Through Banovcecko there have been important routes in the past, and today it is not different. It is through this region that the link between the two largest parts of the Trenčín region - Považím and Upper Nitra passes. Those who decide to stop here can get to know their region with remarkable buildings and celebrities.

The territory is dominated by the river Bebrava prameniaca in Strážovské vrchy below Sokolími skalami. The first village to go through is Black Lehota. It then flows through the whole Bánov district, it takes a number of tributaries until finally Topoľčian flows into the Nitra River. The forests are small, the wavy landscape rather gives space to the fields and the set. The region is surrounded by several mountain ranges - Povazsky Inovec, Strazovske vrchy and the Podunajska Hill.

In the past, this territory was also called Trenčín Záhorí. Its center is about 18,000 Banovec nad Bebravou. In the past, they belonged to provincial rural towns where they lived mainly farmers and craftsmen. After the Second World War, they switched to the industry, but did not lose their historic face.

The center of the district city is formed by the square of Ľudovít Štúr. In its eastern part there is also a monumental monument of this important Slovakian politician, which is also the largest monument in Štúrovo in Slovakia. In the middle of the square there is the Church of the Most Holy Trinity from 1802, which represents the Classicist style.

In Banovce nad Bebravou there is a strong link not only to Ľudovít Štúr, who is a native of Uhrov, but also to Janek Jesenský. This poet, prose writer and translator worked in the city from 1905 until 1914. The building in which he used to be his memorial house and the name after him also bears the grammar school. The Bánovec district is dominated, but it is a region of smaller villages. You would find here even the smallest village in the Trenčín region - it is currently Uhrovské Podhradie. Right above it is one of the most important monuments of Bánovecka. The Uhrov castle from the 13th century is now a ruin, but it is one of the most valuable castles in Slovakia.

If you decide to discover other historical buildings, one of your mandatory stops should be the Romanesque church above Ksinna. They built it in the 13th century at a place where the castle had once been. The region also offers several mansions - you can find them in Horné Ozorovce, Vysočany or Dvorce. In several villages, the folk architecture, typical country houses, so-called high-rise houses, can be found, for example, in Šípkov.

Bánovský boasts his own baptism. It is officially one of the Dolnotrencian inscriptions, but it also has characters that connect it with the Middle Slavs - for example, there is a rhythmic curtailing and you can hear a nice soft one. It was precisely the subtle Slovenian dialect chosen by Ľudovít Štúr in the codification of the literary Slovak. His birthplace, where Alexander Dubcek was born a few years later, is located in Uhrovci.

Bánovecko was once known for fruit growing and its subsequent processing. For the time being, this link is alive, for example, in the village of Trebichava, where you can see how our ancestors dried fruits in a renovated oven.

text: bass

photo by Tomas Valient