Introducing West Slovakia

All of West Slovakia might be considered a day trip from Bratislava. It’s a region of thera-peutic and rejuvenating spas, romantic and ruined castles, vineyard-covered hills and lowland plains. Here the vast Danubian basin meets the Small Carpathian hills, and cliffs rise above the Váh river valley. The region’s towns, many of which are mentioned in the earliest Slovak chronicles, are a mix of old and new. Architectural gems cuddle up next to communist-era monstrosities, as in the spa town of Piešťany.

Perhaps most striking, though, are the ancient fortifications rising high on lonely ridges or dominating towns, such as in Trenčín, a vivid reminder of West Slovakia’s strategic importance. The region was once the Hungarian Empire’s last stand against the invading Turks as they pushed north to occupy Budapest for 150 years (and barely missed taking nearby Vienna). It’s a rare clifftop in the region that doesn’t have some sort of castle ruins perched aloft, and in the southern reaches of the region, Hungarian is still heard on the streets at least as often as Slovak. West Slovakia is today, as it has long been, the place of clashing cultures.