Trnava

Trnava was the first town in what is now Slovakia to be granted royal privileges, in 1238, and it became the seat of the Hungarian archbishopric when Esztergom fell to the Ottomans, which is why it has so many churches: the university church of St John the Baptist with an enormous carved altarpiece, the cathedral, and half a dozen more within the walls. A substantial stretch of the medieval town wall survives, unusual in Slovakia.

Background

Trnava lies on the Trnávka river, 47 kilometres northeast of Bratislava, and its first written mention dates from 1211. In the Middle Ages a market settlement grew where two important roads met, one from Bohemia to Hungary and one from the Mediterranean to Poland. The Saturday fairs gave the town its Hungarian name, Nagyszombat, meaning Great Saturday; in German it was Tyrnau and in Latin Tyrnavia. Very long walls were built around part of the town as the 13th century gave way to the 14th. King Louis I often stayed here and died in the town in 1382. The archbishop's seat was in Trnava from 1541 to 1820 and has been again since 1977.

Source: Wikipedia, "Trnava"

The main sights

• The university church - St John the Baptist with a carved altarpiece filling the apse.
• The town walls - a long surviving stretch of medieval brick fortification.
• The city tower - a Renaissance tower on the main square, climbable.
• The church count - the density of towers that earned the Little Rome name.

When to go

April to October is the most comfortable. Churches keep service hours and some are only open around masses. Museums close on Mondays.

Practical notes

Several churches are locked outside services and getting into all of them is not realistic. The town is quiet and half a day covers it. Museums are labelled in Slovak.

Nearby

Smolenice is northwest, and Bratislava is southwest.

Key facts