Slovakia > Ruzomberok - Vlkolinec

Ruzomberok Vlkolinec

The first written mention of Vlkolinec dates back to 1376. The village was founded in the Ruzomberok district and its name was supposedly derived from the fact that the area was crowded with wolves' lairs. V Vlkolinec is situated on the south slopes of the rocky hill Sidorovo, 718 meters above sea level. Visitors can reach the village by a steep narrow road from the Trlenska Dolina valley. The last long turn offers beautiful view of small fields resting around tiny picturesque houses crouching in the nature, resembling gingerbread houses. Log houses with shingle roofs represent a characteristic feature of V Vlkolinec . It is considered the best preserved and most comprehensive urban complex of original folk architecture in Central Europe. In steep terrain, the houses are supported by underpinnings made of stone - some of them are bleached with lime, while others painted in blue or ochre brighten the log houses above them. Two remarkable jewels in the architectural diadem of Sidorovo are two buildings located in the centre of the village, which are the heart of this place. Without them, V Vlkolinec would not be V Vlkolinec : the wooden belfry from 1770 covered with shingles, and the wooden winch well. Although younger and constructed of stone, also the Church of the Visit of the Virgin Mary built in 1875 belongs to the central buildings of the village. A little stream flows through the village. A long time ago, the villagers directed the stream to wooden drains leading to a log fire tank. One can walk over the drains on wooden bridging constructions - which also form the picturesque urbanism typical of V Vlkolinec . Water, the same and eternally changing in the cycle of nature, is one of the central axes of the settlement. It flows through the centre with paths on both banks. Right in this real and, at the same time, imaginary centre, the double-row of twin houses and double houses splits in two perpendicular streets with houses resting in a row one next to the other. V Vlkolinec is not an open-air museum. The village is alive. People live and work there. Above the log houses, puffs of smoke rise from the authentic stoves in the everlasting rhythm of daily life. One can smell the freshly baked bread. And for centuries, autumns have been characterized by trees loaded with dark blue plums and sweet smell of boiling plum marmalade tickling the noses of the passers-by. And just like in childhood stories, magical creatures nbro Mo Нгяооп*; nr fairies, but toil-worn women’with mushroom pickers with full baskets, somewhat mysterious herbalists, and also sinewy men with sweating faces bending over their small fields with a horse at their side. The remote location, in particular, helped preserve the historical character of the settlement and its surroundings, as well as the authentic appearance and arrangement of the majority of the houses and yards. Visitors are embraced by beauty and peace. And memory. Memory of this kingdom with a crown of the rocks of Sidorovo that documents the strength and wisdom of man and proves that above all, beauty lies in simplicity.