Hotels in Sebechleby: Stará Hora, Wine Cellars and Baroque Culture

Sebechleby combines the landscape of the Krupinská planina with an especially dense record of rural architectural and winemaking culture. A central place is Stará Hora, a folk architecture reserve and part of Sebechleby. The settlement contains approximately 130 winegrowers’ houses and wine cellars; 87 of them are classified as national cultural monuments. The historic silhouette also includes the Baroque Chapel of St. Urban, built in 1732.

Culture

The Sebechleby–Stará Hora Ethnographic Museum is part of the Stará Hora Folk Architecture Reserve. It presents traditional costumes, folk traditions and customs passed down through generations. The idea for the small museum originated in 2003 as a presentation of the former life and traditions of Sebechleby. Thus, the focus is not only on individual buildings but also on traditional forms of everyday life.

Another distinctive building is the Church of St. Michael in Sebechleby, with the registration number 1112/1. It belongs to the Baroque tradition of sacred architecture and has a single-nave interior with a polygonally terminated presbytery. The presbytery windows retain Gothic tracery from the 15th century. The furnishings also include a Neoclassical organ dating from 1898.

Winegrowing and Events

The protected folk architecture of Stará Hora comprises one- and two-room winegrowers’ houses with columned arcades, as well as cellars carved into tuff. The original wine cellars can be visited. Their connection with winegrowing is also reflected in local events: Oberačka po sebechlebsky is a festival of winegrowing, folk gastronomy, tourism and entertainment.

The programme of Oberačka po Sebechlebsky 2025 included a tour of the tuff cellars, as well as tastings of varietal wines and Burčiak. The Geľovianka folk group is dedicated to the customs, songs, dances and costumes of Sebechleby and the Hont region. Its repertoire also includes grape processing and work in the vineyards. Together with the municipality and the local association, Geľovianka organizes the Svätourbanské slávnosti in Stará Hora every year on the feast day of St. Urban, the patron saint of winegrowing.

The more recent history of events is also part of the character of the place: on June 29, 2024, a sports day in the Stará Hora Folk Architecture Reserve concluded with the lighting of the Jánska vatra.

Sightseeing and Information

The tourist information office in Stará Hora offers visitors information and guided tour services in July and August. It can also arrange tastings and tours of the museum or the Folk Architecture Reserve. A visit to the St. Urban Cellar includes a tasting of local wine together with a specialty of typical local cuisine.

Landscape

Sebechleby is located on the Krupinská planina. The village setting thus provides the landscape framework for the historic buildings, cellar complexes, ecclesiastical architecture and events connected with winegrowing and traditional customs.

More Destinations

More destinations include Dolné Mladonice, Zemiansky Vrbovok, Lišov, Selce, Drážovce, Senohrad, Cerovo and Ladzany.

For the higher-level travel overview: Krupina District.