Peter Kresánek, right, providing explanations to tourists in the UNESCO-listed 15th century wooden church in Hervartov, eastern Slovakia. (source: Courtesy of Peter Kresánek)
Under communism, tourists were an uncommon sight in Bratislava – the authorities strictly controlled who could come into the country. But for those who did make it, trying to enjoy the city’s cultural and artistic sites was often a confusing and disappointing experience.
Peter Kresánek
Art historian, conservationist and former politician
From 1990 to 1998 he was mayor of Bratislava
Founder of the Simplicissimus Reisen travel agency
Founder of the Simplicissimus publishing house
Author of the almost 1,000-page book Slovakia: Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Monuments
Art historian Peter Kresánek would often meet foreign visitors helplessly strolling around historical monuments, bereft of any professional guide or historical and artistic information on the sight itself.
Ashamed, he would sometimes offer his own services as a guide to these hapless sightseers and explain the significance and backstory of whatever it was that they had come across, sometimes even pointing out the connection it had to the country they had come from.
Years later, he decided to make a career out of this and launched the Simplicissimus Reisen travel agency, focusing on German-speaking clients.
“They often said that after my explanation they understood themselves better,” the 73-year-old art historian told The Slovak Spectator.
The travel agency no longer exists – Kresánek closed it in 2019 as he wanted to pursue other interests and because of his age, he says. But he remains convinced that a niche business in cultural and historical tours of sights in Slovakia could play a key role in the country’s wider tourist industry.
In an interview, Kresánek told The Slovak Spectator about his specialist travel agency, what Germans and Austrians often find interesting about Slovakia, and how to get more of them to come to the country.
How did Simplicissimus Reisen start in 2003?
