Visit to Nové Zámky

Our final day in Slovakia was spent in the City of Nové Zámky. The City is located about halfway between Bratislava and Budapest. There is a large number of Hungarians in the city. We were briefed by our host City Manager Peter Agh and his Mayor Gejza Pischinger.

One of the first things that is striking about the city is that it was almost completely destroyed during World War II. Just two churches remain. The City has been completely built again since the war. Nové Zámky is an extremely entrepreneurial city with a variety of business joint ventures. The City recently was given responsibility for the school system from the national government. Mayor Pischinger spoke to us for over half an hour (Peter warned us ahead of time that he just had five minutes). The Mayor spoke about his own history. He told a story how his father gave him two words of advice...never become a teacher or bureaucrat. The Mayor spent his adult life as a science teacher and middle school administrator before becoming Mayor.