Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art

Eastern Slovakia


Pop-art pioneer and provocateur Andy Warhol (1928–87) would perhaps have wryly approved of Slovakia's peculiar museum in his name. The neon-splashed gallery dominates the otherwise dreary eastern town of Medzilaborce, where Warhol's parents grew up. Photographs and newspaper clippings detail the lives of the Warhols, but the art is much more interesting. Alongside Warhol originals are temporary exhibitions of present-day artists as well as Warhol's contemporaries. The museum's opening in 1991 was controversial; today it makes an entertaining detour.

The museum's journey from inception to grand opening was difficult, partly because of the perception in 1980s Slovakia that pop art was frivolous and undesirable. The project was beset by obstacles from lapsed construction deadlines to scepticism about the museum's setting (after all, Warhol never set foot here) though it has since found favour with locals and visiting art fans.

It isn't much fun getting marooned in Medzilaborce, an uninspiring spot aside from the museum, so we highly recommend private transport. Bus routes from Bardejov or Košice require one or more changes. Train travel from Košice, transferring in Humenné, is marginally less painful (€6.80, 2¾ hours, five daily).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Eastern Slovakia attractions

1. Šemetkovce Church

11.33 MILES

The wooden church in Šemetkovce, prettily trimmed in red and blue, sits 6 kilometres southeast of Ladomirová by road. Built in 1752, its most impressive…

2. Krajné Čierno Church

12.29 MILES

This pyramid-shaped Greek Catholic church, dating to 1730 and consecrated by St Basil the Great, houses rare icons including a depiction of Jesus…

3. Hunkovce Church

13.08 MILES

The 16th-century village of Hunkovce has a Greek Catholic church at its heart. With baroque features and topped with wooden onion domes, this late-18th…

4. Ladomirová Church

13.23 MILES

Dainty, pointed Ladomirová Church, a 40km drive east of Bardejov, was originally built in 1742. Its extraordinary 18th-century iconostasis was restored…

5. Parish Church of Our Lady

23.73 MILES

Lesko's very pretty parish church, the oldest in Bieszczady, stands northwest of the centre of town. It was built in 1539 and its exterior still retains…

6. Synagogue

23.76 MILES

Lesko's impressive former synagogue is the only one of five to survive WWII. Built in the Mannerist style in the mid-17th century, it has an attached…

7. Jewish Cemetery

23.87 MILES

Before WWII, Jews accounted for two-thirds of Lesko's population. This moving cemetery, dating back to the mid-16th century, has more than 2000…

8. Franciscan Church of the Holy Cross

24.34 MILES

At the southeast corner of the Rynek is the Franciscan Church of the Holy Cross, the town’s oldest. The interior and exterior are in baroque style and…