Horné Zahorany: Culture and Landscape in the Ore Mountains

In Horné Zahorany, literary remembrance, Neoclassical religious buildings and trails through the southeastern Slovak Ore Mountains converge. The village was the birthplace of the Slovak poet, prose writer and dramatist Ľudovít Kubáni. A memorial plaque with a relief of the writer from the municipality is located on the school building.

Culture

The Neoclassical bell tower of Horné Zahorany dates from 1790 and has a Baroque cupola. The Evangelical Neoclassical church of Horné Zahorany was built between 1808 and 1814. Its altar includes a Neoclassical portico with four columns and a central painting of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane from 1913 by E. Putra. The church has a hall with a segmental termination and a flat plank ceiling. It is in good condition and continues to serve its religious purpose.

Landscape

Geographically, Horné Zahorany lies on both sides of the Veľký potok, which flows through the municipality, in the southeastern Slovak Ore Mountains. The Veľký potok rises in the cadastral territory of Horné Zahorany. The relict surface of the Horné Zahorany upland consists of andesite. Landslides formed block fields in Horné Zahorany. Oak forests occur only in the northern part of Horné Zahorany.

Trails and Activities

The red hiking trail 0805 passes through Horné Zahorany. The “Cesta muránskej Venuše” route runs along a section from Rimavská Sobota via Nižná Pokoradz through Horné Zahorany. The cycling circuits “Gotický kostolík v Kraskove”, “Náučný chodník Drienčanského krasu”, “Magin hrad” and “Hradisko Drieňok” also pass through the village. For planning purposes, these trails can be distinguished by mode of transport and named route, without mixing the cultural sites with the landscape topics.

In Horné Zahorany, the topics can be distinguished by type of activity: the bell tower, church and memorial plaque belong to the cultural side, while the Veľký potok, andesite, block fields and oak forests describe the landscape. The trails include the red hiking trail, Cesta muránskej Venuše and the four cycling circuits; Rytierov Dvor adds cooking classes, fishing and horseback walks to this selection. This allows travelers to organize their daily plans by culture, landscape, type of trail or farm activity.

Rytierov Dvor lies in the cadastral territory of Horné Zahorany and holds hands-on cooking classes directly on the farm. Fishing is possible on one of the farm’s bodies of water. At Rytierov Dvor, visitors can rent a horse for a walk along a trail between fallow deer and mouflon. This provides a range of farm activities, from a cooking class and fishing to a horseback walk.

When choosing a hotel in Horné Zahorany, travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions can provide different points of comparison. Comparing this information with their own travel plan allows travelers to consider accommodation separately from the cultural, landscape, trail and farm activities.

More local pages

Kráľ, Lipovec, Chanava, Krokava, Kaloša, Čerenčany, Kraskovo and Konrádovce

For the higher-level travel overview: Okres Rimavská Sobota.