Košice: Jewish Heritage & Auschwitz Survivor Art Tour

The Artist Who Painted for Mengele: Eastern Slovakia's Jewish Story

You visit the Feld Cultural Center in Košice, where an Auschwitz survivor's art is displayed; travel to Prešov's 1898 Orthodox Synagogue and its Judaica collection; spend the afternoon in Bardejov's UNESCO Jewish Suburbia, including the Old Synagogue and Holocaust Memorial; and optionally stop in Sabinov, where the Oscar-winning film The Shop on Main Street was shot. Transport, all synagogue entry fees, and lunch are included; the full day runs roughly eight hours.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Jewish heritage in Eastern Slovakia

• Visit Orthodox Synagogue in Košice
• Explore Ľudovít Feld Cultural Center
• Drive to Prešov
• Visit Prešov Orthodox Synagogue
• See Barkany Judaica Collection
• Lunch in Prešov historic center
• Drive to Bardejov
• Visit Jewish Suburbia and Old Synagogue
• See Holocaust Memorial garden
• Visit Bikur Cholim Synagogue
• Optional stop in Sabinov for Oscar statue
• Drive back to Košice

The Experience

You walk into the Orthodox Synagogue on Puškinova Street in Košice, and the guide mentions almost casually that Ľudovít Feld worked here—that he was born in this city, deported to Auschwitz, and survived because Josef Mengele wanted him to paint. That detail lands differently when you're standing in the actual space where his life began. The Feld Cultural Center is housed inside the synagogue itself, a 1927 building that's still active, still used by the local Jewish community. His artwork is there—drawings, paintings—and they're not the polished kind you see in museums. They're raw. The tour doesn't oversell it; it just lets you stand there and think about what it means that someone made art under those circumstances, and that the art survived.

From Košice, the drive north to Prešov takes about 45 minutes, and that's when the scale of what you're seeing starts to become clear. Prešov was once called the "Jerusalem of Slovakia"—not metaphorically, but because the Jewish community there was that significant. The Orthodox Synagogue, built in 1898, is still one of the most visually striking buildings in Europe; the proportions, the detail, the way light moves through it. Inside, in the women's gallery, is the Barkany Judaica Collection—religious objects, textiles, ceremonial pieces—all of it arranged in a space that was designed for a specific community that isn't there anymore. You have lunch in the historic center afterward, which gives you time to sit with that absence rather than rush past it.

The main stop is Bardejov, about an hour further. The Jewish Suburbia there is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which means the old synagogue, the study house, the mikvah—all of it preserved because the community was historically forced to live outside the town walls. There's a Holocaust Memorial in the garden with over 3,000 names listed by family. That specificity—the names, the family groupings—is what makes it hit. The Bikur Cholim Synagogue on Kláštorská Street is from 1929, pre-war, and still standing. You see the architecture, the craftsmanship, and you understand that these weren't abstract losses; they were places where people gathered, prayed, lived.

On the way back to Košice, if time allows, there's a stop in Sabinov—a small town that was the filming location for The Shop on Main Street, the 1965 Oscar-winning film about the "Aryanization" of Jewish property during the war. There's a bronze statue of an Oscar holding a button in the town center, which is an odd and specific memorial, but it works. The drive back to Košice is about 60 minutes from there. By the end of the day, you've moved through four towns, seen five different buildings, and traced a line from one artist's survival to a community's memory to a film that tried to make sense of it all.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel or central pickup in Košice, roundtrip transportation to Prešov, Bardejov, and optionally Sabinov, entrance fees to the Orthodox Synagogue and Feld Cultural Center in Košice, the Prešov Orthodox Synagogue and Barkany Judaica Collection, the Old Synagogue and Bikur Cholim Synagogue in Bardejov, lunch in Prešov's historic center, and the option to visit Sabinov's Oscar memorial on the return journey.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Tokaj wine tours in Slovakia and Hungary

Is this one for you?This tour works well if you want to understand Jewish heritage in Eastern Slovakia through both art and architecture, and prefer not to navigate between four towns and five different sites on your own—the fixed itinerary and included transport handle the logistics so you can focus on the history.

Top questions

How long is the full tour?

Approximately eight hours, including travel between Košice, Prešov, Bardejov, and optionally Sabinov.

What's included in the price?

Roundtrip transportation from Košice, entrance fees to all three synagogues, and lunch in Prešov's historic center.

Who was Ľudovít Feld?

A Košice-born artist who survived Auschwitz by working as a painter for Josef Mengele. His work and life story are the starting point of the tour, displayed at the Feld Cultural Center inside the Orthodox Synagogue.

Is Bardejov's Jewish Suburbia really a UNESCO site?

Yes. The complex of the Old Synagogue, study house, and mikvah outside Bardejov's old city walls is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its historical significance to Jewish life in Eastern Slovakia.

What is The Shop on Main Street connection?

The 1965 Oscar-winning film was shot in Sabinov. It tells the story of "Aryanization" during the war. A bronze Oscar statue holding a button stands in the town center as a memorial.

Is there a Holocaust Memorial on the tour?

Yes, in Bardejov's Jewish Suburbia garden. It lists over 3,000 names from Bardejov organized by family.

How far is each destination from Košice?

Prešov is about 45 minutes north. Bardejov is roughly an hour further from Prešov. Sabinov is about 60 minutes from Bardejov on the return route to Košice.

Can I do this tour if I'm not very fit?

The tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels. Most time is spent inside buildings or traveling by vehicle; walking is minimal and at a relaxed pace.

Is lunch included?

Yes, lunch is included in Prešov's historic center during the midday break.