY: Partly cloudy, occasionally overcast skies. Daily temperatures between 0 °C to 5 °C expected. (SHMÚ)
DATE NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Otília
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