Discover Krásno nad Kysucou: Culture, Trails and History

Krásno nad Kysucou combines a Stations of the Cross with metal art, historic buildings, museums, and cycling and hiking trails. The Kalvária is particularly distinctive: it consists of a Stations of the Cross with 14 stations and metal sculptures by the sculptor and architect Stanislav Mikovčák. Historical metal objects are incorporated into the wrought-iron sculptures; QR codes explain the symbolic representations, from the judgment of Jesus Christ to his burial.

Culture and History

The Roman Catholic Parish Church of St. Andrew was built in 1861 and is considered the longest church in Kysuce. Since its restoration from 2009 to 2010, the church has displayed a late Gothic wooden sculpture from the late 15th century. The 113-centimetre-high work was created by an unknown master and is classified as a cultural monument.

Bridges and memorial sites are also part of the local history. The stone bridge was probably completed around 1835 and is approximately 50 metres long. The bridge was built in 1891 by the company Wayss and bears a statue of Saint John of Nepomuk. At the Most lásky a priateľstva, couples in love attach padlocks to the bridge railing and throw the keys into the river.

Concrete bunkers of the Tobruk type, also known as Ringstand 58c, are located along the cycling path beside the Bystrica River and on the Kysucká cycling route towards Oščadnica. They were built at the end of 1944 by the German army to defend the road through the Bystrica Valley.

Cycling Routes and Landscape

The Bystrická cyklomagistrála begins in the centre of Krásno nad Kysucou. Along its route, there are stopping points for a refreshment break or a sightseeing stop. The Kolesá radosti sculpture stands at the intersection of the Bystrická cyklomagistrála and the Kysucká cyklotrasa. It is almost five metres high and consists of forge scale, wheels and other materials from a recycling centre.

The Kysucká cyklotrasa leads towards Dunajov and Oščadnica and as far as Milówka in Poland. The Krásňanské osady are also accessible to mountain bikers. During a hike through the settlements, visitors are accompanied by the local fauna and flora, as well as extraordinary peace and seclusion.

Settlements and Trails

The Šustkov–Jedličník settlement lies along the cycling route towards Bystrická dolina. A small brick chapel from 1998 stands beside the route; a holy mass is traditionally held there in summer.

The U Jantov settlement comprises wooden and brick houses, surviving wooden farm buildings, a holy image, a small altar and a stone cross. From U Jantov, a forest path passes below Vojtov vrch to hiking trails in the Javorníky Mountains. A Stations of the Cross approximately 600 metres long leads directly to the U Jantov observation tower. The first floor of the observation tower houses a gallery with information about Krásno nad Kysucou.

The Vrabčiarne are tourist shelters in the picturesque landscape of the Kysucké Beskydy and Javorníky Mountains. The various connections to trails and routes thus offer different ways to combine the landscape with local history.

Other Places

Other places at this destination level are Korňa, Klokočov, Turzovka, Čadca, Klubina, Skalite, Svrčinovec and Makov.

Museum

The Vlastivedné Museum in Krásno nad Kysucou presents a natural history exhibition featuring specimens of the fauna and flora of north-western Slovakia. The Kysucká Odyssey exhibition traces the history of Kysuce from the earliest mammoth hunters through the era of Juraj Turzo to the age of space travel and includes an interactive audiovisual guide. A systematic geological collection also provides an overview of the world of minerals.

For the higher-level travel overview: Čadca.