Architectural treasures created by simple tools

The skills and artistic ability of the Slovak nation can be admired even today. The legacy of our grandfathers can especially be seen in folk architecture conservation areas, at open-air museums and folk festivals, and in the small villages of the picturesque Slovak regions such as Kysuce, Orava, Liptov, Horehronie, Spiš, and Šariš.

⇓ Open-air museums, monument reserves of folk architecture, town monument reserves in Slovakia.pdf

  • Brhlovce

    The complex of rock dwellings squeezed in tuff rocks situated several kilometres east of Levice, in the village BRHLOVCE, is unique in the territory of Slovakia.
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  • Čičmany

    The typical village ČIČMANY surrounded by the mountains Strážovské vrchy and Malá Fatra in the southern part of the valley Rajecká dolina is famous for its original log houses with the typical white ornamentation.
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  • Ethnographic natural exposition - open-air museum in Stará Ľubovňa

    The Museum of Folk Architecture, which is located at the base of the Castle Ľubovňa in northern Slovakia, represents a separate exposition. It features a set of traditional buildings from the surrounding villages, which, coupled with the Castle, gives rise to unique and highly impressive scenery.
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  • Folk Architecture in the Region of Gemer

    Almost every village in the region of Gemer may proudly present buildings, either dwellings or farm structures, that represent the traditional architecture of the region. Specially the area of Slovenský kras (Slovak Karst) is a territory significant for its preserved folk architecture sights.
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  • Habánsky dvor – Veľké Leváre (Haban house)

    VEĽKÉ LEVÁRE was settled by the Habans, also referred to as the Hutter brothers, Anabaptists or neophytes. In 1592, the Haban yard was built around the local square. It is the largest surviving locality of the original dwelling of Habans in Europe.
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  • Museum of Folk Architecture

    The Museum of Folk Architecture - Slovakia's oldest open-air museum - is located on the edge of the Bardejov Spa in north-eastern Slovakia. The museum's main sights include two wooden churches that were originally located in the village of Zboj (Orthodox) and the nearby village of Mikulášová (Greek-Catholic).
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  • Museum of Liptov Village

    Museum of Liptov Village is the most attractive landmark of the Liptov region. It displays the typical  folk architecture. The impetus behind the establishing of the museum was the extensive flooding caused by the construction of the Liptovská Mara dam.
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  • Museum of the Kysuce Village

    The outdoor ethnographic exposition presents the "kopanice" type of scattered settlements in hilly areas which was typical of the Kysuce region.
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  • Museum of the Orava Village

    Three kilometres away from Zuberec, at Brestová, a unique open-air Museum of the Orava Village (Múzeum oravskej dediny) can be visited. Over an area of about 20 hectares, and on both sides of the crystal clean Studený potok brook, is a village containing the typical folk buildings moved here from various regions of Orava.
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  • Open-air Ethnographic Exposition of SNM-MUK in Svidník

    Monuments of folk architecture of material and spiritual culture of Ukrainians and Ruthenians are concentrated in an open-air ethnographic exposition that can be seen above an amphitheatre in the town of Svidník in northeastern Slovakia. A wooden church from Nová Polianka (Mergeška) is the gem of the exposition.
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  • Osturňa

    OSTURŇA is a typical Goral village in a wide valley of the Osturniansky potok brook. It is probably the longest village extending over the banks of a brook in Slovakia. There are many original Goral buildings preserved in the commune.
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  • Podbiel

    PODBIEL is a typical village lying in the region of Orava (north of Slovakia) with interesting  compound of original log houses called Bobrova rala built in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
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  • SNM in Martin - Museum of the Slovak Village

    The Museum of the Slovak Village is the largest ethnographic open-air exposition in Slovakia. The museum, located in Jahodnícke háje in the southeastern part of the town of Martin, has been built by the Slovak National Museum in Martin since the 1960s. It provides a picture of traditional folk architecture, housing and the way of life of people who lived in northwestern Slovakia in the latter half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.
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  • Špania Dolina

    The Monument Reserve of Popular Architecture in the central Slovakia commune ŠPANIA DOLINA consists of a unique set of miner houses built of wood and stones.
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  • Stará hora

    Vineyards coat the environs of Levice. They are sprinkled with small houses and cellars called here hajlochy. Most of them are situated in the locality of Stará hora near SEBECHLEBY on the southern foothills of the Štiavnické vrchy Mts.
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  • Upper Nitra Open-air Mining Museum

    Come and take a journey into the bowels of the earth. What is a mole's life like? Where is it that elves are hiding? We would like to show you how hard the journey towards the brown treasure of the underground is. We will present you the work of miners who go down the depth of the earth to beat nature while avoiding its traps.
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  • Vlkolínec

    Biely Potok is the salient point for the community of Vlkolínec – a monument reserve of folk architecture. This extraordinary and remarkable oasis of folk architecture was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993.
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  • Ždiar

    ŽDIAR is a typical Goral community situated between the mountains of the Belianske Tatry and Spišská Magura. It is a tourist centre and the starting point for trips to the mountains Belianske Tatry.
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