Trnava – Slovakia’s Little Rome

Slovakia’s famed “Little Rome”, Trnava bears the clearly visible scars of both war and communism. Despite those blights, I was pleasantly surprised by what the city has to offer. Clean streets, a host of cultural institutions and a string unique local businesses are just some of the things that have made the city such a memorable stop on my latest trip to Slovakia.

It should have been no surprise! Home to the first catholic university in Slovakia, Trnava has played a vital role in the spiritual life and health of its nation.

Table of Contents

• Geography
• A Brief History
  • Medieval Ages
  • Renaissance and Habsburg Rule
  • 1848, World Wars and the Modern Era
• Things to do Tvarna
  • Exploring the Magnificent (Albeit a Little Mangled) Old Town and Climbing up the Mestská veža (City Tower)
  • Soak up the City’s Rich Jewish History in the Old Jewish Quarter
  • Visit the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and the old University of Trnava Campus
  • St. James’ Church
  • Basilica of St. Nicholas and the Stephaneum
  • Get Cultured at the Museum of Western Slovakia
  • Walk along the Remnants of the City Walls
• Conclusion

Geography

Situated in the heart of Western Slovakia, in the the Danubian Lowland (a watershed draining to the Danube), you will find the city of Trnava. It is located well above sea level, in a part of the country renowned for its agricultural land. To the west lies the little Carpathian Mountains and their plethora of Castles, including that of Elizabeth Bathory.

A Brief History

Although small settlements have existed since the Neolithic Period (New Stone Age), the Settlement we know today as Trnava came into prominence in the medieval ages.

Medieval Ages

An agricultural centre and market town, Slovak populated Trnava appears in the written record as far back back as 1211. Its importance was derived from its location at the junction of two important roads; the first from Bohemia (Czech Lands) to the Kingdom of Hungary and the second from the Mediterranean Sea to Poland. As such it was the first town in Upper Hungary (Slovakia today) to be granted market privileges. This allowed the town to outgrow its agricultural roots, becoming a center of crafts, trade and manufacturing.

Like all settlements in Slovakia, the Mongol invasion of Hungary in 1241-1242 brought about many changes to the Hungarian State. Following the devastation, King Bela IV brought in new German Setters and a new wall was built. A testament to its growing importance can be found in the fact that many agreements and diplomatic events were signed or took place in the town. For example Charles I of Hungary and Czech King John of Luxemburg established a currency agreement here in 1327, and King Louis I of Hungary signed a friendship agreement with Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia Charles IV in Trvarna in 1360. King Louis I was in fact a frequent visitor, and interestingly enough, would also pass away in this town.

In the 15th century, Trnava became embroiled in the Hussite Wars between the Proto-Protestant Hussites of Bohemia and their Catholic neighbors when the Hussites defeated the Hungarian Army at the Battle of Trnava in 1430. Although the Hussites were successful they did retreat back to Moravia. They would return in 1432, taking the town without a fight and using it as their base in the northwestern quadrant of Kingdom of Hungary (now Western Slovakia) until 1435.

Renaissance and Habsburg Rule

After Hungary’s devastating loss at the battle of Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Kingdom was quickly gobbled up by the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Empire. Many refugees from Hungary fled north, with many settling in Trnava. Upper Hungary (Slovakia) was then absorbed into the Austrian Empire, a staunchly catholic state. This would lead to severe political and religions conflicts with Hungary erupting into revolt multiple times against the Habsburgs dynasty of Austria, over the 17th century and early 18th century. This political unrest severely damaged the local economy. Trnava was the site of one of these clashes in when in 1704 when the rebel Francis II Rákóczi suffered a major defeat near the city.

It should be noted that the city was an important center for Judaism in Slovakia, this will be expanded upon below when discussing the city’s many synagogues.

The city was an important center for the Jesuit order during the counter-reformation movement. From Trnava, they preached against the spread of the protestant religion, a faith that was quickly gaining a foothold in Hungarian lands and Europe at large. The Jesuits made their home in the city in 1561 focusing on education; both at the municipal level and in seminary. This all culminated with the construction of the Jesuit Trnava University in 1635–1777 by Archbishop Péter Pázmány, a popularizer of the Slovak language. This was the only such university in the Kingdom of Hungary at that time. Due to the Slovak majority in the city, the University soon became a hotbed of Slovak education and literature and a printing press industry henceforth developed around these education institutions promoting the ideals of Slovak national identity. This would flower into the 18th century Slovak national revival.

Speaking of which, the first standard codification of the Slovak language by the late Anton Bernolák was based on the Slovak dialect used in the region of Trnava (1787).

The Catholic University of Trnava was closed and moved to Buda in the 18th century and the Archbishopric back to Esztergom signaling a large blow to the city, its religious influence and its prestige.

1848, World Wars and the Modern Era

During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, a landmark event sparking revolts throughout the continent, a battle between the Imperial Austrian army and Hungarians took place here in 1848. Hungary’s defeat in the Revolutions of 1848 resulted in a brief respite from the process of Magyarization, the forced assimilation of the Slovaks. The Slovaks sided with the Habsburgs in this fight but were not rewarded with autonomy. Instead Slovakia (Upper Hungary) was re-incorporated into the Kingdom of Hungary and during the compromise of 1867, failed to gain any sort of recognition. This only accelerated the process of Magyarization. Despite its desperate situation, the Slovaks of Trnava kept up the cause of national consciousness, like they had done so many times before, founding the The St. Adalbert Association in 1870 after the Slovak foundation, Matica Slovenská from Martin, was banned by the Magyar Hungarian Authorities.

Like many cities, Trnava experienced industrialization allowing it to be modernized. Among those projects were a horse-railway connection to Bratislava that was completed in 1844. It was the first in the Kingdom of Hungary. This line was later converted to steam locomotives in 1872. Another was that the walls of the city came down (for the most part) allowing new public spaces and roadways to take their place.

As the First World War came to an end in 1918, the country was incorporated in a new Czechoslovak state. They remained part of this union until the end of the century with the exception of a brief period as an independent Nazi puppet. It needs to be said that Trnava’s sizable Jewish population was exterminated during the Holocaust, when the puppet Slovak state deported them to concentration camps in 1942.

In 1945, Czechoslovakia became a Soviet controlled state after the country was occupied by the Soviet Union, during in the closing chapters of the Second World War. In 1993, the Czechoslovak state broke up during the Velvet Divorce, and Slovakia was independent again for the first time since the time of Great Moravia. A momentous event happened in 1977 Pope Paul VI made Trnava the see of a separate Slovak archbishopric, a post it had lost in 1820.

Things to do Tvarna

Known for its Catholic history, be prepared to take in beautiful old churches, yet it was the Jewish heritage that blew me away. Not many tourists make it here from Bratislava, but if you do there is at least a full day’s worth of things to do here, so come prepared!

Exploring the Magnificent (Albeit a Little Mangled) Old Town and Climbing up the Mestská veža (City Tower)

The downtown of Trnava has seen better days but it has also seen worse. Bombed into the ground during the second world war, many structures are now being restored. What the town is today, can be summed up as pedestrian friendly and rich in history.

The old town revolves around the main pedestrian way Hlavná, and its many beautiful old buildings. It currently serves as the public square of the city and is the location of many of the towns businesses and patios. At the north end of this street you will find the Mestská Veža (City Tower). Once part of the 15th century town hall, the 143 steps up will give you views of the city and the surrounding mountains in the distance.

In front of the buildings you will find a square with the Holy Trinity, a plague column dating from 1695.

Soak up the City’s Rich Jewish History in the Old Jewish Quarter

Trnava has the distinction of being known for its Jewish history, which is a blessing and a curse when you consider how devoid of Jews the city is today. Only their monuments remain to remind us of their former residents. This situation saddens me but seeing the people of the city embrace the city’s Jewish history give me hope that the sad history of anti-Semitism in Europe may slowly be receding.

Much of the old Jewish ghetto lies south of M. Schneidra Trnavského street, in the south eastern quadrant of the old town.

The city then known as Tyrnau has the unfortunate distinction of being the site of the first account of the antiemetic lie that Jews were feminine and had monthly bleedings, like a woman would (dating from 1494). In 1539, after a severe blood libel, the Jews were expelled from the city. Blood libels tie into the Christian paranoia of the Jewish people. It can carry the form of accusations of baby kidnapping and the idea that Jews drank blood to cure their bleedings. Confessions were mostly obtained though torture as seen from the absurdity, even the impossibility, of some of those recorded statements.

It should be noted that Jews were not allowed to return to the city until 1783. Their synagogues have recently been restored after their abandonment during the holocaust. Sadly with no Jews to fill them they now serve as art galleries and businesses.

My favorite of these business is the Synagogue Café, a bagel and coffee shop serving delicious bagel and prosciutto sandwiches. For those unaware the bagel has long ties to the Jewish peoples of Central Europe, the Ashkenazi Jews. These ties date back from the 17th century; in cities like Krakow and Vilnius.

The inside of the building has been expertly restored and includes its old Jewish symbols, proudly displaying its past. This is one of my favorite coffee shops I’ve ever visited!

Visit the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and the old University of Trnava Campus

Located in the north end of the city this church is a mix of Baroque and Neoclassical. It is more impressive on the interior, I can assure you. Its white painted grand baroque naive is something to be seen. The church itself was completed in 1637. On the exterior you will find a statue of John Paul II, who made Trnava an archidiocese.

Around the church you will find seminaries and academic faculty buildings once used in the practice of teaching. Believe it or not the Cathedral was actually part of a gift to the university and was part of the complex of buildings it is attached to. Some have been re-appropriated and while less pretty new structures were erected where the bombs once fell.

St. James’ Church

This baroque church, located near Bernolák’s gate was completed in 1712. Its claim to fame is that it is known to have the largest number of altars among all religious buildings in Trnava.

Basilica of St. Nicholas and the Stephaneum

My favorite of the big churches in town, this massive gothic structure dates from the 15th century, being completed in 1421. The building really stands out for its massive twin towers with rounded roofs, high naïve and thick flying buttresses. It also has many course of exposed brick from under the plaster which gives it a bit of a rustic look!

In the area surrounding the church you will find many old seminary buildings, including the majestic Stephaneum, a religious palace that served as the Seminary of St. Stephan (Seminár sv. Štefana)

Get Cultured at the Museum of Western Slovakia

This local history museum is worth the stop of if you have time and wish to learn more about the region. Established in the 50’s, I was surprised at how nice and modern the exhibits were. Housed in the old Monastery of Poor Klares, this is a worthwhile stop in your exploration of the city.

Walk along the Remnants of the City Walls

There is little left of the city’s walls but a few sections were left to stand an even in some cases to be climbed on. To spruce them up the city has taken upon itself to add in painted soldiers either manning it or doing a plethora of activities! Among the most memorable section of wall is the Bernolák’s gate and the section near the Basilica of St. Nicholas.

Conclusion

Despite its reduced stature, Trnava surprised me. The city may have declined as a result of war and the centralization of institutions (those institution being shifted back to Hungary proper during the 19th century), but it certainly was not vanquished. With the independence of a separate Slovak state, Trnava has been able to regain its rightful place among the great Slovak cities. Today, wonderful cafés now inhabit the holy temples of Judaism, sadly denuded of its Jewish population during the holocaust, while soaring spires fill the skies and newly repaved pedestrian spaces are are once again filled with life. Welcome back Trnava, the world has missed you!