Wealth of the frontiers

This is the medieval parish church, currently a cathedral, in Košice in Eastern Slovakia. Located at the foot of the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, not far from the borders of Ukraine, the church is one of the largest and most elaborate gothic monuments marking the eastern frontiers of Latin Christendom.  In the medieval period, Košice was one of the largest and most prosperous towns of northern Hungary. Its population comprised German colonists, Hungarians and local Slavs. The city was founded in the mid. 13^th C. as one of a number of new settlements founded by the Hungarian monarchs to repopulate the frontiers of their kingdom after they were devastated by the Mongol invasions. Soon, five of the most prosperous new towns of the region formed a league known as Pentapolitana or Pentepolis (from the Greek, meaning five towns) and Košice became the league’s leader. Despite its frontier location, the area was protected by the mountains and, like Transylvania to the south, it formed a prosperous enclave of mining towns, churches and castles guarding the frontiers medieval Hungary. If you are interested in the medieval heritage of Slovakia, check out this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=S39TPg…;