Forgotten Heritage Trail - Ziemia Jarosławska - Svidník - Serwis turystyczny
5 new cross-border tourist products of the Jarosław District and the City of Svidník

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The open-air ethnographic exposition of the Slovak National Museum (SNM) – Artefacts of the material and spiritual folk culture of Ukrainians and Ruthenians/Lemkos are gathered in this open-air ethnographic exposition. Groups of picturesque, thatched and shingled rural homes from the north-eastern part of Slovakia occupy an area of approximately 11 ha. The characteristic landscape of small villages includes both farm dwellings and various other farming buildings, such as wells, barns, hay sheds and pig sties. Part of the exhibition is the so-called “carters’ inn” from the second half of the 19th century. The exposition also has an interesting part dedicated to technical buildings, represented by a water-mill, a water sawmill, a smithery, a fire station and a school. Every year, the open-air museum is used as the venue for the so-called folk and ethnographic programs called “Treasures of the people”. These events are part of the traditional Days of the Culture of Ruthenians/Lemkos and Ukrainians in Slovakia, held in June. They take place in the Svidník amphitheatre. In addition to that, every September the open-air museum organises Days of Folk Traditions and an international competition in making pierogi.

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This 50-metre observation tower is situated at the Dukla Pass near the border crossing in Barwinek. The present-day tower is the last of the several constructions of this kind built here. The first observation tower was erected in 1944 by the Ludvik Svoboda 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps. In 1959, the construction was replaced by a new, 25-metre wooden tower, which remained in use until 1968. Three years later, when it was modernised, the tower was given the shape of a monolith with two viewing platforms. In 1947, it was opened for visitors. The tower offers unique panoramic views of the Low Beskids and a glimpse into the history of the place: a situational map of the Dukla Pass from the period between 30 September and 5 November 1944, and a plan of the Red Army invasion in the Carpathian Mountains.

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In the light of the archaeological research carried out by the staff of the University of Rzeszów, the examined site is an area of a former Scythian hillfort. 

Scythians were nomads of Iranian origin. The first mentions of Scythians go back as early as the 7th century B.C.

The examination of the site began with a surface survey.  Next, test pits were designated and dug. However, it was not until drone photographs were taken that the full extent of the settlement was fully revealed.

During the excavation works of the embankment and the main square, many artefacts were found, including weapons, ornaments and ceramics.  Also a place of worship (zolnik) was identified along with a settlement group consisting of a few dozen of big settlements and settlement points. 

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The shrine is composed out of two rectangles – a smaller upper one and a larger one at the bottom. The front and sides contain semicircular niches. The front niche has a plaster statue of the Virgin Mary behind a glass pane along with an image of St. John Paul II.

The locals from Święte and the surrounding area refer to the shrine as “Znak Tatarski” – a “Tatar signal”. It probably comes from the 18th century.

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The shrine was constructed in the form of a plinth topped with a cast iron cross with a plaque at its foot spelling out the date 1863. It commemorates the place where on 2 February 1863 a January Uprising participant froze to death, sent from the manor house in Skołoszów to Kaszyce. Originally, a wooden cross was placed here, later replaced by a stone shrine with a cross. It was consecrated on 11 November 1888, on the 25th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1863 uprising. The shrine was built thanks to the efforts of Fr. Wojciech Michna, who was the parish priest of Chłopice at that time. An ardent patriot, he was an advocate of Polish independence. We was also supported by Fr. Rudolf Beneszek, the parish priest from Łowce, member of the chapter of the Sanctuary in Loreto. The idea was also supported by the owner of the village Łowce, Gustaw Jahn, who donated bricks for this purpose. Building a shrine in the form of a cross, which was not only an expression of Christian faith, but above all – a national symbol, was not easy. One has to remember that at that time the region was part of the Austrian partition. The cross was renovated by the inhabitants of Lutków to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Poland regaining its independence.

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