Košice - Košice

Košice, kOschitzä, IPA: [ˈkɔʃɪt͡sɛ] is a city in the east of the Slovakia.

background

Košice was the European Capital of Culture in 2013.

getting there

Distances
Bratislava	400 km
Prešov	35 km
Banská Bystrica	210 km
Budapest (Hungary)	260 km
Miskolc (Hungary)	85 km
Uzhhorod (Ukraine)	95 km

By plane

The 48.66305555555621.241111111111Kosice Airport(IATA: KSC) is the second most important airport in Slovakia. Over 400,000 passengers are handled here every year. In the regular service it is used by, among others Austrian Airlines (daily Vienna), CSA Czech Airlines (daily Prague and Bratislava, 3x per week Kiev) and LOT (6x per week Warsaw).

From the airport bus line 23 runs every hour to the city center (travel time 20 minutes), a taxi costs around € 10 to the city center. The car rental companies Avis, Buchbinder, Budget, DKauto, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt are represented at the airport.

By train

There are direct train connections from Vienna, Bratislava, Prague, Budapest, Lviv (Lemberg) and Kiev to Košice.

There is a continuous Euronight from Vienna that takes just under 9 hours (tickets from € 29.90). Otherwise you can get from Vienna via Bratislava to Košice several times a day in 6½ to 7½ hours (€ 36.40).

Intercity buses run from Bratislava several times a day to Košice in around five hours; there are also regional trains every two hours that take just under six hours.

Two night trains run from Prague daily, the EN 445 (“Slovakia”) and the EN 443 (“Bohemia”), which reach Košice at 07:41 and 08:39 in the morning. Both trains consist of comfortable sleeping, couchette and seating cars from the Czech and Slovakian railways. In addition, Slovakia also carries car transport vehicles to Košice (as of September 2016). There is also one day and one night connection between Prague and Košice, operated by a private provider Regiojet is operated (travel time 8 or 8½ hours, prices from 9 €). The fastest connection from Prague, however, is the SuperCity, which runs once a day and only takes 7:15 hours for the route and costs 690 CZK (approx. € 25.50) each way. Trains from Prague also stop in Olomouc, Ostrava and Žilina, among others.

Twice a day there is a continuous Intercity from Budapest via Miskolc to Košice (travel time from Budapest 3½ hours, from Miskolc 1½ hours).

If you are coming from Krakow, you have to change trains in Bohumín (over 9 hours in total). From Ukraine (Lviv/ Lviv or Kiev) there is a continuous night train that takes 11 hours from Lviv and 20½ hours from Kiev. Otherwise you have to change trains in the towns of Tschop and Čierna nad Tisou near the border. From the Slovak border town Čierna nad Tisou there is a two-hour regional train to Košice, it takes 1:50 hours.

By bus

There are numerous bus connections from neighboring countries (Poland, Ukraine and Hungary) to Košice. An important provider is Eurolines with buses and others of Zurich (18½ hours, 80 €), Frankfurt am Main (17:45 hours, 69 €), Munich (14½ hours, € 51), Vienna (8:45 hours, 21–26 €), Budapest (3:45 hours, 15 €). There are discounts for seniors, students and children as well as for early bookings.

Leo Express runs once or twice a day from Uzhhorod to Košice. You drive five hours and pay € 7. Eurobusways offers minibus shuttles from Krakow Airport to Košice. The journey takes three to four hours and costs € 65 per person (but there must be at least three passengers).

In the street

Traveling by car is relatively tedious. Of Bratislava A motorway initially leads from Trenčín to Žilina. From there, the motorway is only expanded in short sections, you drive on picturesque but heavily used country roads through the Tatras. The last 30 km from Prešov are again developed as a motorway. Alternatively, it is also possible to travel via the Trnava-Nitra-Zvolen route.

The motorway network is currently largely limited to western Slovakia, but a lot of work is being done to open up the east.

From the eastern part of Austria, you can take the Hungarian motorways Budapest and Miskolc at. This trip is significantly longer, but possibly faster. In terms of landscape, however, the journey is less interesting, as the route largely leads through the Hungarian lowlands. You can also travel from northern or eastern Germany via Poland (Breslau-Krakau-Rzeszów) and Prešov.

Of the Ukraine Coming (Uzhgorod) the 70 km are developed as normal country roads, waiting times of a few hours can be expected at the Ukrainian border.

In principle, driving a car in Slovakia is problem-free, but 0.0 per mille applies!

mobility

Košice has a well-developed transport network with trams, buses and trolley buses. The lines that run from the train station lead to the city center without exception. There is a tram ring around the city center. The operating times are from around 5 a.m. to around midnight. There are also lines with an "R" in front - for example "R1". These trains go to the steel mill (U.S. Steel). Your traffic times are based solely on the needs of the employees. In the early morning hours, before the normal lines start operating, they can be an alternative, as they connect all parts of the city with the steelworks. The timetables of all lines are posted at the stops. Of course there are also bus routes to the steelworks - also with an "R" in front.

Tourist Attractions

The old town of Košice is very charming. The influence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire can still be clearly felt in the architecture. In the summer there is a horse tramway in the lovingly restored pedestrian zone. This attraction was made possible because the tracks of the abandoned tram were left in the pavement during the design of the pedestrian zone.

Churches

There are two churches in the city center. On the one hand the large cathedral and then also a somewhat smaller church, which is just next to it.

Parks

• city ​​Park. The city park is located between the train station and the city center. The shortest route into the old town leads through it. This is preferable to taking the tram, especially when the weather is good. The city park has been a sports center since it was founded. Sports such as tennis, ice skating, swimming and ball games could be practiced here. In summer there is a lot of hustle and bustle here, especially at festivals such as street theater, White Night, etc.last change: not specified

activities

shop

In Slovakia, alcohol and cigarettes are cheaper than in Western Europe, especially beer in bars and restaurants. In general, there is a west / east divide in Slovakia. The prices in Košice are lower than in Bratislava.

kitchen

Slovak cuisine is spicy and hearty. There are catering options in Košice in all price categories. International fast food chains also have branches in the city center.

Cheap

medium

Upscale

nightlife

The nightlife is limited to a few bars. Bars with the label "Slovaks only" or similar are to be avoided (see safety).

accommodation

Cheap

medium

Upscale

security

Košice is a safe city! In addition to generally applicable precautionary measures, two further points must be observed:

First, there are relatively many nationalists in Košice. This can be explained from the history of the city and the various attachments. Signs like "Slovaks only!" in bars and pubs are to be taken seriously, although Western European tourists are less at risk than Roma, Sinti, Hungarians or Ukrainians, for example.

Second, there is a lot of begging in Košice. Especially children and adolescents are specifically used by begging gangs. Whoever picks up his wallet here will no longer have it. However, begging is limited to the surroundings of churches and there mainly to the times of the Mass. If you want to pursue your religious needs and attend mass, it is best not to take the money with you.

health

Medical care corresponds - with a few drawbacks - to Western European standards. Food and drinking water can be consumed without hesitation.

Practical advice

The language spoken is Slovak and partly Hungarian. Younger people can often speak English and occasionally also German. Slovakia has a number of mobile phone providers who can be used at the usual EU-wide roaming conditions. Internet cafes are available in sufficient numbers.

trips

Destinations on the edge of the city are well suited for day trips and can also be reached by public transport Slovak Karst National Park (Slovenský kras):

• Jasov with Premonstratensian monastery and stalactite cave worth seeing (Jasovská jaskyňa), which is part of the UNESCO World Natural Heritage "Caves of the Slovak and Aggtelek Karsts" (from the bus station in about 30 minutes by buses in the direction of Štós to Jasov).
• Zádielska tiesňava (also Zádielska dolina), a wooded karst gorge that is easy to hike with rich flora and fauna (from the bus station in approx. 1 hour by buses to Dvorníky-Včeláre).

It is not far from Košice to the High Tatras. You can get there by train Poprad in about 90 minutes and there is a train connection at least every two hours. From there there is a narrow-gauge railway into the mountains. A day trip is possible without any problems. Although Lviv is not very far away, the journey is rather awkward. Hours of waiting at the border are preprogrammed by car, bus and train are not exactly ideal connections.

Despite the abolition of visas for EU citizens in the Ukraine is the journey to the Ukrainian Carpathians due to the reasons mentioned above, a bit difficult, especially from Košice. If you still want to visit these beautiful mountains, please note that this mountain range begins 50 kilometers after the border and extends to just before Lviv. An experience especially for hikers, due to the low density of settlements in Ukraine, there are still largely untouched areas. For drivers, it is relevant that the thoroughfares and the access roads to the main towns are well developed; apart from these routes, an off-road vehicle is an advantage. In bad weather or in spring when the snow melts, an off-road vehicle is absolutely necessary.

literature

Web links

• https://www.kosice.sk/ (sk) - Košice official website