Open air museums Východné Slovensko

Skanzen Humenné, also known as Expozícia ľudovej architektúry a bývania belonging under Vihorlatské múzeum, is located almost directly in the town center of Humenné. The open-air museum is situated near the magnificent Renaissance manor house Humenský zámok, which houses the aforementioned Vihorlatské múzeum.

On an area of 4 hectares, visitors will find a total of 16 buildings that together form a complete picture of the distinctive architecture of the East Carpathian region. These are log houses furnished with period furniture, agricultural buildings, but also various rarities, including a wheelwright's, potter's, and blacksmith's workshop, a watermill, and a well. All these objects, together with period craft and agricultural tools, create a perfect picture of life and housing in Zemplín in times long past, which our generation knows only from stories.

The tour begins in a log house without an agricultural section, which represented a typical homestead of a poor farmer with a modest interior. This served only to cover basic living needs. It was built in Klenová before World War I and relocated to the open-air museum in 1977. The building has three spaces, consisting of a pantry, an entry hall, and a room. Its walls were made of hewn beams. Their corners are joined by log construction and coated with clay. An interesting feature is the residential house combined with a mill house, which originates from Vyšná Jablonka. The mill house immediately catches visitors' attention with the large wooden mechanism of the mill with a hopper and two stones, one rotating and one stationary.

The centerpiece of the exposition is the authentic Greek Catholic wooden Chrám sv. Michala Archanjela from Nová Sedlica. It dates back to 1764 and is unique partly because it was originally built without a single metal nail. The breathtaking Baroque tiered iconostasis dates from the mid-18th century, with some icons even originating from the 16th century. The small church stands on an elevated spot, as traditions once recommended. Even back then, it was meant to express the fact that it was the abode of God, to whom all residents turned with humility, from youth to the elderly, from farmers to woodcutters. Everyone sought both love, happiness, and understanding within it.

Village architecture and the local color of that time could not leave out the blacksmith's workshop. For demonstration, the open-air museum in Humenné features a workshop relocated from Nechvaľová Polianka, whose inventory exactly corresponds to its purpose. The basic equipment of the workshop consisted of a hearth with a blacksmith's bellows. Various types of pliers, hammers, punches, and an anvil could not be missing. It also includes a shelter for shoeing horses with horseshoes made right in that workshop. Near the workshop, there is a shadoof well, a log granary with a cellar, and a hayrick "oboroh".

As is a good tradition in most open-air museums, various cultural events and demonstrations of folk crafts take place here as well. These mostly happen in the center of the open-air museum, where a small ampitheater is located. Take part in them as well and experience that special atmosphere. Book your accommodation on our page accommodation Humenné and you will be just a stone's throw away from the open-air museum.

Miniskanzen drevených chrámov is a Slovak rarity built on the grounds of Bazilika minor in the village of Ľutina in the Sabinov district. The replicas of wooden churches, constructed at a 1:10 scale, rank among the gems of folk sacral architecture of eastern Slovakia. In 2011, the mini-open-air museum was opened and consecrated by the Archbishop of Prešov.

The construction of this unique project took place in several stages. Thanks to co-financing by the European Union within the Cross-Border Cooperation Program Poland – Slovakia (first and second stage) and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism (third stage), the exhibition was successfully expanded to include churches from Poland and Ukraine.

The first stage was carried out in the years 2011–2012 and brought 11 miniatures from the surroundings of Snina to the open-air museum. The scale models originate from the villages of Brežany, Hrabová Roztoka, Inovce, Jalová, Kalná Roztoka, Kožuchovce, Matysová, Ruská Bystrá, Ruský Potok, Topoľa, and Uličské Krivé.

The second stage was carried out in 2013 and brought another 10 specimens to the open-air museum, mainly from the surroundings of Bardejov. The scale models originate from the villages of Frička, Hutka, Jedlinka, Kožany, Krivé, Lukov-Venecia, Mikulášová, Tročany, Vyšná Polianka, and Zboj.

The third stage was carried out in the years 2015–2016. It brought further scale models to the open-air museum, this time from the villages of Bodružal, Dobroslava, Hunkovce, Korejovce, Krajné Čierno, Ladomirová, Miroľa, Nižný Komárnik, Potoky, Príkra, Šemetkovce, and Vyšný Komárnik. Scale models of Ukrainian churches were added from the villages of Jaseňa, Kanora, Lazečšina, Rekity, Svaľava, and Užok. The subsequent addition of 9 miniatures from the surroundings of Svidník (2015–2016) was funded by donations from organizations of Slovak compatriots and private donors from the USA.

During the tour of the miniatures, notice their arrangement in the nicely landscaped, fenced, and illuminated area. Each scale model has its own information board with a description and a brief history. Most of the scale models of Slovak churches date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. Each of the presented churches is original and exceptional in some way. Their global value is even confirmed by the inclusion of eight churches from the Slovak part of the Carpathian Arc into the UNESCO List.

The village of Ľutina, where the mini-open-air museum is located, is a well-known and sought-after pilgrimage site. So do not hesitate any longer and plan a trip to its surroundings. You can find suitable accommodation on our pages accommodation in the Sabinov district.

The archaeological open-air museum in the village of Nižná Myšľa is situated in a location considered one of the richest archaeological sites in our country recording prehistoric settlements. Among the sites, Skalka was mentioned first, followed by Alamenev, Koscelek, Moľva, Prepoštstvo, and Váhreď (Varhégy).

Replicas of original dwellings from the Early and Middle Bronze Age, which disappeared around 1400 BC, are built in the last-mentioned site. The first archaeological research began as early as 1948, and systematic research has been underway since 1977. Approximately 2,300 vessels and 5,000 stone, bone, and bronze objects with various purposes were found. Archaeological artifacts are displayed in the municipal museum located in the historical building of a 13th-century manor house.

The complex of two settlements and a burial ground, which together form the archaeological site, is located south behind the village of Nižná Myšľa on a small hill at an altitude of 217 m above sea level. Fortified Settlement I represents the oldest settlement of the Ottoman-Füzesabony culture. The settlement measured 50 x 60 m with an entrance via a wooden-and-stone structure. Dwellings had wooden walls and a clay-smeared floor. Log-built houses also featured raised hearths. The settlement had an agricultural and craft character; objects made of antler, bronze, stone, and various clay sculptures were discovered here.

Fortified Settlement II was established as a result of population growth and expanded into an area of 8 hectares with a stone, earth, and wood rampart. Houses, including farm buildings, were log-built. The settlement was a cult center where various bloody cultic rituals were performed. Mostly animals were sacrificed, though human sacrifices occurred exceptionally. Settlers engaged in pottery, bone and antler processing, and non-ferrous metalworking.

In the burial ground located 200 meters from the settlement, more than 900 graves were discovered, with each containing numerous grave goods. Burials were carried out in a crouched position facing east, with women lying on their left side and men on their right side. Warriors, farmers, craftsmen, and hunters had wooden supports, remnants of wooden coffins, or even two-part sarcophagi in their graves.

You can reach the site via two color-marked trails: the blue cycling trail or the red hiking trail. This is a comprehensive showcase, so it is advisable to set aside plenty of time to explore not only the open-air museum, but also the entire surroundings of Košice and its attractions. We recommend booking suitable accommodation in the surrounding area on the accommodation Košice page, and then simply planning your trip.

Banský skanzen is built in the village of Hnilčík, in the spišskonovoveský okres district. Like many others, this village was once ranked among the mining villages of the southern Spiš region. The open-air museum was established in 2012 on the initiative of a local civic association. The museum is a declared Národná kultúrna pamiatka.

The open-air museum consists of three parts: the museum exhibition, the Štôlňa Ľudmila adit, and educational montane trails. The museum exhibition, located in the premises of the former school in the Jerohuta local part, is divided into thematic units. These focus on the history of the village of Hnilčík, ethnography and the material heritage of ancestors, geological structure and wildlife, the history of mining, and the processing of local ores. The building where the exhibition is located dates back to 1937 and served as a school until 1972. It is protected as a national cultural monument and is very valuable for its original architectural solution.

The Štôlňa Ľudmila adit is part of the open-air museum as an underground exhibition. It is a mining tunnel that was a purposeful mining work. At its end, there is an explosives storage. The space served as a warehouse until the end of ore extraction (the 1930s) and was subsequently abandoned.

The educational monetary trails will lead you through a pleasant natural environment. These are the following routes: route A Jerohuta - Roztoky, route B Bindt, route C Kira – Štolvek – Suchá hora - Grétla, route D Údolím Železného potoka. The mentioned routes will also introduce visitors to many other monuments that mining left behind in the Hnilčík cadastre. These include numerous miners' dwellings, the ruins of the iron ore processing plant and roasting plant in Bindt, authentic gunpowder storage facilities, former administrative and residential buildings of the mining plant in Bindt, the complex of authentic administrative and residential buildings of the mining plant in Roztokách, adit portals from the 18th and 19th centuries, the mining bell tower in Bindt, as well as the remains of railway bodies and bridges of the Markušovce – Roztoky and Markušovce – Bindt railways.

Come and discover the mining history of this beautiful region. However, one day will definitely not be enough for you. On our pages accommodation Hnilčík, you will find the right accommodation for you to fully enjoy your sightseeing stay among the attractions of Spiš and not stress about whether you will catch the train departure or not.

Skanzen Osturňa, which lies in the distinctive Zamagurie village in northern Slovakia, in the Kežmarok district, prides itself on the designation of the largest living open-air museum in Slovakia. Since 1979, the village has been a declared Nature Reserve of Folk Architecture. To this day, Osturňa preserves its traditions, "mocking" the modern, fast-paced era full of stress and material goods.

It ranks among Slovak treasures, to which facts contribute such as that it is not artificially created and the residents have preserved certain elements within their history and culture. Whether it is the typical Osturňa dialect called "hvara", the preserved custom of wearing the Goral folk costume, working on one's farm, or traditional cuisine.

The approximately 9 km long village of Osturňa was founded in 1313 and has since gone through many difficult trials. It suffered a plague epidemic, wars, fires, and resisted uprisings. However, it also experienced many positive changes, the development of education, culture, economy, and spiritual life. By 1648, it already had its own church and rectory.

The layout of the village is shaped by the local stream, and there are numerous traditional wooden houses with enclosed yards in an interesting chain-like development. The local architecture is original and based on details that are already apparent thanks to the fact that window frames, corner log ends, and the chinking between them are painted.

Some of the original Gorals homesteads have been preserved in Osturňa. The open-air museum consists of 157 monument-protected buildings, which feature a wooden log house with a shingle-covered gabled roof in the front part of a typical yard, and a barn with a stable in the back part. Significant landmarks include the Greek Catholic late Baroque Chrám sv. Michala archanjela from 1796, the wooden Chapel of the Holy Cross from 1898, and the brick Chapel of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God.

The village lies between two sought-after national parks, Tatranský národný park and Pieninský národný park. Book your accommodation on the village's website accommodation Osturňa and follow in the footsteps of the old Gorals and pristine virgin nature. The Zamagurie region is made for a trip full of experiences and exploration, so be sure not to bypass the open-air museum in Osturňa during your wanderings.