Discover Prešov

Prešov offers cultural and historical themes ranging from city history and Gothic architecture to the history of salt production. Rákociho Palace, the co-cathedral and Solivar represent different areas of interest. You can choose what to visit based on which chapters of history interest you most.

City history and exhibitions

Prešov’s mobile audio guide app includes nearly 30 narrated recordings about sights in the historic centre. Before travelling, check whether the app is available and supported on your platform.

Rákociho Palace presents Renaissance art, valuable clocks, weapons and currency. It also explores the thousand-year history of the city of Prešov. An exhibition focuses on everyday and festive life in a Šariš village, with themes including textiles, agriculture, crafts, housing, work and leisure.

The palace also houses a collection of historic and more recent firefighting equipment that is unique in Slovakia in this complete form. The collection is complemented by the history of firefighting. The palace’s exhibits thus range from city and everyday life to a specialised technical collection.

Solivar and salt production

Solivar is a national cultural monument. The complex, dating from the 17th century, includes technical facilities for extracting and boiling salt from brine. The Múzeum Solivar offers a guided tour of the entire site. If you are planning a tour, check the visitor arrangements in advance.

One of the preserved horse-powered winding engines stands above the Leopold shaft. It dates from the 19th century and is open to the public. If you would like to visit this part of Solivar, bear in mind that current visitor arrangements may change when planning your trip.

Gothic architecture and historic memorial sites

The Co-Cathedral of St Nicholas is the oldest building in Prešov and the city’s only surviving Gothic religious building. Among its preserved objects is a particularly valuable Gothic sculpture of the Crucified Christ from the first half of the 14th century.

The cathedral tower offers a 360-degree panorama of Prešov. Tower access is subject to current opening arrangements; when planning your visit, allow for the climb up 220 steps to a height of 70 metres.

A different architectural chapter is represented by the Orthodox Synagogue on Okružná Street. It was built in the late 19th century in the Neo-Romanesque-Moorish style. Its date and style distinguish it from the Gothic architecture of the co-cathedral.

The Evangelical College is an important monument to the history of Protestant education. Its hall, known as Dvorana, houses the historic holdings of the college library, with more than 40,000 volumes. A monument erected at the college in 1908 commemorates the victims of the Caraffa blood court of 1687. This site thus brings together the history of education and the commemoration of a specific historical event.

Discover more destinations: Ľubotice, Kapušany, Trnkov, Hermanovce, Fričovce, Veľký Šariš

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