Stara Lubovna
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Turist information
History
The first document concerning Stará Ľubovňa, which was getting the town privileges gradually is from the year 1292. The town got the most important privileges in the year 1364 from the king Ľudovít I., who promoted it to the free royal town with the right of word and took it out of the jurisdiction of the castle Ľubovňa. The people in Ľubovňa obtained adventages of the magdeburg right, i.e.: they could vote their magistrate, town council, set up annual market, tap beer, fish, and judge their citizens. Besides they were exempt from some duties and taxes.
Location and climate
Stará Ľubovňa is situated on the Poprad River 15 km south of the Polish border and 30 km east of the High Tatras. It is one of the oldest towns in the Spiš, an historic administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary, and is today the administrative capital of the district of Stará Ľubovňa in the Prešov Region.
Tourist attractions
From a hill over the city the castle of Ľubovňa dominates the city. The castle is open to the public and houses a museum about its history. From its already reconstructed tower there are good views over the surroundings. Next to the castle there is an open-air museum, Ľubovňansky skanzen, with many houses and other buildings showing the folk architecture of the region. The most interesting exhibit is the wooden Greek-Catholic church from Matysová, built in 1833. The old town consists mainly of the rectangular St. Nicolas Square which is surrounded by burgher’s houses of the 17th century. In the centre there is the gothic Roman Catholic Church of St. Nicolas built in 1280. Another building of interest is the new Greek-Catholic church of the Mother of Eternal Help in the south of the city. It was consecrated by Pope John Paul II on 22 April 1990 and is constructed in the shape of a royal crown.