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How to get to Košice
Arriving by plane:
If you want to fly to Košice, you can choose the city's own international airport – Košice International Airport (approximately 8 km from city centre). Airport and city centre are connected by regular shuttle buses. www.airportkosice.sk.
If you want, we arrange the transportation from Airport. More information on e-mail: secretariatwaves@uvlf.sk
Arriving by car:
- From Bratislava – highway E571/E58, direction Košice, Slovakia (403 km)
- From Krakow – highway DK75, direction Košice, Slovakia (245 km)
- From Budapest – highway M3, direction Košice, Slovakia (256 km)
Košice, German: Kaschau, Hungarian: Kassa, is the biggest city in eastern Slovakia and in 2013 was the European Capital of Culture together with Marseille, France. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 240.000, Košice is the second largest city in Slovakia after the capital Bratislava.
Being the economic and cultural centre of eastern Slovakia, Košice is the seat of the Košice Region and Košice Self-governing Region, the Slovak Constitutional Court, three universities, various dioceses, and many museums, galleries, and theatres. Košice is an important industrial centre of Slovakia, and the U.S. Steel Košice steel mill is the largest employer in the city. The town has extensive railway connections and an international airport.
The city has a well-preserved historical centre, which is the largest among Slovak towns. There are many heritage protected buildings in Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Art Nouveau styles with Slovakia's largest church: the St. Elisabeth Cathedral. The long main street, rimmed with aristocratic palaces, Catholic churches, and townsfolk's houses, is a thriving pedestrian zone with many boutiques, cafés, and restaurants. The city is well known as the first settlement in Europe to be granted its own coat-of-arms.