<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:St._Michael_Chapel" class="extiw" title="w:en:St. Michael Chapel">Saint Michael Chapel</a> (with Saint Michael Sculpture/Relief) in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Ko%C5%A1ice" class="extiw" title="w:en:Košice">Košice</a> which is the biggest city in eastern Slovakia and in 2013 was the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:European_Capital_of_Culture" class="extiw" title="w:en:European Capital of Culture">European Capital of Culture</a> together with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Marseille" class="extiw" title="w:en:Marseille">Marseille</a>, France. Košice is situated on the river <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Hern%C3%A1d" class="extiw" title="w:en:Hernád">Hornád</a> at the eastern reaches of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Slovak_Ore_Mountains" class="extiw" title="w:en:Slovak Ore Mountains">Slovak Ore Mountains</a>, near the border with Hungary. Košice is the second largest city in Slovakia after the capital <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Bratislava" class="extiw" title="w:en:Bratislava">Bratislava</a>.
<p>The first evidence of inhabitance can be traced back to the end of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Paleolithic" class="extiw" title="w:en:Paleolithic">Paleolithic</a> era. The first written reference to the Hungarian town of Košice (as the royal village – <i>Villa Cassa</i>) comes from 1230. After the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Battle_of_Mohi" class="extiw" title="w:en:Battle of Mohi">Mongol invasion</a> in 1241, King <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:B%C3%A9la_IV_of_Hungary" class="extiw" title="w:en:Béla IV of Hungary">Béla IV</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Kingdom_of_Hungary" class="extiw" title="w:en:Kingdom of Hungary">Hungary</a> invited <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Germans_of_Hungary" class="extiw" title="w:en:Germans of Hungary">German colonists</a> to fill the gaps in population.
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The city has a well-preserved historical centre, which is the largest among Slovak towns. There are many <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Cultural_heritage" class="extiw" title="w:en:Cultural heritage">heritage</a> protected buildings in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:gothic_architecture" class="extiw" title="w:en:gothic architecture">Gothic</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Renaissance" class="extiw" title="w:en:Renaissance">Renaissance</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Baroque" class="extiw" title="w:en:Baroque">Baroque</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Art_Nouveau" class="extiw" title="w:en:Art Nouveau">Art Nouveau</a> styles with Slovakia's largest church: the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:St._Elisabeth_Cathedral" class="extiw" title="w:en:St. Elisabeth Cathedral">St Elisabeth Cathedral</a> (adjacent to the Saint Michael Chapel). The city is well known as the first settlement in Europe to be granted <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Coat_of_arms_of_Ko%C5%A1ice" class="extiw" title="w:en:Coat of arms of Košice">its own coat-of-arms</a> .<br><span style="color:blue;"><i>The <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Scotch_Mist/Poland" class="mw-redirect" title="User:Scotch Mist/Poland">Scotch Mist Gallery</a> contains many photographs of historic buildings, monuments and memorials of Poland and beyond.</i></span>
<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Scotch_Mist" title="User:Scotch Mist">Scotch Mist</a>
CC BY-SA 4.0
<span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>