SLOVAK VILLAGE

We spent the whole afternoon in The Museum of the Slovak Village. It is the largest ethnographic open-air exposition in Slovakia (entrance 4 EUR). 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. For the time being, examples of folk architecture of the Orava, Liptov, Kysuce, and Turiec regions are on display. We wandered between 129 timber buildings (a few have richly dressed interiors) that used to serve a living, production, social and sacral purposes. The on-site Museum of Roma Culture is the only one of its kind in Slovakia. It exhibits traditional musical instruments and features displays about Roma culture, periods of oppression endured by Roma communities, and prominent Slovak Roma people. There’s also a krčma (village pub) serving refreshments and a souvenir shop selling handicrafts; you could easily spend a full day here.

Parking location – Martin: 49.043854N 18.923781E