Spišská Sobota

Poprad


Formerly a distinct town, Poprad's Spišská Sobota neighbourhood is lined with attractive burgher houses. Settled by German colonists around the 13th century, it grew into a centre for crafts at the heart of a major Slavonic trade route. A Gothic church and baroque column are planted in the heart of its triangular main plaza, which is lined by Renaissance houses with sharply corniced roofs. It's 2km northeast of Poprad's modern centre, Sv Egídia nám.

The church was originally a Romanesque-style building dating to the 13th century, rebuilt 100 years later in a fetching Gothic style. Placards around the square detail the buildings' links to merchants past, and occasionally to Hungarian kings and nobles.