All is set for couples to turn a small medieval Slovak town into the next Paris or Verona where lovers come to preserve their love stories for eternity.
But unlike the story of Romeo and Juliet and their famous balcony in Verona, the Slovak “Love Bank” is a long tunnel in the basement of a house which was part of a real-life love drama.
The “Love Bank” is the main attraction of an exhibition commemorating the world’s longest love poem, “Marina” by Slovak poet Andrej Sladkovic.
Written in 1844, the 2,900-line long poem tells the tale of the doomed love between the poet and Maria Pischlova.
They were star-crossed lovers but unlike Romeo and Juliet, their tragic romance is a true story. Marina’s parents shunned the poor poet and forced her to marry a wealthy gingerbread maker, said AFP.
The house where Marina lived in the former silver mining town of Banska Stiavnica is now known as the “Epicentre of Love” and features an interactive exhibition inspired by the poem, including a “love-o-meter” measuring the strength of a couple’s affection.