A bee experience, marked trails and traces of copper mining reveal different sides of Opátka. You can plan your trip around whether you are interested in meeting live bees, destinations for a hike or the town’s history. These themes complement one another without requiring you to follow a set itinerary.
Experience Bees at MIMI farma
MIMI farma offers hands-on learning about beekeeping, including meeting a beekeeper and the opportunity to observe live bees up close. The experience provides a first-hand look at working with bees. If you would rather get involved yourself, you can make beeswax candles. Tasting Slovak honey is also part of the offer.
Observing, taking part and tasting are different ways to explore this subject. You can therefore treat a visit to MIMI farma as a focus in its own right, alongside the historic sites and marked trails.
Protected Area and Trails with Clear Destinations
Outside the built-up area, the cadastral territory of Opátka lies within the Volovské vrchy Natura 2000 protected area and bird protection area. If you are interested in the landscape, this boundary is important: the protected-area designation applies to the area outside the built-up settlement.
A blue-marked hiking trail passes through Opátka. To the north, it leads via the ATC turistclub signpost at an elevation of 330 m to the Ružín–Košické Hámre recreation area by the Ružín Reservoir. To the south, the trail leads to the Idčianske sedlo signpost at an elevation of 954 m. These destinations distinguish the two hiking directions; a blue-marked cycling route also starts in Opátka and leads to Košice.
Opátka is also associated with the panoramic summit of Kojšovská hoľa, one of the area’s most important tourist attractions. Alongside the specific trail destinations, this offers further connections to the landscape to consider when choosing what interests you.
Mining and the Development of the Town
Opátka was first mentioned in 1324 under the name Apokapotoka. During a flourishing period of mining, the town reached its highest population in 1808, with around 500 inhabitants. Its development was also shaped by the copper hammers: after copper ore mining ended, the copper smelting works were shut down and dissolved towards the end of the 19th century, presumably because they were unprofitable. Opátka then gradually began to decline economically and socially.
For a long time, Opátka consisted of two parts, which belonged to the Abaúj and Spiš counties respectively. Each part had its own mill, cemetery and inn. This historical division adds to the mining history by showing how the town was once divided and which facilities belonged to each part.
Church and Copper Hammers
The Church of Saint Florian was built in 1784 and restored in 1845 and again towards the end of the 19th century. Half-length figures of two miners appear on the front of its triumphal arch. The folk-style painting dates from the first half of the 19th century, bringing together a local motif and Opátka’s mining history.
The administrative building of the copper hammers is a single-storey late Baroque building with two wings and a mansard roof, dating from the 1770s. The building is currently inhabited and privately owned. If you are interested in its architecture, check whether a visit is possible before going.
Discover more destinations: Vyšný Medzev, Turňa Nad Bodvou, Budimír, Zlatá Idka, Bukovec, Nižná Myšľa, Medzev, Štós.
For the broader travel overview: Košice-Okolie District.
