Holiday Apartment in Stredné Plachtince – Nature, Church and Tradition

Stredné Plachtince lies on the eastern edge of the picturesque Hont region along the Plachtinský potok stream, formerly also called “Stará rieka”. In 1998, an educational trail to Pohanský vrch and the Hornoplachtinské lazy was established.

Nature

A narrow strip of alluvial forest with willows, poplars and alders runs along the Plachtinský potok. Thermophilous rock communities have been documented near Hrobárovo and at Fojtíkovo and Chvíranovo bralo. Pohanský vrch is one of the ecologically significant gene pool localities of flora and fauna.

The Pohanský vrch educational trail lies on the boundary between the cadastral territories of Horné Plachtince and Stredné Plachtince. The Pohanský vrch archaeological site combines cultural-historical and natural or landscape-related values and lies along the route of the Pohanský vrch educational trail.

Culture

The local Gothic Protestant church dates from the 14th to the 15th century, was altered in the Renaissance style in the 17th century, rebuilt in the Neoclassical style in 1925, and is surrounded by a wall. Tombstones of the Dačov family are located next to the church. Also beside the church is the gravestone of the Protestant pastor Samuel Godra (1807–1873), a poet and representative of the Slovak national movement.

The Church of St Michael in Stredné Plachtince was built in stages: a Gothic chapel is traditionally believed to have stood there as early as 1332–1337; it was rebuilt between 1610 and 1621, the altar area was created in 1626, the nave with the altar in 1742, and the 22-metre-high tower in 1832–1833.

The Samuel Godra Museum is housed in the old vicarage and takes visitors through the history of the Plachtince Valley from the earliest times to the present. It displays geological samples, fragments of Bronze Age Kyjatice culture pottery from the hillfort on Pohanský vrch, as well as other prehistoric and medieval archaeological finds. The museum also includes a weaving room with machines and equipment used to process flax and hemp from raw material to finished product.

Stredné Plachtince is home to the old Dačov manor house, which later belonged to the Bende family and was rebuilt in the 20th century. Folk architecture houses from the 19th and early 20th centuries preserve traditional rural building forms, including plastered and whitewashed masonry as well as tiled roofs supported by wooden posts and featuring half-hipped ends.

Traditions

As part of the local folk culture and traditions, the making of the Plachtince costume and embroidery has been preserved. The Bažalička folklore group preserves authentic folklore, local customs and traditions, as well as the traditional costume. Bažalička also regularly participates in various folklore events in the region, in other parts of Slovakia and abroad.

The traditional programme Plachtinský Keľavník includes a storytelling walk in traditional costumes from Plachtince and various tasks that convey the daily life of the ancestors and local customs. Plachtinský Keľavník was held as a traditional event in Stredné Plachtince.

Traditional foods of Stredné Plachtince include tenkeľová kaša, kolaches, opekance and strudel or záviny.

More local pages: Chrťany, Horné Plachtince, Širákov, Lesenice, Kleňany, Vinica, Horné Strháre, Malý Krtíš.

To the higher-level travel overview: Veľký Krtíš District.