For tourists

Content of questions and answers.

  • How can I get to Katarinka?
  • Parking?
  • With a pram?
  • Can I set fire in Katarinka?
  • Can I have my wedding in Katarinka?
  • Taking photos for wedding?
  • We would like to visit the tower. Can we ask you in advance to open it for us or give us keys?
  • Is it possible to do camping or sleep at Katarinka as a visitor?
  • Can I record with a camera or take photos in any place in Katarinka?

How can I get to Katarínka?

There are direct lines (buses only) from Bratislava to Naháč or Dechtice. You can also take a bus or train from any town and change in Trnava (very regularly)

  • Naháč – blue tourist sign – 40 minutes
  • Dechtice – yellow tourist sign– 80 minutes
  • Dobrá voda – blue tourist sign– 120 minutes

Location of the church tower according to GPS

  • N 48 o 33′ 19.2”
  • E 17 o 32′ 09.4”
  • absolute altitude: 324 m

Parking?

You can get to the parking area by car. It is approximately 20 minutes far from Katarínka by walking.

The side-cut to the parking area is between villages Dechtice and Naháč. See also Where is Katarínka?

With a pram?

The forest road is wide enough to be passable also by prams – it means it is accessible for “little tourists” too 🙂

Can I set fire?

It is possible to make the campfire near church and monastery ruins – north direction – see the photo. For this purpose we have prepared few fireplaces.  It is recommended to use these fireplaces since there is a direct view on Katarinka.

Since Katarínka belongs to the protected landscape areas it is possible to berbecue only in fireplaces prepared in advance, which can be considered as “official places for setting the fire”. It is not  permitted to set up new fireplaces. You should also consider there is no place to throw  your litter away.

Can I have my wedding in Katarínka?

We admire your interest for Katarínka. Unfortunately,  we don´t  give our permission for arranging wedding ceremony in interior of  the church ruins of St. Catherine, that belongs to the property of  citizen association Katarínka.

We considered this issue carefully and also discussed it with higher authorities. As for the civil or catholic ceremony in this place, we state reasons leading to our decision below:

  • After discussing this issue with church authorities we have been informed, it is not permitted to arrange civil  ceremonies in places used for liturgical purpuses.  For this reason we have concluded it is not appropriate to have  civil ceremony in a sacral object.
  • In Trnava archbishopric there is a custom of respecting the sanctity of place where holy sacraments are administrated. Matrimony is connected with “the wedding ceremony held in a church”. We respect this decision also for precedential reasons.  The exception for Saint Catherine Church is applied to celebrating the Mass and administrating the Sacrament of Penance(Confession).
  • Saint Catherine Church is the ruin of Franciscan church and monastery which we are trying to preserve, renew and revive in the spirit of Francicsan spirituality in  unity with catholic church. St. Catherine Church is the spiritual place whose sacral function we are trying to restore for example  by celebration of  catholic  Mass.
  • There is a problem with entering of motor vehicles which is forbidden according to “Law about the forest” and also according to “Law about nature and land protection” . Monastery ruins themselves belong to the Nature reserve Katarína with the fourth degree of protection. It means it is forbidden to use any motor vehicle.  In case of  organizing a wedding ceremony  we suppose, not all guests would be willing to walk through the forest (there is the sign “closed to motor vehicles” behind the parking area, before the forest and Katarínka is approximately 20 minutes far from the parking area) . We can´t give you any exception from this restriction, every application is judged individually by competent organs according to the ownership relationship to the property.

We can offer you at least the opportunity of taking photos at Katarínka. However also in this case we can´t give you the permission for the entrance with the motor vehicle as it is in competence of Lesy SR, s.p., o.z. Smolenice (www.lesy.sk).

We hope, you will understand our reasons.

Taking wedding photos?

You don´t need any permission for taking photos. The monastery is opened for everybody. You should only consider the fact, you are entering the Protected Landscape area of the Little Carpathian Mountains and also the monastery itself is situated in the Nature Reserve of Katarína with the fourth degree of protection. Therefore it is forbidden to use any motor vehicle. Cars need to be left in the marked park place. However we know it is difficult for brides in white dresses to walk through the forest.  From this reason people sometimes park their cars by our camp and walk to the church.   However there is a risk of fine in case of  the Forest guard  which  we can´t influence and  we are not  in  charge of giving  any exceptions from this rule.

Various events are held in Kararínka throughout the year. Therefore we ask you kindly to announce your event by katarinka@katarinka.sk. Thank you.

We would like to visit the tower. Can we ask you in advance to open it for us or give us keys?

Since we don´t live there and we can´t send our volunteers so often, we ask you to use terms given in advance. Security regulations require the presence of at least two trained volunteers (“towerers”).  From this reason it is not possible to leave the tower opened non-stop. Follow our web- or Facebook site where we inform about terms for opening the tower.

Is it possible to do camping or sleep at Katarinka as a visitor?

There is a problem with sleeping – it is forbidden to camp by the church and on the meadow in front of it because it belongs to protected landscape. We have a special exception for our camp and it is not situated directly by the church. You can camp in the parking area – 15 minutes from Katarínka, where even a latrine and a campfire place is available.

Can I record with a video camera or take photos at any place in Katarínka?

Yes. If you need less amount of people during recording contact us at katarinka@katarinka.sk, to check if there isn´t any our event or if we don´t know about a planned event held in Katarínka. We kindly ask you to follow these rules during recording – no destroying of the monument, no climbing on the walls etc.  We hope that photographer or cameraman would be aware of the fact that Katarínka belongs to the Nature reserve with the fourth degree of protection.  If there is a technical problem with taking your equipment from the park place and you need a car, you can contact Lesy SR, o.z. Smolenice (www.lesy.sk).