ÚĽUV Craft Centre Košice: craft workshops and folk-art shop

East Slovak crafts under one roof

ÚĽUV (Ústredie ľudovej umeleckej výroby, the Centre for Folk Art Production) is a state institution that has looked after Slovak folk crafts since 1945: it keeps a register of craftspeople, assesses the quality of their work, publishes books, sells makers’ work and teaches anyone interested. Its School of Crafts has been inscribed by UNESCO on the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices of intangible cultural heritage.

The Regional Craft Centre in Košice opened in 2013 as the hub for the whole of eastern Slovakia, with its own circle of art advisers and craft tutors from the region. It occupies a modernised historic house on Mäsiarska Street in the old town, a few blocks from the main street, Hlavná. Under one roof there is a shop, a gallery with themed exhibitions, a library and craft studios: pottery, weaving, wirework, woodcarving, textiles and glass painting. The centre’s gallery opened for ÚĽUV’s 70th anniversary and hosts changing themed exhibitions on how traditional crafts live on today, so it is worth a look before your session.

Why go

• A two-hour creative workshop. Adult groups (6 or more) can book a session in one of the studios: a short history of the craft, work with natural materials and a simple technique anyone can master. You take home what you made. There are six participants per tutor, and the sessions are suitable for foreign visitors too.
• A free tour of the workshops. An hour through the basket-making, woodcarving, pottery, wirework and weaving studios: how cloth is woven on a loom, what a wireworker needs and which materials baskets are woven from. Groups (up to 20) must book in advance.
• Longer courses. For those who want to really learn a craft: pottery in several parts, willow weaving, wirework, lace, gingerbread, felting and other techniques. In summer the centre runs craft holidays for children, and individual courses and a summer school of crafts for adults.
• Buy the real thing. The shop sells makers’ work assessed by ÚĽUV: ceramics, wire and wooden items, weaving, embroidery, lace and glass painting.

What to try and buy

The autumn 2026 programme shows the range well: wire bracelets (6 hours, €55), Gemer lace bookmarks (20 hours in November, €120), a square shelf basket (15 hours, 13–14 November, €120), basics of pottery on the wheel (7 November – 5 December 2026, €190; followed by vessel shaping and glazing in spring 2027). Course fees include the tutor, materials and tools. From the shop, look for wire jewellery — Slovak wirework is especially associated with the east of the country — and painted ceramics.

Practical information

Address: Mäsiarska 52, 040 01 Košice — about a 10–15 minute walk from the railway and bus stations through the old town. Shop: Monday–Friday 12:00–17:00, tel. +421 908 767 716, [email protected]. Courses and workshops: registration via the ÚĽUV website; centre contact [email protected], tours +421 905 780 048. Prices (as of October 2026): creative workshop €35 per person, tour free. Sessions are run in Slovak, so foreign groups should arrange things in advance.

Nearby

• Košice’s main street with St Elisabeth’s Cathedral — a few minutes’ walk.
• Tokaj & CO in Malá Tŕňa (about an hour by car) — the largest cellar of Slovak Tokaj.
• Ostrožovič Winery in Veľká Tŕňa — a tasting 13 m underground.

Official website: uluv.sk

Photos: uluv.sk.