Michalovce - the modern heart of Zemplin  - is the centre of south-eastern Slovakia and the gateway to the recreation resort of Zemplinska sirava, The town vvas first time mentioned in 1244. The history of the town and region is documented by 7 permanent exhibitions in the Zemplin Museum located in the Baroque - Classicist chateau of the Sztaray family. In 1977, the foundations of a pre-Romanesque rotunda were found nearby. Present-day Michalovce (40,000 inhabitants) is the centre of education, trade and tourism, there are grammar schools and branches of 4 universities there. Cultural facilities: the regional and municipal cultural centres, the Zemplin Museum, the observatory, the Gorazd Zvonicky' Library, and the House Matica Siovenska. Hotels, nightclubs, coffee-bars and discos create an atmosphere typical of a summer resort. For guests and local alike the town organizes every year cultural and social events like fairs (Spring Fajr: 30.4. - 1. 5, / Zemplin Fair: 3rd weekend in A\ugust / Christmas Fair: first half of December, the Town Spring Prix Show lumping (1.5.), the rising of the May pole, the Zemplin Dance and Song Festival, the Marathon below the Vihorlat (5. 7.), the Day in Honour of the Town, and others.