AgriInstitute Moderator Report

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Slovakia
Joe Farmer, Steve Labordus, LuAnn Troxel

The Articular Church of Hronsek

Our first stop of the day was at the wooden church of Hronsek, an Evangelical Lutheran church built in 1726. This
lovely building was registered in UNESCO’s World Cultural and Natural Heritage List in July, 2008, and we were
told of its interesting history by Mrs. Julia Kollarova.

Towards the end of the 16th century, 90% of the Slovak population was Protestant, and during the recatholization of
1550, all means were used to turn the people back to the Catholic faith. Finally in 1681, Protestants were allowed to
build 2 churches in each district, but only under the following conditions: 1. Each church had to be erected outside
the village; 2. It had to be built exclusively from wood without iron nails; 3. No belfry or steeple allowed to identify
the church; 4. Construction had to be completed within 1 year from the start of construction; 5. No direct access
from the road was allowed. Only a few churches still exist in Slovakia which originates from these articles, hence
the name “articular” church.

Banska Stiavnica
Our next stop was to visit the mining town of Banska Stiavnica, also listed in the UNESCO Heritage List. Myron, a
phD Slovakian history major, was our very informative guide. We went into an old mine and learned some very
interesting history in the process. Banska Stiavnica was in its peak during the mid 18th century, after Queen M.
Theresa established a Mining Academy in 1735. The academy trained engineers who ultimately discovered how to
utilize water from the mountains to pump water from the gold and silver mines allowing their mining progress to
continue. At that time, the population of the town was 24,000 but today it is 10,000. It is currently under major
reconstruction. Over 400 buildings are identified as cultural landmarks and have been approved for reconstruction,
but at this time, only 100 buildings have been restored.
Although there are no working mines left in the city, many buildings house an entrance to old mines. A sad
historical fact to mention is that this is one of the few cities that actually paid $500 for every Jew that was turned
over to the Gestapo during World War II. Our guide was only aware of 2 Jews living in the city today.
Bratislava
The capital city of Bratislava was our final destination of the day, where we checked into the comfortable Hotel
Medium and then went on a city tour of Bratislava, led by Dagmar. She was able to explain a lot of the culture and
history of the city, and we observed the construction of a new hockey stadium and saw modern skyscrapers and
modern office buildings. The Hrad Castle is lit up throughout the entire evening and is a beautiful sight to see from
nearly any point in the city. This huge castle is being completely renovated since 2008, although the exact use of the
large structure is still under debate.

The Parliament, embassies and other government buildings of Slovakia were impressive to see. We ended the day
with a dinner of goose liver pate, potato pancakes, turkey and grape/poppy seed strudel and finished with tasting 5
wines from Vinum Gallery Bozen in Lower Carpathian wine region. Even though the US hockey team lost to
Canada in the gold medal round of the Winter Olympics later that evening, our day was definitely a success.