History
Like other Spiš towns, Levoča was settled and enriched by a wave of Saxon artisans in the 13th century. It prospered from trade in gold and woodcarving for centuries. Much of its present Renaissance personality comes from a building boom after a huge fire in the 16th century.
Levoča’s fortunes collapsed in the 17th century after an area anti-Hapsburg uprising failed. Again on the temporarily losing side, a Slovak army garrison from Levoča joined in the short-lived, antifascist Slovak National Uprising in 1944. German troops occupied the town until its liberation by the Soviets in February 1945.
