SLANICA, SLOVAKIA

One of the few remaining photos of Slanica's main street as seen prior to 1954.

Slanica, Slovakia was a small village founded in an area of Orava county (in north-central Slovakia) near the town of Namestovo in an area known for its flax growing and peat bogs. Anton Bernolak, the famous Slovak scholar known for helping to codify the Slovak language came from the village of Slovakia. In 1954 the communist government began to build a dam on the Orava river. The lake which formed behind this dam formed Orava lake, a popular recreation spot today. But the lake also swallowed five villages, Slanica being one of them. Only the dual-domed church which was built on a hill outside the village survives today. It has been converted into a museum displaying folk art from the Orava region and the island upon which it stands can be reached by boat during the summer months. Portions of the original cemetery, some of the stations of the cross, a statue of Anton Bernolak, and a small memorial to the five villages lost to the lake also exist on the small island.

 

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