Assif

Germany - 08-Jun-15 -

As I have already reviewed this special church under the WHS entry I would now like to focus on the rest of the historic centre of Kezmarok that was left out in favour of a serial nomination of typical wooden churches of the Carpathians. Kezmarok is quite a local touristic centre catering mostly for Slovaks and Czechs. It lies next to the peaks of the Tatra mountains which are the highest in both countries. It is also adequately picturesque with some mediaeval houses in the market area and the necessary castle. It is a nice town to visit when in the area but admittedly cannot compete with nearby Levoca in quality of architecture and atmosphere. I do not see how the town could have justified OUV. Its very special German Protestant wooden church was built outside the city walls, so it does not truly interact with other elements of the town layout. However, Kezmarok's proximity to the other Spiss monuments could have made a case for its inclusion in the serial nomination. Nearby Poprad even features another work of the local Master Paul, which could have rounded up the edges. Still I think Slovakia made a good choice separating these two nominations as it did.