ARTISTS OF LIPTOVSKÝ MIKULÁŠ

8.
CENTRE OF KOLOMAN SOKOL
KOLOMAN SOKOL
(1902 Liptovský Mikuláš - 2003 Tuscon, USA)
Námestie osloboditeľov 28, Liptovský Mikuláš,
Phone no.: +421/44/562 00 35, www.galerialm.sk,
open all year: Tue - Sat: 10:00 - 17:00
The gallery of one of the most significant Slovak
painters and founder of Slovak and Mexican modern graphic art, Koloman Sokol, is proud of the
biggest collection of his paintings. It introduces
48 masterpieces he gifted to his hometown. The
collection also includes several personal items of
him, letters and photographs. There is a granite
plaque with a bust of Koloman Sokol on the facade of the gallery.
Centre
of Koloman Sokol
Koloman Sokol:
Mexico, 1979, 1983
He was studying and working in Prague, Paris, Mexico and the United States of America since 1940s.
Having a lot of personal experience and knowing
difficult life conditions of ordinary people, he
would often use social themes and depict hunger, poverty, beggary, emigration or animals. His
works are usually black and white, livened up by
colours only afterwards, and have clear black contours. He lived humbly and in seclusion, focused
on his work only, not interested in fame or praise
he was receiving.
Koloman Sokol
9.
BIRTH HOUSE OF JÁN LEVOSLAV BELLA
Koloman Sokol:
Muse, 1968, 1976
Ján Levoslav Bella
Belopotockého ulica 1, Liptovský Mikuláš
JÁN LEVOSLAV BELLA
(1843 Liptovský Mikuláš - 1936 Bratislava)
The composer and founder of Slovak national
music was born in the building of an old Catholic
school, present Catholic House. He wrote chamber
compositions, religious music and is the author of
the opera “Wieland the Blacksmith”. His composition called “Bergglocke”, which he wrote after the
death of his youngest daughter and which was
considered lost for a long time, can now be found
in the Museum of Janko Kráľ. Today, this eminent personality of music history is remembered
thanks to a plaque made by Alfonz Groma.
10.
RUMANSKÝ ART CENTRE
Ulica E. Martinčekovej- Šimerovej 4506/4, Liptovský
Mikuláš, Phone no.: +421/903 510 072, open all year:
Tue - Fri: 13:00 - 17:00, www.rumanskyartcentre.sk
MUSEUM OF JANKO KRÁĽ
Námestie osloboditeľov 30, Liptovský Mikuláš
Phone no.: +421/44/552 25 54, www.mjk.sk
1. 7. - 31. 8.: Mon: closed, Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 10:00
- 17:00, Wed: 10:00 - 18:00, 1.9. - 30.6.: Mon, Tue, Thu,
Fri: 9:00 - 16:00, Wed: 9:00 - 18:00, Sat: closed, Sun:
10:00 - 17:00
The museum of Janko Kráľ is named after an eminent romantic poet known in all Europe. Besides
the life and work of Janko Kráľ, the museum documents the history of Liptovský Mikuláš as well.
Opposite the museum, there is the house where
Janko Kráľ was born, with a plaque and relief containing his imaginary portrait. A life-size statue of
the poet is placed at the Church of St. Nicholas.
JANKO KRÁĽ
(1822 Liptovský Mikuláš - 1876 Zlaté Moravce)
Unique works of academic painters – brothers
Ivan and Igor Rumanskí are exhibited in an elegant and modern interior of their personal gallery.
IVAN RUMANSKÝ
(1944 Liptovský Mikuláš - 1990 Liptovský Mikuláš)
Museum of Janko Kráľ
Ivan Rumanský:
Portrait, 1973
Sculpture of
Janko Kráľ
Igor Rumanský:
Backyard (Demänová),
1977
Poetry of the big poet – rebel is very emotional
and full of revolutionary ideas. Despite being a
loner, he would often roam among Slovak people. He was interested in their difficult lives and
sympathised with them very much. He got even
arrested for provoking the nation and spreading
revolutionary ideas. He was working a petty civil
servant, getting isolated from public life more and
more and died as almost forgotten. It is still unknown where his remains lie.
12.
Vrbická ulica 312, Liptovský Mikuláš, www.mjk.sk
Phone no.: +421/44/552 27 49, open all year: Tue and
Fri: 8:00 - 15:00
He was working at the Academy of Fine Arts and
Design in Bratislava for more than 25 years, was a
graphic artist, illustrator, designed stamps and ex
libris. He illustrated about 150 books, including 12
collections of his friend – poet Milan Rúfus.
14.
Malý Rím 16, Liptovský Mikuláš
Phone no.: +421/905 346 699, www.gallery-petras.
szm.com. Entries booked in advance only
The Petráš painters – father and son are drawing
their inspiration from the countryside of the Liptov region. Pavel Petráš, the father, makes monumental stone mosaics (e.g. entrance of the Municipal Office) and wooden sculptures. One of them
can be found on the square Námestie mieru. His
son, Pavel Petráš, paints portraits. His cycle of personalities of the Slovak nation is really impressive.
Both artists can be seen working in their private
gallery in the town quarter called Palúdzka.
Martin Rázus
DUŠAN PÁLKA
(1909 Liptovský Mikuláš - 1998 Prague)
Birth house
of the Rázus siblings
The author of the first Slovak tango (“Nepovedz,
dievčatko, nikomu“ = Don´t tell anybody, girl)
grew up in a villa in Hodžova Street, opposite the
post office (private property today). His compositions were sung by well-known singers such as
F. Kryštof-Veselý, Karol Duchoň, Hana Hegerová,
Jana Kocianová or Marcela Leiferová. The most
popular songs include “Ešte raz ku tebe prídem”
(I will come to you again), “Prečo sa máme rozísť”
Exterior of the PaP Petráš gallery
Dušan Pálka
15.
square Námestie mieru, or the “Sculpture of a
Mother with a Child” at the Symbolic cemetery in
Demänovská dolina (valley).
MILITARY CEMETERY AT HÁJ-NICOVÔ
Cesta hrdinov, Liptovský Mikuláš
ALFONZ GROMA
(1924 Trstené - 1993 Liptovský Mikuláš)
Impressive sculptures and reliefs of the Monument to fallen soldiers who tried to liberate the
town of Liptovský Mikuláš during WWII were created by local sculptors Alfonz Groma and Miroslav
Ksandr. The monument is part of the largest military cemetery in former Czechoslovakia. It is located on a knoll called Háj Nicovô, which is a popular
observation spot as it offers beautiful views of the
town, surrounding mountains and the dam of Liptovská Mara.
Works of Alfonz Groma can be also found in various public spaces – the sculpture “A girl with a
dove” at the Secondary Grammar School of M. M.
Hodža, a sculpture group at the fountain on the
He focused on chamber and monumental sculptures and was a talented portraitist and medal
designer.
MIROSLAV KSANDR
(1931 Liptovský Mikuláš – 2003 Liptovský Mikuláš)
Alfonz Groma
Miroslav Ksandr
Alfonz Groma:
A Man with a Sack, 1955
Monument and cemetery at Háj-Nicovô
LIPTOVSKÝ MIKULÁŠ
ARTISTS
OF LIPTOVSKÝ
MIKULÁŠ
IGOR RUMANSKÝ
(1946 Liptovský Mikuláš - 2006 Bratislava)
PaP PETRÁŠ GALLERY
13.
_
A sensitive painter, a big idealist, seeking beauty
and truth. His work was affected by his illness that
developed at the end of his college studies. Painting, nature, study and book reading helped him
cure it.
Mária
(Why should we break up), “So slzami v očiach”
Rázusová- (With tears in my eyes), “V Tatrách” (In the Tatras)
-Martáková or “Nauč sa to odo mňa“ (Learn it from me).
BIRTH HOUSE OF THE RÁZUS SIBLINGS
In memory of an eminent family of Vrbica: MARTIN
RÁZUS – a priest, politician, poet and writer, MÁRIA RÁZUSOVÁ MARTÁKOVÁ – a teacher, translator, editor but mainly author of poetry and prose
for children, MICHAL and MATEJ RÁZUS – significant book printers of Liptovský Mikuláš. The exposition reminds us also of the history of Vrbica, a
village that doesn´t exist anymore, as well as other
well-known personalities that were born here.
A park with a monument dedicated to Martin Rázus is located in front of the Municipal Office in
Štúrova Street.
11.
A sculptor who changed
from observant realist and
monumentalist art to
sensitive poetic works
in the background of
culture and history
of the Liptov region.
Watercolour painting
formed a significant
part of his work.
Miroslav Ksandr:
Ploughman II., 1969
sightseeing tour
Liptovský Mikuláš,
There are so many renowned names related to it, so many exceptional personalities – including various artists who were born here, so many personalities
came here along their life journeys. Whole generations were developing spiritual values of this town and passing them down like the most precious thing they
could share. It may have been the magical nature or its inhabitants who were
able to focus on their aims that helped the art develop in all directions here. The
past and present of this town is full of painters, sculptors, photographers, theatre makers, musicians or writers whose works were admired and appreciated
not only in Slovakia but also far beyond its borders. Let us introduce the most
significant ones so that you can discover their works yourselves. Enjoy a completely different experience – take a town guide and wander along alleys of the
historical centre where the artists are still remembered.
for information about current events please visit | www.mikulas.travel
1.
Discover the town with a town guide
G.F.BELOPOTOCKÝ LIPTOV LIBRARY
ARTISTS OF LIPTOVSKÝ MIKULÁŠ
Štúrova ulica 56, Liptovský Mikuláš
Phone no.: +421/44/552 62 16, www.kniznicag fb.sk
Step by step, you will learn tempting life stories of
artists, their fortunes full of bravery, inner strength and beauty reflected in their works. The guide
will tell you various interesting facts about their
works and take you to an exposition with paintings of P.M.Bohúň, an exceptional painter, in a
gallery named after him.
July - August: free town tours every Friday beginning at 16:00 in front of the Information Centre.
Any other times and dates of guide services must
be booked. There are five other sightseeing routes, each with a tempting 1-hour commentary and
several stops in the historical centre.
G. F. Belopotocký Liptov Library
For more information and reservations please
contact:
Information Centre of the town of Liptovský
Mikuláš, Námestie mieru 1, Liptovský Mikuláš
Metarmorphosis fountain
4.
LIPTOV GALLERY OF P. M. BOHÚŇ
Tranovského ulica 3, Liptovský Mikuláš
Phone no.: +421/44/552 27 58, www.galerialm.sk
open all year: Tue - Sat: 10:00 - 17:00
Peter M. Bohúň:
Portrait of Jozefína
Thuranská, 1849
Liptov gallery
of Peter Michal Bohúň
PETER MICHAL BOHÚŇ
(1822 Veličná - 1879 Bielsko-Biala)
His life was full of struggles and strokes of fate but
also continuous artistic work. He painted portraits
of national patriots and townspeople mainly, and
also altar paintings, landscapes. He created cycles
of figures dressed in folk costumes, did photography as well. Thirty-two paintings are exhibited at
the gallery named after this notable painter.
3.
Námestie osloboditeľov
1.7. - 14.9.: Mon - Fri: 9:00 - 18:00,
Sat - Sun: 9:00 - 17:00
15.9. - 30.6.: Mon - Fri: 9.00 - 17.00,
Sat: 9.00 - 13.00, Sun: closed
The gallery has been introducing fine arts to the
wide public for sixty years – there are four permanent exhibitions now, with works of Slovak
authors from 1800 to the 2nd half of the 20th
century. The biggest Slovak exhibition hall always
offers attractive expositions. The building was originally used as an evangelical school where Peter
Michal Bohúň himself was active as a teacher between 1854 and 1865.
The first public library in Slovakia has 96,600
books to lend, organises authorial discussions
and readings, works with children and youngsters, runs a literary club, organises a contest for
beginning writers - “Wings of Ivan Laučík” and a
contest called “Book of the Liptov Region” every
year. One can lend here also books written by writers related to the town of Liptovský Mikuláš. There are quite many of them: poet Janko Kráľ, poet
and prose writer Martin Rázus, his sister Mária
Rázusová-Martáková – author of children´s books,
playwright Ivan Stodola, prose writer Janko Alexy,
poet and essayist Pavol Strauss, poet Ivan Laučík
or poets Anna Ondrejková and Margita Dobrovičová.
METAMORPHOSIS FOUNTAIN
with the work “Tribute to Creative Thinking”
Phone no.: +421/44 16 186, 552 24 18
www.mikulas.travel
foreign language 2 €/ person (minimum 32 €)
2.
Ester M. Šimerová:
Braqua Study III., 1967
Martin Martinček:
Mountain Man, From the
Liptov cycle, 1963-1972
ESTER MARTINČEKOVÁ-ŠIMEROVÁ
(1909 Bratislava - 2005 Liptovský Mikuláš)
First lady of Slovak painting.
Names of seventy notable natives are inscribed in
black granite at the fountain – scientists, inventors, doctors, priests, writers, artists or publicists
who introduced new ideas and artistic values to
the world. Upper rotary prisms of the fountain
symbolise continuous movement, change, flow of
time...
The photographer and the painter met in Bratislava shortly after WWII. The events of the war hurt
both of them quite deeply – her husband was executed by the Gestapo, he lost his wife, sons and
father. Martinček was holding high office at the
Slovak National Council. He was imprisoned after
the Communist Coup and they both had to leave
Bratislava after he had been released from prison.
So they settled down in Liptovský Mikuláš. Here the
doctor of law was assigned manual work at a brick
plant and his wife, a professional painter, who had
studied painting at two academies in France, remained isolated in the large region of Liptov. They
would find solace and beauty in the countryside
of the Liptov region and its common people. Martinček created impressive cycles about nature and
human lives, his wife was inspired by nature and
was painting tree trunks, flowers, brooks, stones.
Their works are exhibited at the Liptov Gallery of P.
M. Bohúň, Ester Martinčeková is also the author of
stained glass windows at the building of the former
Regional House or stage curtains in the House of
Culture.
Martin
Martinček:
A Guest Came
at Dawn,
From the Liptov
cycle, 1964
MARTIN MARTINČEK
(1913 Liptovský Peter - 2004 Liptovský Mikuláš)
OUR MOTHER
Alojz Štróbl: Our Mother, 1896
renowned 12 to 14-member band couldn´t be missing at any significant event of the town of Liptovský Mikuláš.
The sculpture, which is registered at the Louvre museum in Paris as one of the most flawless
sculptures in the world, is placed at the entrance
of the Liptov Gallery of P. M. Bohúň. Its photography used to be sold in the USA on Mother´s Day
for many years. The sculpture was made by Alojz
Štróbl.
ČIERNY OROL
ALOJZ ŠTRÓBL
(1856 Kráľova Lehota - 1926 Budapešť)
Čierny orol used to be a touring inn in the past.
Once a theatre stage was built inside in the 19th
century, it became a cultural and social centre of
P. M. Bohúň: Piťo, 1862 the town. Today, one can find various cultural institutions inside – Liptov Museum, G. F. Belopotocký
Liptov Library – section of non-fiction, regional
literature and documents for the blind and purblind; and Liptov Cultural Centre. It also supports
Čierny orol amateur artists of the Liptov region.
In 1830, the first Slovak theatre had the first performance here – the famous comedy by Ján Chalupka: Kocúrkovo. The institution was founded by G.
F. Belopotocký, who was aware of the fact that not
many people could read and write at that time but
everybody understood their mother tongue on
stage. Amateur theatre became an integral part
of town´s life and has had a long tradition here
ever since. It´s not only amateur actors of Liptov
who have been meeting here at a festival of amateur theatre called “Belopotocký´s Mikuláš” for 40
years.
There are more than 600 sculptural and painting
works of him registered, the most admired ones
include a 12-metre-high sculptural group called
“Dwell of King Mathew” at the Buda Castle in
Budapest. He was the first sculptor of the Hungarian Empire, who had even the emperor model
for his works. Štróbl was a spontaneous and rather eccentric artist, who liked surprising people
around him. Once he even went to Rome dressed
up in a Slovak folk costume to copy Michelangelo´s sculpture of Moses.
JOZEF PIŤO
(around 1800 Tekovské Lužany - 1886 Liptovský Mikuláš)
Respectable, talented, with flawless musical memory and unique skills of interpreting Slovak folk
songs, a patriot – that´s how the famous gypsy
first violin is described in many literary works. He
used to play in the building of Čierny orol and his
6.
CHURCH OF ST. NICHOLAS
BIRTH HOUSE OF VLADIMÍR KRIVOŠ
VLADIMÍR KRIVOŠ
(1865 Liptovský Mikuláš - 1942 Ufa, Ural)
Vladimír Krivoš
GAŠPAR FEJÉRPATAKY-BELOPOTOCKÝ
(1794 Paludza - 1874 Liptovský Mikuláš)
A bookbinder, publisher and bookseller, who was
deciphering Slovak and Czech books, magazines
and calendars in the whole Slovak-speaking territory of the Hungarian Empire. In 1829, he founded
the first public library in Liptovský Mikuláš, was
writing school books, translating, was active in the
field of literature, founded a Sunday school where
he himself was teaching and was sending talented
boys to Prague to study and learn crafts, among
others also the painter P. M. Bohúň. The outstanding personality of Belopotocký is now remembered thanks to his sculpture at the Church of St.
Nicholas in the town centre and a plaque placed
at the building of the local library which is named
after him.
Published by: Information Centre of the town of
Liptovský Mikuláš, Municipal Office Liptovský Mikuláš, Tourism Organisation of the Liptov region
(OOCR Liptov), 2014
Texts: Information Centre of the town
Graphic design: Eva Dudzíková
Photos: Archive of the Information Centre of the
town, Museum of Janko Kráľ, Liptov Gallery of
P. M.Bohúň
Guided sightseeing tour
7.
Námestie osloboditeľov 27, Liptovský Mikuláš,
Phone no.: +421/44/552 21 42, www.faralm.sk,
available during holy masses: Mon - Fri: 6:15, 18:15*,
Sat: 7:00, 18:15*, Sun: 6:15, 8:00, 9:15, 10:45, 18:15
*after summer time changes to winter time, the evening
holy mass starts at 17:00
Ulica 1. mája 17, Liptovský Mikuláš
The house of birth with a plaque of this eminent
shorthand typist, writer and one of the best descipherologists in the world is located opposite
the building of Čierny orol. His diplomatic and language skills (he spoke 40 foreign languages) brought him even to the tsarist court, where he was
working as a secret counsellor of Tsar Nicholas II.
5.
G. F. Belopotocký Liptov Library, Ulica 1. mája 28/196,
Liptovský Mikuláš, Phone no.: +421/44/552 36 09,
www.kniznicag fb.sk
Liptov Cultural Centre, Ulica 1. mája 28/196,
Liptovský Mikuláš, Phone no.: +421/44/552 29 81,
www.lks.sk
It is majestic with all works of art inside. A lot of
effort to renovate the church was made by Janko
Alexy, a painter and writer. During the reconstruction of 1941 – 43, he painted the church choir and
graphics in side chapels; and designed stained
glass windows together with painters Ján Želibský
Church of St. Nicholas
and Fero Kráľ. The altars were reconstructed by Peter Július Kern, a famous painter, who was one of a
few professional trained restorers at that time. The
portal over the main entrance was formed by the
already mentioned Fero Kráľ and carved into stone
by František Šustek in 1945.
JANKO ALEXY
(1894 Liptovský Mikuláš – 1970 Bratislava)
Gašpar
Fejérpataky-Belopotocký
Church of St. Nicholas
The founder of Slovak modernism in fine arts draw
inspiration from everyday life of village people,
painted the Slovak countryside and monuments,
scenes of folk myths and legends. He devoted a
lot of energy to saving historic-cultural monuments. It was thanks to his sustained effort that
the Castle of Bratislava rose from ruins and was
opened to the wide public after an extensive reconstruction of 1968. He also helped found the
Regional (Liptov) Gallery of P. M. Bohúň.