Why this ride
From Levoča it runs 438 km to Levoča; allow about 7 h 38 of riding. The stops in between: Component of Koniar plateau, Hronsek and back through Component of Koniar plateau. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš and Hronsek
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 438 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 38
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš
Master Paul of Levoča carved the tallest Gothic wooden altar in the world, and you can stand in front of it in the church of St James in the centre of this walled town in eastern Slovakia. Completed in the early sixteenth century, the altar rises almost nineteen metres, with life-size figures of the Virgin and saints in limewood, painted and gilded, under a forest of pinnacles. It is the masterpiece of a sculptor about whom little is known beyond his work, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of Levoča, Spiš Castle and the associated cultural monuments.
Read the complete Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš is where the day begins. Next is Component of Koniar plateau.
2. Component of Koniar plateau
The Koniar plateau is a slab of limestone lifted above the surrounding valleys in southern Slovakia, one of the high karst tablelands that together make up the Slovak Karst. From the road it looks like nothing much: open grassland, scattered trees, a few pastures, steep wooded edges falling to the valleys of the Slaná and its tributaries. The interest is underneath. Rain soaks straight through the limestone, carving caves, shafts and swallow holes, and the whole cave system of the Slovak Karst and Hungary's Aggtelek, just over the border, is protected as a single World Heritage site. Nearby you will find the Ochtinská aragonite cave, filled with white needle-like crystals, the Gombasecká cave with its thin straw stalactites and, further north, the Dobšinská ice cave.
Read the complete Component of Koniar plateau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Component of Koniar plateau comes up about 88 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hronsek.
3. Hronsek
The wooden church at Hronsek looks at first like a large barn with a steep shingle roof, standing among old lime trees in a village in the Hron valley. It is in fact one of the rarest kinds of building in Central Europe: an articular church, built for Lutheran worshippers in 1726 under strict conditions imposed by the Catholic Habsburg authorities. After decades of religious conflict, the Hungarian diet of 1681 allowed Protestants to build churches in certain places, but they had to be made entirely of wood, without stone foundations or metal nails, outside the village centre, with no tower, and built within a single year. The Hronsek church was constructed of spruce and larch, held together by wooden joints, and it can seat more than a thousand people. A separate wooden bell tower stands beside it. Along with other wooden churches in the region, it was listed by UNESCO in 2008.
Read the complete Hronsek write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 226 km into the recorded legs you reach Hronsek. Next is back through Component of Koniar plateau.
4. back through Component of Koniar plateau
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Component of Koniar plateau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Component of Koniar plateau, late in the day. Next is Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš.
5. Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš to Component of Koniar plateau
Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš → Component of Koniar plateau is 88 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Component of Koniar plateau to Hronsek
Component of Koniar plateau → Hronsek is 138 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Hronsek to back through Component of Koniar plateau
Hronsek → back through Component of Koniar plateau is 125 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Component of Koniar plateau to Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš
back through Component of Koniar plateau → Levoča and the work of Master Paul in Spiš is 87 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.