A familiar situation: you went to the center of Košice (Košice) for half an hour, but your water bottle stayed at home. On days when the thermometer in eastern Slovakia goes above 30 °C, this is not a small thing — you can really overheat. But you won’t have to buy bottled water: the city has about ten free drinking fountains with quality water, plus mist sprayers and city pools. We tell you where to find all this.
Where the drinking fountains are located
The Eastern Slovak Water Company (VVS) serves 10 public drinking fountains in Košice (Košice). Seven of them stand right on the main street, so it’s not hard to find them in the center:
- Hlavná 6, 7, 51, 62, 103
- Hlavná 20 and Hlavná 40 (in park zones)
- Orlia 9
- Bankov (near the public transport stop before the reservoir)
- Zuzkin park in Terasa
The busiest in summer are the fountains in the parks on Hlavná and at Bankov — they save thousands of people from thirst. Besides these, VVS supplies drinking water to fountains maintained by separate city districts.
You can safely drink this water. Before the season starts, the fountains undergo technical inspection; during the summer, VVS services them monthly and takes samples, and the water quality is additionally controlled by the Regional Public Health Authority. The season lasts from the end of April until the first stable autumn cold snaps, writes Naše Košice.
The water company has only one request — to use the equipment carefully. Every season they record broken start mechanisms, stolen buttons, and water leaks caused by vandalism.
Mist on Hlavná and watering machines
The city can cool the streets even without drinking water. On Hlavná, on hot days, two water mist sprayers operate — they turn on automatically during the day and reduce the perceived temperature. They are maintained by the Správa mestskej zelene (City Greenery Administration), so if you notice a sprayer not working, file a complaint with them.
On the hottest days, a watering machine drives through the streets of the Old Town. It cools the hot asphalt on Hlavná, Alžbetina, Mlynská, Moyzesova, Bačíkova, and Senný trh, and at the same time reduces air dustiness.
Where not to go: decorative fountains
You may want to step into the “Singing Fountain” in the heat, but it is forbidden — and not just a whim. The water in large city fountains is technical: it undergoes chemical treatment and circulates in a closed loop. Drinking it is dangerous, and bathing in the fountain can end with a fine. Last summer, young people jumping into the fountain in the city center caused a heated discussion, writes Košicak.sk.
If you want water: city pools
A safe alternative to fountains is city swimming pools. For reference, here are prices for an all-day ticket for adults in the 2024 season (check prices on websites this year):
- Kúpalisko Červená hviezda — 9.50 euros (price)
- Mestská plaváreň na Rumanovej — 9.00 euros
- Kúpalisko Ryba Anička — 8 euros
Discounts apply for children, students, and pensioners, and entry after 3:00 PM is cheaper. Also, the Národné olympijské centrum plaveckých športov (National Olympic Center for Swimming Sports) opened after renovation.
Why this will become more relevant every year
Heat in Košice is not a one-time event but a trend. According to the study “Assessment of Vulnerability of the City of Košice,” the city heats up faster than the average in Slovakia. By 2050, the average temperature here will rise by 1.8 °C compared to the period 1961–1990, so there will be more hot days and heat waves.
So for the coming days, the advice is simple: keep the nearest fountain in mind, don’t neglect the shade of parks and city forests where it is noticeably cooler, and limit time in direct sun during midday hours.
