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About the City of Nitra

Nitra is the oldest town in Slovakia and the only one which still retains its name from the time of Great Moravia. In the 9th century it was the seat of the Principality of Nitra and the Princes Pribina, Mojmir and Svatopluk. Pribina's church within Nitra's fortress was consecrated by the Archbishop of Salzburg in 828-829. Following the fusion of the Old Moravian and Nitra principalities in 833, Nitra played an important role as part of the newest addition to the map of Central Europe - Great Moravia. Linked with Nitra are the names of the Christian missionaries and founders of Slav learning, Cyril and Methodius.

The rich and impressive history of the town is recalled today particularly by the imposing castle with its surviving romanesque church from the 11th century. The buildings of the castle complex and the Diocesan Library are a National Cultural Monument. The center of the town is an urban preservation area. Today this town on the plateau between the Danubian Lowlands and the Tribec hills and straddling the River Nitra is the center for the research and teaching of agriculture in Slovakia. Nitra is the seat of Slovakia's oldest bishopric (est. 880) and of the Archaeological Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

Not many newcomers to Slovakia know that Nitra is the country's fourth-largest city. Most often thought of as an ancient agricultural town, today, with 90,000 residents, Slovakia's oldest city is an urban zone. Even in the middle of the day, the wide sidewalks along the main street are crammed with people. Residents pack bus stops and crosswalks, fill the town marketplace, and hurry in and out of the shops lining Stefanikova trieda. Outside the city center, hordes of workers climb off of buses at big factories; thousands of students rush to classes at the Agricultural University; and spectators pack Agrokomplex, the mammoth convention center that draws over 1.5 million visitors to Nitra each year.

Although the big employers are in the suburbs, the city's cultural life is in the center. To get out of the crowds for a minute, take a quick detour off the main street and stop in at the Babkove Divadlo (puppet theater) on the street called 7. Pesieho pluku. Whimsical creatures dance across the mural that covers the building; inside, the painted floors and hanging puppets create a fairy tale world. "The arts are a big deal here," said Michel Litt, a Peace Corps volunteer who lived in Nitra for over two years. "Most of the tourism here is business tourism, so the big attractions are great restaurants and good theater."

Past the puppet theater, Stefanikova trieda turns into a pedestrian zone pulsing with music; at the end, the gargantuan new Andrej Bagar Theater stands guard on Svatoplukovo nam. From the square, the old town on the hill rises like a painted stage set over the bustle of the modern city.

Follow a young cleric into the biggest building on the square, the Velky Seminar (Big Seminary). The outside of the building is adorned with statues; the inside, on the other hand, is disappointingly modern, without the atmosphere of the old monastery. But one room still holds the secrets of the past: the seminary library. Behind a double set of wooden doors, the ancient library gleams with the gilt from the spines of 60,000 books; the treasures line carved oak shelves that stretch to the ceiling. The oldest book, under lock and key, is from 1475; most of the tomes in this magical room date back to the 16th century.

From the seminary, cross the square and follow the old walkway through an arch and up to the castle, still the residence of a bishop. The castle is dominated by churches - three, in fact, now combined in the spectacular Bishop's Cathedral with its Baroque ceiling frescoes.

The higher you go in Nitra, the further back into the past you go. From the castle, walk through the residential streets (or take a local bus number 10 to the end station) to the chair lift that runs up to the 588-meter peak to explore the castle ruins at the top, or search for the ruins of the oldest monastery in Slovakia.