History Talks: The changing view on unchanging land
Castles rise, fall, and become no more than a bump in the ground.
In this postcard from the 1920s, we can see the village of Vyšný Slavkov surrounded by the Levočské vrchy hills near Spišský hrad (Spiš Castle) in eastern Slovakia. The image is a good illustration of how Slovakia – and not only around Vyšný Slavkov – likely once looked completely different compared to today.
For example at the site called Sihoť, between this village and the municipality of Poľanovce, the Church of the Transfiguration has stood since the end of the 16th century. Remains were uncovered by archaeologists during research in 2014.
Experts were surprised by one wooden column in the otherwise brick-and-stone church. This is a rarity in the modern-era of mortar sacral buildings. Ruins of the church stood as late as the mid 20th century, when they were broken down and used to construct a local agricultural cooperative.
Apart from the church, another village – Leletkov – of which there is no trace now, used to be set in the Slavkov area. And last but not least, military surveys from 1769 and 1821 show that there were also two ancient fortified settlements to the southeast of the village.
If someone could see a birds-eye view of Slavkov from 1,000 years ago, we would be rather surprised how it would differ from today’s. We would see Romanesque churches which collapsed some time in the Middle Ages, innumerable predecessor castles – fortified settlements whose presence now is reflected only by obscure land protrusions here and there — as well as perished villages that later either merged with other settlements or vanished without any trace.
This article was originally published by The Slovak Spectator on March 16, 2015. It has been updated to be relevant today.
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