Španie Pole: Church, Crafts and Karst Landscape

Španie Pole brings together architectural history, traditional crafts and paths through a karst landscape to help you plan your trip. The Protestant church is the architectural highlight; lime burning, wax processing and woodworking are part of the area’s traditional working history. The Drienčanský Karst nature trail and the Budikovany–Chvalová hiking trail add routes of different lengths. This lets you tailor the balance between cultural history and landscape to the topics that interest you most.

Protestant Church and Architectural History

The Protestant church in Španie Pole was built between 1805 and 1810 and restored in 1931. Its hall has a segmental end, and the tower projects in front of the main building. Inside, the church preserves a wooden gallery on carved columns dating from the time it was built. The dates distinguish the construction from the later restoration; the gallery also preserves a detail from the original building phase. The segmental end describes the shape of the hall; the projecting tower stands in front of the church building and shapes the church’s exterior appearance.

Traditional Crafts

Lime burning was one of the traditional crafts in Španie Pole. In the first half of the 20th century, the village was known for processing and selling beeswax. Brdárstvo was a winter sideline, often linked to wax processing and to making and selling other wooden implements. Spindles and brdá were made at home and sold by peddlers in other regions as well. Here, several kinds of work existed side by side: a seasonal sideline, home production and sales beyond the village.

Karst Landscape and Hiking Trails

The Drienčanský Karst lies in the Revúcka vrchovina, west of the Slovak Karst and south of the Muránska planina. The karst landscape includes blind valleys, marginal karst depressions and karst lakes. The area has 190 sinkholes and 42 caves. At the stations along the Drienčanský Karst nature trail, visitors can learn about caves, karst lakes, karren and karst depressions, or sinkholes.

The nature trail is 7,540 metres long and runs through easy terrain. It stretches between Drienčany, Hrušovo, Striežovce, Španie Pole, Hostišovce and Budikovany. At 15 kilometres, the Budikovany–Chvalová hiking trail is about twice as long; it runs through the Drienčanský Karst and reaches Španie Pole. This makes it easy to compare the route lengths and the nature trail’s focus on karst formations. Check local trail conditions before setting out; signage and maintenance of the nature trail may change.

Along the hiking trail, a preserved lime kiln is located near the section between Španie Pole and Chvalová. Its condition may change, so if you are interested, it is worth checking on site.

Discover more destinations: Včelince, Teplý Vrch, Veľké Teriakovce, Padarovce, Kraskovo, Šimonovce, Rimavské Brezovo, Cakov.

See the regional travel overview: Okres Rimavská Sobota.