As Mighty as Corgon
In the first Kde je…? I chose the statue of Corgoň. Who is he and why is he of significance?
First of all, the statue is located in the town where his legend was born: Nitra. Corgoň is carved into the corner of Kluch Palace (Kluchov palác), located in the upper town on castle hill. It was carved in 1820 by Slovak sculptor Vavrinec Dunajský.
Here’s the story of Corgoň as written in Wikipedia:
According to the local legend, the real person called Corgoň was a metalworker in Nitra. He was a mighty man of a stocky build, his arms were muscled in particular. Whenever he hit the anvil with a hammer, the whole upper town would quake. He influenced the history of his town when the Ottoman Turks besieged the Nitra Castle. The invaders were just about to climb the castle walls when Corgoň appeared straight from the forge. He started rolling down huge stones, which brought havoc among the Turks. However, what scared them off more than the stones was the gigantic and coal-black smoke-filmed face of Corgoň. Seeing him, they set off for an immediate run. He was believed to be seen extracting those huge stones from a slope assisted by evil spirits. That was how Nitra’s upper town managed to survive the first Ottoman attack. The statue of Corgoň would embody the invincible power of this local metalworker forever. There is a simile applied to someone who shows great power in the area surrounding Nitra which says to be as mighty as Corgoň.
Corgoň the Beer
The name Corgoň is also a brand of beer. The brewery in Nitra, where it’s produced, has been brewing beer since 1896 though the brand Corgoň has only been around since 1993, after the privatization of the brewery. Corgoň is produced in three varieties: a ležiak- lager, that tends to be stronger, and svelté, and tmavé- light (in color) and dark beer. According to the Corgoň beer website, Corgoň beer has been the top-selling beer in Slovakia since 1993.
The top soccer league in Slovakia is called Corgoň liga, probably because its main sponsor is Corgoň beer.
