Kežmarok is a small attractive town (17.5 thousand inhabitants) situated in Spiš, close to the border of Poland and Slovakia. Located at the foot of the High Tatras (626 metres above sea level) the town focuses mostly on tourism.
Kežmarok was granted town privileges in 1269. Over seven centuries of existence have influenced the town’s architecture, which comprises styles from Romanesque and Gothic, through Renaissance and Baroque to contemporary ones. Kežmarok’s market square has a rather unusual shape, i. e. a triangle with the town hall in the middle and town castle on one of the vertices.
Thanks to its fortunate location, important trade routes from the east to the west of Europe went through Kežmarok. From the 15th to the 19th century there were over 40 guilds operating in the town, which made Kežmarok among the four most important towns in Slovakia (in 1715 there were 263 artisan workshops). Using the abundance of folk artisan traditions an important initiative was undertaken, the European Fair of Folk Craft (EL’RO). Since 1991 the fair has taken place in the second week of every July.
Kežmarok is the oldest partner of Bochnia, the cooperation having started in 1993. The contacts between towns are relatively frequent and most varied thanks to the longevity of collaboration and the close location of the two towns.
City
Turism
