Category: Public events

Night of castles and ruins at Katarínka

Posted on by admin

The Night of castles and ruins at Katarínka turned out well, despite unfavourable weather forecast. Katarínka again took part this year in the Slovak countrywide event Night of castles and ruins, which is under the auspices of civic association Zachráňme hrady.

Parson Branislav Popelka from Piešťany and Miroslav Kováč from Dechtice served the Holy Mass in the area of the church.

Since it did not rain and the wind calmed down, approximately 150 visitors were able to enjoy both the superb atmosphere and an impressive concert of baroque virtuosi. It is interesting that a large part of the pieces was composed by Pantaleón Roškovský, who was a Franciscan that used to act around Katarínka. Not only his compositions, but also pieces of other baroque authors were performed by artists Adam Štefunko (electric organ) and Michal Klas (baroque violin, vocals).

Subtle illumination of the ruins was very impressive, as well as night tours, which were accompanied by traditional monastic dish – water and bread with butter and onions. Even before the start of the event, it was possible to visit the reconstructed 30-meter high tower, where the visitors could enjoy a moving view and listen to a detailed commentary given by guides.

We are very satisfied with both the attendance and the atmospere of the event, because we did not expect so many visitors with such weather conditions. However, many came and they obtained a reward in the form of a splendid evening at Katarínka.

Doors Open Day at Katarínka – sightseeing tower opening

Posted on by admin

Wednesday 5 July 2017 was the day of the biggest event of the year at Katarínka. The program of doors open day at Katarínka attracted more than 1,000 visitors from all parts of Slovakia. The focus was on the sightseeing tower which the volunteers from will Katarínka will open to public from 6 July.

The first people came to enjoy the peace and natural scenery even before the official beginning of the program. The main program started with a holy mass in the ruins of the church. The mass was celebrated by Franciscan Felix Mária (ThLic. Zdenko Žiška) and parish priest from Dechtice Miroslav Kováč. It was followed by a theater performance that described the interesting history of Church and Monastery of St. Catherine of Alexandria. Afterwards, visitors could enjoy the food prepared by the volunteers from Katarínka. The program continued with guided tours and various creative workshops for children.

After years of active volunteering activities, mainly in summer months, we are announcing opening of the sightseeing tower for general public, starting from 6 July. During doors open day, the tower was festively blessed, with presence of the invited guests. Entrance to the tower is possible only during good weather for max. 16 visitors and together with 2 guides. No special authorization is needed in advance; the tower will be (with a few exceptions) open during whole summer between 8:00 and 17:00.

Founder of Katarínka project, Peter Herceg: “We are very pleased that we can share this success with others. After years of hard work, when hundreds of volunteers were taking turns here, we can open the sightseeing tower for public. Visitors can get to the top of a 30-meter high tower and enjoy the view of surroundings – Little Carpathians. We ask visitors for their patience, because we do not know how big will be the demand. A situation can occur when more visitors come and not everyone will be allowed to enter the tower. These limitations are related mainly to security measurements. We also in advance would like to point out that visitors should be careful when going up or down the tower, because the stairs are rather steep. We are looking forward to all visitors and believe that the sightseeing will be worth it.”

Pilgrimage to Katarínka – starting the 23rd season

Posted on by admin

On Sunday, April 23, 2017, more than 100 people walked during the White Sunday pilgrimage to Katarínka monastery. The whole event started at the Buková railway station and people wandered through the woods of the Small Carpathian mountains up to Katarínka.

n the ruins of the church and monastery of St. Catherine of Alexandria mass was held at 14 o’clock. It was attended by about 250 visitors. Even despite the cold weather and the wind that accompanied the whole pilgrimage, many enthusiasts came, among whom were adults, children, and also the older generation.

The service was celebrated by the Franciscan Felix M. and the priests concelebrated, Mário B., Miroslav K. from near Dechtice and the Jesuits Martin H. and Ladislav Š.. After the service volunteers were accompanying visitors of Katarínka with their historical interpretation.

Peter H., the founder of the Katarínka project, described this year’s journey as follows: “I think the 18th White Sunday fell very well despite the fact that the whole week before news had reported bad weather. During service we had a nice celebration. We are pleased that many families and also Scouts have come. It was already a classic annual event, and the people were very satisfied, so we are happy too.”

Open Days 2016

Posted on by admin

Dear visitors, supporters and friends,

we thank you for accepting our invitation for Open Days event that took place last week. Since the formation of the project in 1994, Open Days took place 16 times and the last one had the currently highest attendance – more than 1300 people came. We believe that you felt good and we thank you for your support. Few pictures from the event are enclosed below.