5-day Slovak Folk Traditions Tour

Banska Stiavnica sightseeing (UNESCO)

- Meeting with private guide in Bratislava*
- Transfer to Banska Stiavnica; sightseeing (UNESCO town)
- Accommodation in a hotel

Banska Stiavnica is a former mining town and lies amid the forests of the Stiavnicke mountains. Banska Stiavnica is one of the most beautiful and historically one of the most beautiful towns in Slovakia. The town is on the list of the World Cultural Heritage of UNESCO.
Banska Stavnica progressively became the dominant mining center in the Habsburg Monarchy in the 18th century. Banska Stiavnica monument town reserve comprises as many as 360 structures. Together they present a unique set of high cultural and historical value, placed into the pleasant environment of the Stiavnicke mountains.

*Pick up from another place than Bratislava is available on request.

UNESCO sites Hronsek and Vlkolinec.

- Breakfast
- Hronsek wooden church visit, UNESCO site
- Vlkolinec Monument Reserve of Folk Architecture, UNESCO site
- Salas Krajinka visit (possible lunch)
- Afternoon transfer to Kezmarok; accommodation in a stylish hotel

Wooden articled church in Hronsek is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2008. The wooden church and wooden belfry originate from 1726. The capacity of the church is 1,100 chairs. In early November 2000, Prince Charles from British Royal Family visited the church.

Vlkolinec village - Monument Reserve of Folk Architecture is the extraordinary and remarkable oasis of folk architecture and on the UNESCO list since 1993.
The first written record of the community is from 1376. Originally it was the settlement of loggers, shepherds, and farmers. Its unique compound of original folk buildings remains untouched by modern construction.
ICOMOS (International Council for Monuments and Settlements) classified it as the best-reserved settlement of this time within the Carpathian Arch.

Kezmarok wooden church, Stara Lubovna castle and open-air museum.

- Breakfast
- Kezmarok wooden church (UNESCO)
- Stara Lubovna castle and open-air museum
- Return to Kezmarok

One of the best-preserved Slovak wooden sacral buildings is the articled Evangelical church in Kezmarok. The church originates in 1717, built next to an older sacral stone building from 1593, which is a sacristy today. This unique wooden building is of yew and red spruce wood without using a single metal component. The Baroque interior of the church and the organ are also of wood.

Stara Lubovna town is towered by the ruins of Lubovna Castle, built in the 13th century when Slovakia was part of the Hungarian Monarchy. The castle served as a watchtower and frontier castle.
An open-air museum lies right under the castle presenting the cultural values of the ethnically rich region.

Zuberec open-air museum, Orava astle, Lestiny wooden church (UNESCO).

- Breakfast
- Museum of the Orava village in Zuberec
- Orava castle visit
- Wooden church in Lestiny village (UNESCO)
- Transfer to Martin; accommodation in hotel

Museum of the Slovak Village is the largest ethnographic open-air exposition in Slovakia. The museum is in Jahodnicke haje in the southeastern part of the town of Martin. Slovak National Museum in Martin built the areal in 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.

The wooden articled Evangelical church in Lestiny has lavishly painted interior decoration dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. Visitors are especially captivated by the main altar from the beginning of the 18th century, church pews with coats of arms, and Renaissance baptistery from the 17th century.

Orava castle lies on a high rock above the Orava river near Oravsky Podzamok village. In 1370 it became the seat of the Orava county and the Castle estate, administrating almost the whole region of Orava.

Museum of the Slovak village, Klak Salas, Cicmany log houses. Transfer to Bratislava.

- Breakfast
- Museum of the Slovak village in Martin
- Cicmany village; folk architecture
- Lunch in Salas Klak restaurant
- Transfer to Bratislava*
- End of the tour

The unique and characteristic element of log houses in Cicmany are their exteriors ornamented in a geometrical pattern. The authors of ornaments were traditionally women who originally adorned only the corners of the dwellings, first with mud and later with lime.
The best-preserved ones include Raden's house (Rademov dom) and the neighboring Gregor's house (Gregorov dom), which shelters the ethnographic exhibition. Visitors can learn something more about the history and folklore of this region there.

Museum of the Slovak Village is the largest ethnographic open-air exposition in Slovakia. The museum is in Jahodnicke haje in the southeastern part of the town of Martin. Slovak National Museum in Martin built the areal in 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.

*Drop off in another place than Bratislava is available on request.