Bringing you the gen on Spiš towns

There are 24 Spiš towns in eastern Slovakia.
The historic Spiš Region stretched from the Prešov region in the northeast of the country, even slipping into south Poland for a few kilometres, south almost towards the Hungarian border to Rožňava in the Košice region.
Pronounced ‘spish’, it is one of the most picturesque regions in the country.
For many hundreds of years, Spiš flourished with a semi-autonomous status within the Hungarian kingdom. Each county developed independently from the next.
Spiš county could be compared to a Swiss canton.
It has its own self-government and a peculiar culture.
It had its own dialect, folk-dress and verbal communication.
Spiš has always been a melting pot of cultures and religions in a positive way.
In the 12th century German settlers arrived, received royal privileges and traded successfully. Hungarians also appeared in the south of the Spiš region, where the Polish-speaking Gorals settled in the north.
Rusyn and Ukrainian settlers settled in the more mountainous parts in the 14th century, bringing not only culture but a distinct religion and style of sacral architecture.
There were also many Jews particularly around Huncovce and also Roma came in the 15th century adding to the vibrant, creative cosmopolitan mix.
The jewel in the Spiš crown is Levoča.

A ©FourBees digital pic