A town with a rich history

A town with a rich history and handicraft traditions used to be famous mostly due to the travertine excavation in the past. At present it belongs to the district of Levoča. Significant cultural monuments of both regional and super-regional significance are located in the area of and it vicinity, which predetermines the strategic importance of the town for the development of tourism.

The National Cultural Monument of Spiš Castle, the National Cultural Monument of Church of the Holy Spirit in nearby Žehra, the town reservation of historical monuments in Spišská Kapitula and historical monument zone of the town of Spišské Podhradie were recorded in the List of Monuments of World Cultural and Natural Heritage UNESCO in 1993.

Local groups and NGOs offer possibilities for developing leisure activities and voluntary public benefit works to inhabitants of Spišské Podhradie. The Local Sports Club offers a space to go in for team sports, such as football and hockey. The Sports club SLOVAN – UNESCO Club supports mostly body-building and aerobics. The Civic association Spiš Castle focuses on supporting tourism and cross-border cooperation. The Club of Civic Understanding KLOP associates Roma and non-Roma to improve mutual relationships between the majority population and the Roma minority, as well as improve inter-ethnic communication. The organization Kolping’s work in Slovakia focuses on organizing educational events and supporting small business activities. In the course of the YOUR SPIš Fund activities many new community organizations have bee established in the town – civic associations (CA Čercheň – Star, CA Reksa, CA Starý jarok, CA Sikade Vasta – Clever Hands, CA Podhradie) and informal groups (The Roma amateur theatre ensemble Khamoro – Sun, a Roma folk group, an Informal community association MVO in Spišské Podhradie, the group Khosnore – SCARFS and Romano Suno – Roma Dream).