Rimavská Sobota: Museum, Kurinec and Culture

Rimavská Sobota combines historical insights with a recreational area where swimming, water sports and physical activity come together. This gives you a destination with different facets: you can experience culture at Hlavné námestie and in the Gemersko-malohontské múzeum, while Kurinec–Zelená voda provides a distinct focus on water-based and leisure activities.

Museum and Historical Traces

The Gemersko-malohontské múzeum has been housed since 1910 in the classicist building of the former artillery barracks, built in 1850. The building is listed as a national cultural monument and gives a visit to the museum a clearly recognizable historical setting. Among the special objects is the Egyptian mummy Tasheritnetiak from Abusir el-Melek, one of five Egyptian mummies in Slovakia. The permanent exhibition is also oriented toward the region. Its current form was opened to the public on December 20, 1979; it is designed to give visitors as comprehensive an insight as possible into the Gemer-Malohont region. If you do not want to focus your stay on a single exhibit, this layout provides access to the region’s broader history and culture. Hlavné námestie is also home to the classicist Roman Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist. It was built between 1774 and 1790. The Aleja významných dejateľov on Námestie Š. M. Daxnera provides another historical point of reference. As of May 2018, it comprises 19 memorials to historical figures connected with Gemer and Malohont.

Kurinec–Zelená voda: Swimming and Activities

The Kurinec–Zelená voda recreational area near Rimavská Sobota provides a clear contrast to the city’s museums and squares. There, you can swim in the reservoir as well as in pools containing drinking and geothermal water at 33 °C. Families can use a children’s pool with attractions and a complex of water slides. The recreational area also offers boat, pedal boat and paddleboard rentals. Those who want to combine their stay with land-based sports will find tennis courts, table tennis, and football and beach volleyball courts there. The combination of water areas, play facilities and sports courts makes Kurinec–Zelená voda an independent choice within a stay in Rimavská Sobota, without repeating the town’s cultural destinations. The recreational area is also specifically covered by the verified local information for cyclists: the cycling route from Rimavská Sobota to the Kurinec recreational area is 4,330 metres long and has two branches. One starts on Školská, the other on Hostinského. This gives you two documented starting points for the same connection.

Routes, Landscape and Regional Culture

For initial orientation, the Gothic Road recommends starting at the Tourist Information Centre on Hlavné námestie and first visiting the sights of Rimavská Sobota. The Gemer-Malohont Fair in September presents products made by local and regional craftsmen, including wood carvings, leatherwork, pottery, textiles with traditional embroidery and bell foundry work. A natural highlight is the protected area of Kurinecká dubina. Old oak trees are preserved there, providing a habitat for many protected bird and insect species, bats and other small mammals. Another cultural offering presented from Rimavská Sobota is the Gemer-rimavský circuit of the Gothic Road. It connects various sites and cultural monuments and broadens the view beyond individual sights. Further destination pages on this portal: Lukovištia (Lukovištia), Husiná (Husiná), Včelince (Včelince), Teplý Vrch (Teplý Vrch), Dubovec (Dubovec), Gemerské Dechtáre (Gemerské Dechtáre), Širkovce (Širkovce), Kaloša (Kaloša).

For the higher-level travel overview: Rimavská Sobota District.