Holiday apartment in Ostrov: Discover archaeology and culture

In Ostrov, landscape, settlement history and sacred buildings come together. This is particularly vivid at archaeological sites and in the buildings in the village.

Landscape

The cadastral area of Ostrov covers 802 ha and lies in the northern part of the Trnava loess hill country. Its surface consists of brown soils over Tertiary deposits, river gravel accumulations and loess.

Archaeology and history

At the Stráne–Zábranie site near Ostrov, pottery sherds as well as polished and chipped stone industry from the Neolithic and Eneolithic periods were found, dating approximately from 5000 to 2000 BC. At the Pažitie site, sherds of the Lengyel culture dating from around 3500 BC and a radiolarite blade came to light. The settlement discovered there is part of a prehistoric settlement concentrated on the Dudváh terrace, extending north as far as Čachtice.

At the Sedlište site, prehistoric and medieval settlement traces from several periods have been documented; the oldest finds include sherds of the later Linear Pottery culture dating from around 5000 BC. The concentration of medieval finds and the later name of the Sedlište site indicate a vanished settlement on the outskirts of Ostrov.

Northeast of the cemetery in Ostrov, the remains of a hut from the Roman Imperial period, from the 3rd to 4th century AD, were identified. Red-gloss Roman pottery, known as terra sigillata, was also found at several locations in the municipality’s cadastral area, consisting predominantly of bowls of the Drag type.

Ostrov is first documented in writing in 1113 in the Zobor Charter under the name “Stro”. The Zobor Charter was declared a national cultural monument in 1988. The cadastral map of Ostrov from 1898 shows a rare circular village layout in which the houses were arranged around a square and there was only one access road. This settlement form was later replaced by a linear settlement along the road.

History of viticulture

Historical vineyards with several area measurements are recorded for Ostrov: in 1715 they covered 51 Kopáčov, corresponding to 1 ha 28 a 52 m²; in 1720, 35 kv, corresponding to 88 a 2 m²; and in 1753, 53 kv, corresponding to 1 ha 49 a 94 m². For 1769, 64.125 Jutár of vineyards and 47 Jutár of fallow vineyards are stated.

Church and monuments

At the site of today’s Church of Saint Imrich in Ostrov, traces of an older church building and an adjoining cemetery may have been preserved. The church was originally Baroque and was rebuilt in the Classicist style in 1804. The single-nave building with a projecting tower has a flat ceiling and an oval-ended presbytery.

The Immaculata Monument, “Pomník Panny Márie Immaculaty”, is registered as a national cultural monument in the ÚZPF. The Chapel of the Seven Sorrows of Mary stands in the cemetery in Ostrov. The small masonry chapel has a rectangular floor plan, a straight-ended apse, a reinforced-concrete roof and a decorated cross.

The Chapel of the Seven Sorrows of Mary in Ostrov can be reached on foot, by bicycle, by car and by bus; free parking is available in the surrounding area.

Events and crafts

For Saturday, 13 June 2026, the “Ostrovské cepy” festival was announced in Ostrov as the third edition of a festival of crafts and culture. The announced festival was to feature presentations by craftspeople and artists, with the sale of their products. Creative workshops for children and adults were also planned.

Other places

Prasnik, Sokolovce, Pistian, Rakovice, Krakovany, Vrbove, Chtelnica, Moravany Nad Váhom

To the higher-level travel overview: Okres Piešťany.