Stará Turá: Hiking Trails, Nature and Living History

Stará Turá can be explored through specific trails, protected landscapes and museums. A yellow-marked hiking trail leads from Stará Turá railway station to Holubyho chata on Veľká Javorina in approximately 3.5 hours.

Hiking

A shorter route is the Drgoňova–Durcova dolina educational trail. It is 4.9 km long, has an elevation difference of 100 m and takes approximately 1.5 hours; it also has four stations. As an easy route, the educational trail has four information boards and is also suitable for families with small children. The two trails therefore differ significantly in length and time required: one leads to Holubyho chata on Veľká Javorina, while the other remains an independent signposted educational trail with manageable key figures.

Nature

The Pavúkov jarok protected area is part of the natural landscape. It covers 22.49 ha, belongs to the European Natura 2000 network of protected areas and is subject to the fourth level of protection. The protected area safeguards floodplain meadows and relatively well-preserved riparian woodland with rich populations of Maculinea butterflies. The protection category, area and habitats mentioned are just as much part of this area's character as the butterflies found there.

Culture

One of the older buildings in Stará Turá is Stará veža, also known as Husitská. It is the oldest surviving building in Stará Turá and a three-storey stone tower. The Tolerance Evangelical Church combines Classical elements with a Baroque influence and has galleries on three sides. It also contains an organ made in 1873, which is a protected monument. A tower was probably added to the church in Stará Turá in 1624.

The Calvary of Stará Turá is located in the Drahý Roman Catholic Cemetery; its access path is lined with fourteen Stations of the Cross. The Chapel of the Holy Cross in the Calvary complex of Stará Turá is a Neo-Gothic building with a semicircular end. The Museum of the Roy Sisters offers another cultural perspective. It focuses on literary studies and musicology, as well as the social and spiritual work of Mária and Kristína Royová. Visits to this museum can be arranged in advance by telephone or email.

Railway and City History

Stará Turá railway station continues to serve as a railway stop. At the Railway Museum, visitors can try out a Morse apparatus, view old timetables and learn more about railway operations in past decades. The museum also includes an exhibition on the Veselí nad Moravou–Nové Mesto nad Váhom railway line and the surrounding branch lines.

Crafts and events are also part of the city's inherited history. Craft markets and events in Stará Turá have become a tradition; the Javorina Cultural Centre organizes four craft events every year, in spring, summer, autumn and winter. The Stará Turá City Museum displays fossils, remains of Quaternary mammals and archaeological finds from the Stone and Bronze Ages. Its ethnographic section focuses on the development of crafts, guilds, trade and occupations in Stará Turá.

Regional Specialty

A culinary connection leads from Stará Turá to Detva. The butcher and merchant Ján Vagač, who came from Stará Turá, founded the first commercial bryndza dairy in Slovakia there in 1787. According to local tradition, the first bryndza producers in Slovakia came from Stará Turá. Thus, the historical account of Ján Vagač founding the bryndza dairy in Detva stands alongside the local tradition concerning the first bryndza producers.

Other Places

Other local pages: Hrachovište, Dolné Srnie, Nová Bošáca, Kálnica, Nove Mesto Nad Vahom, Bzince Pod Javorinou, Nová Lehota, Višňové.

To the main travel overview: Okres Nové Mesto Nad Váhom.