Terchová!

The landscape overshadowed by the mighty Monk (Mních) peak has inspired many a myth and legend of mystery. Credit to such myths and legends, the region has earned the reputation of a quaint pocket where mysterious and magical meets reality. As usually in such cases, the reality is somewhat more prosaic. The same goes for the actual roots of the myths and legends if one delves deeper. A major part of our mythological image of Terchová goes to the local-born folk hero, "the captain of mountain highwaymen", Juraj Jánošík. It is his fabulous deeds or rather acts of bravery that have spun legends most of which have been directly linked with the hero's native village.

What Does History Tell Us?

The village of Terchová looks back upon four hundred years of existence. However, its current territory was known to man already before. The oldest human trace in the large area of Terchová is probably the iron spear tip from the Roman era found near the former chalet Pod Rozsutcom. As the exact circumstances of the discovery are not known, the object cannot be dated more precisely. Even despite that, a hypothesis appears highly feasible that in the protohistoric era, the territory might have served to people as a crossing point between the Orava and Považie regions. The village deed dates back to 22^nd April 1580. The village establishment relates to contemporary colonisation under sc. Walachian Law that at the time was already losing its formerly ethnic nature, assuming more of a character of a business activity.

With the passage of time, the village started to grow and fairly quickly also a differentiation occurred in local population. The formerly Walachian settlement became a peasant and shepherd community. In the second half of the 17^th century, Terchová was incorporated into the Teplička fief. Along with new owners, new arrivals also started to appear in the village. According to written records, these were Walachians (also: Vlachs, Slovak: Valach) who previously sometime in the 16^th century had settled in the mountains around the Tešín and Kysuce regions. Among their descendants who moved in around the second half of the 17^th century were most likely also the parents of Juraj Jánošík.

The village suffered extreme hardship due to a long period of drought in the second half of the 19^th century. The final blow was an epidemic of plague that eradicated large parts of local population. People started leaving the inhospitable region in droves in search of more acceptable living conditions in the Lower Land, i.e., southern lowlands now mostly part of Hungary. During the liberation fights at the very end of World War 2, half of the village's wooden quarter was burnt down. As a result, dozens of Terchovian families were forced to move out and settle in other parts of Slovakia. In the first post-war years, the new Terchová was built from scratch under a 2-year development plan.

Strong Christian Roots

Up until 1731, Terchová did not have either its own church or parish. Due to this, the local faithful had to attend holiday religious ceremonies and receive the Holy Eucharist in Varín. Terchová was a part of the Varín parish, with the actual Varín being 15 kilometers away from Terchová. However, everyday field toil did not allow people to regularly cover (or more precisely, walk on feet) such distances. Out of this, people erected crosses and chapels and were offering their wishes, thanksgivings and holy prayers to the Lord there. Steady growth of the community finally necessitated village's own house of God and parish. The actual church was built as soon as in the aforementioned year of 1731 and consecrated to St. Martin. In the 1930s, the community finally outgrew the churches' capacity and a new church became necessary. The old St. Martin church was quickly disintegrating after the war and finally ceased to fulfil its former function. The old church was being consumed by time and available funds all had to go into interior finish work in the new cathedral. In 1949, the St. Martin church was finally closed down for good.

The new Roman Catholic church was consecrated on 8^th October 1949 by the archbishop of Nitra Dr. Eduard Nécsey. The temple designed by the renowned architect Ing. Milan Harminc has been consecrated to the Saints Cyril and Methodius. As the church is the largest in the territory of Slovakia consecrated to the Apostles of Faith from Thessaloniki, Patrons of Europe, since 1990 Terchovians have been holding Cyrilo-Methodean commemoration days. The event has been the first of its kind in Slovakia, securing a stable place in the event calendar among notable domestic religious and social-cultural events.

The Roman Catholic church with its Cyrilo-Methodean pattern is an architectural landmark of the scenic valley. The church has become a preferred destination that attracts visitors from all over the region. Those who have been there already know why...

Revered Traditions

Along with Jánošík, the other promotor of the magical image of Terchová has been the phenomenon of its quaint location amidst picturesque scenery of the Malá Fatra mountains. Perhaps it is actually the legend-inspiring mountain valleys, rivers and peaks that contributed to forming the nature of Terchovians: those beings that combine in a harmonious balance the ruggedness due to uneasy living conditions with the romantic beauty of natural surroundings. Daily toil and hardship on the one hand, great sensitivity and openness to the world on the other. The combination enables locals to transform the harmony into one-of-a-kind Terchovian folk art. The locals are particularly proud and sensitive of the legacy left by their fathers. The most significant manifestation of the relationship with their own past is Terchovian folklore with its characteristic vocal and dance components, not to mention the fabulous "celestial" music. One would be hard pressed to find a similar place on the Earth's face where in an area as small, so many musicians and music bodies would be simultaneously active. The defining element of Terchovian music culture has been traditional string music played with the following instrument setup: violin, double bass and small bass. The "classical trio" has been later complemented by second violin. For spreading the Terchovian "celestial" music, most credits past and present go to the popular musician families of Kvočkos, Struhárňanskýs, Baláts, Rybárs, Meškos, Mihos, Bobáňs and Muchas. Contemporary witnesses even claim that every Terchovian settlement used to have its own music with a typical repertoire and interpretation style.

Already since early 1960s, local enthusiasts have been organizing a popular folk event named - you guessed it - after Juraj Jánošík. The developments even went as far as since 1992, the Jánošík days have been transformed into an international folklore festival that counts as the largest music festival in Slovakia. The imposing amphitheatre Nad bôrami but also other stages in Terchová greet annually thousands of folk culture lovers who enjoy a unique festival opportunity to confront current trends in domestic and international folk arts. The Jánošíkove dni (Janosik´s Days) international folkore festival in Terchová is held regularly always on the first weekend of August, hosting a large variety of events that span the areas of folklore, visual arts, theatre, entertainment, folk and literature.

Tourism

Up until the early 19^th century, the rugged parts of Malá Fatra were mostly frequented by shepherds, woodcutters, poachers and herbalists. The Veľký Rozsutec peak used to be a lure for treasure hunters. The first half of the 19^th century was a threshold epoch. At the time, people started flowing to the region to which discovering natural treasures became an integral part of their life attitudes. Prominent Slovak researchers also could not miss on the breathtaking sceneries of mountain valleys around the Vrátna valley. At least to be mentioned in this regard are the renowned natural scientist and geologist Dyonýz Štúr, or the officially appointed practitioner for the royal district of Trenčín and later royal consultant MUDr. Karol Brančík.

A major breakthrough as regards the frequency of visitors to the region was the construction of the Košice - Bohumín railway line (1871) and the Váh river valley railway line (1883). Following completion of the tracks, the region of Malá Fatra became a preferred destination of visitors even from more distant regions. With the passage of time and particularly since the interwar and post-war periods, a number of tourist amenities grew in the region.

After 1989 in the wake of privatization processes, the tourism industry went through some major changes. Chalets, hotels, cable railways and ski lifts returned to private ownership, with the locals holding high hopes for the vital change to translate soon into new quality levels in services and in the whole tourism infrastructure amidst the gorgeous scenery of Malá Fatra.