The shape of Košice tells its history. The old town is organised around a single elongated square, wide in the middle and tapering at both ends - a form created by medieval merchants who needed room to trade and gave the city a public space unlike any other in the region. At its centre stands the Cathedral of St Elisabeth, the largest church in Slovakia and one of the easternmost achievements of European Gothic, with a carved high altar and a crypt of national significance. Part one of this portrait works outward from the cathedral: the neighbouring chapel and tower, the burgher houses and baroque palaces along the square, the surviving fragments of the town walls, and the daily life of a university city with a strong café culture. Filmed in 4K across the seasons. A solid, easily programmed European city title, designed to pair with a second part.
