Since 2004 when we found some beautiful baskets woven in intricate designs, we had been wishing to see an exhibit in Žilina about wireworks in Slovakia. Originally it was at an outlying castle, but had been moved to a museum, on a main square. That was our first stop.
What we learned about this craft was fascinating. It began early in the 1700’s as a way to supplement the income of poor people living in the mountainous parts of northern and north western Slovakia. The first “tinkers” would repair or strengthen damaged clay pots by weaving wire “nets” around the damaged pot. Then they began to weave sifters for farmers, as well as window nets for out-buildings on the farms.
It became a new lifestyle. The Tinker traveled throughout the countryside, carrying his tools and materials (wire and metal sheets). These tools of the trade distinguished the tinkers from people of a “vagrant” lifestyle. Often the tinker was accompanied by an apprentice, a young man 10 to 14 years old. They traveled through the whole of the Austrian Hungarian territory. There became so much competition that they crossed borders, and eventually carried their craft throughout the world. The title of the photograph is “Over the World.”
Their craft expanded as the tinkers would adapt what they made according to the individual need. Their works were lightweight, a specialized spatial puzzle, multipurpose, utilitarian and decorative. Thanks to entirely manual work, tinker-art was a craft of creative individuals. Although it was spread throughout the world, it remained a Slovak craft. The table and chairs above are toys for a child.
It became a form of artistic creation in the early 1940’s. The form of a man in Slovak dress was about the height of Jeannine. The detail is so intricate; it is phenomenal.
It was beautiful art as the picture below illustrates.
After we had seen the exhibit, we needed to get to the intercity bus stop to travel to our next stop. Just to be sure where we were we asked the receptionist, expecting her to point the direction we should walk. She could not tell us in English, so she said something to the other receptionist, and led us out the door. She walked with us the whole 5 blocks with many turns. When we got there, she showed us how to find where to catch the bus (out of 30 bus locations). God has provided angels such as this, to show us the way.
No, we would not have found it without her help.
The ride up the valley to the village named Rajec Lesná was through some beautiful countryside. Everything is green, the hills, the fields; the trees are a beautiful shade of green. We are here to see a large wood carving that is called Slovensky Betlehem.
We had planned to see Betlehem before we caught the bus to the next place on our agenda. However, we forgot that some places in Slovakia close for lunch. It is closed from 11:30 until 1:00 PM. Another place to see in this village is The Stations of the Cross.
On our way there, we passed by this café and thought having lunch during the lunch hour would be a good idea. There was a young waiter who spoke English fairly well. We had two wonderful dishes. Gary’s was pieces of pork cooked in a spicy sauce along with some “chips”….French fries, and a fresh vegetable garnish. My selection was a mixture of pork and chicken pieces cooked in another sauce and served between two potato pancakes, and those fresh vegetables.
After lunch, we head up the hill towards Kalvaria. Our waiter had told us that around the time of the First World War, a group of people from this area immigrated to the USA. Some were happy and successful in the USA, and some wished to return home. One of these groups donated the money for these Stations of the Cross. Gary and I had a different opinion of which group it was that donated the money, but that’s irrelevant.
Each station was inside one of these chapels. People could not enter them, but had a good view of the station through the glass in the door. I thought there would be twelve of the stations. Actually, there were fifteen, plus a larger chapel that could be entered at certain times during the year.
While we are on the hillside, the lightening on one side of the valley talks to the lightening on the other side. It was a quite visual and audio show. Then it got wet. We used the larger chapel doorway to shelter us during the heaviest rain. Then we went down the hillside in a light shower.
The Betlehem exhibit should be opened now. The sign said it opened at 1 but the lights were not turned on until we walked in at 1:40. WOW! It is a wood carving that took us the whole side of the room.
As you can see, there are several layers.
The nativity scene is at the lower center.
Each figure is detailed in wood.
A line of people come from a mountain.
They turn face the infant Jesus.
Then they turn to go to another mountain.
The carving is a representation of Slovakia.
It has different castles and cathedrals.
There are different scenes from nineteenth century life.
There’s a black smith’s shop with someone working the bellows.
Someone is shoeing a horse.
Another person is spinning flax.
There’s a weaver.
A farmer and a boy are chasing a bear that has a lamb in its paws.
Many of the scenes are moving.
It is just fantastic.
There are more carvings, pieces of art to hang on the wall.
There are black and white photos of life in Slovakia in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
At the end of this day, it was still raining.
We were off schedule because of lunch.
The bus didn’t come when we expected it,
So we decided to see the village of Čičmany next week.
Tuesday afternoon was a beautiful day, so we decided
to go to Čičmany. When our friend Marek helped us plan our trip Saturday,
he had take a bus to get to Martin on a different route than the one we took to Rajec Lesná . So Jeannine has the bright idea to go to Čičmany the way Marek was having us get home. We had not taken that bus because we did not get to Čičmany.
We did not pay attention to the word in the schedule that meant intersection.
The bus let us off at an intersection with a sign that pointed up the intersecting road and said 7 km. Yes, we had seven kilometers to get to Čičmany.
It was a beautiful walk and Gary wanted to take a picture of each different kind of flower on the route. (Jeannine took some pictures, too.)
Between the photos and our slow speed, it took us two hours to get to Čičmany.
Yes, we were there at 5:00 PM.
I was well worth the walk. The dark brown houses are individually with white designs. Here are just a few of the 175 pictures we took:
After looking at the beautiful homes, we got instructions to get to
the bus stop. Guess what. There will not be a bus coming out of
Čičmany until 9:40 PM. We can walk back to the intersection….
We really don’t have the energy for that.
As we were trying to decide our next move, a gentleman who has been
riding a bicycle through the town, asks us if we need help. We get verification
from him that the other buses have gone. However, he has a friend who is
coming Žilina and will be happy to take us back. Can you believe this?
It will be an hour and forty five minutes. We get directions to a restaurant
and go have our dinner. Again, we try some favorite dishes from the area.
They are delicious. As we as we wait for our meal, we notice a bus across
the street. Yes, that’s the bus that will be leaving Čičmany at 9:40.
We are enjoying our meal when three young men who rode in on motorcycles
arrive to have some Kofola (a Slovak cola drink) and dinner. There is also a
couple from The Netherlands. We talk to them as they are looking at a map
and a tour book. It seems that they are on their way back from Istanbul, Turkey.
We shared what we liked about the area. However, I believe they will begin
early in the morning and get to their home that night. You never know who we
will meet.
It’s time to go back to where we may get a ride out of town. The person who asked his friend to take us back said he would not be there. He did tell us where to come.
We see an older man, a woman and two young men unloading wood from a cart.
One comes over and begins a conversation with us. He asks if we are the ones who
need a ride. Then he wants to know why in the world did we pick Slovakia to come to.
We have an interesting conversation for a good fifteen to twenty minutes. His friend
comes over and introduces himself.
After a while, we meet the friend’s mother and all five of us get into their car. The mother is the reason that the first man can speak English so well. She has been encouraging him to study English.
The mother asks where we need to go. The answer has Martin in it.
We say “No,” we only need to get back to Žilina, and from there we’ll get a bus or train.
The friend gets out his phone and calls someone.
They tell us that one thing they want to stop a special spring to get some water.
When the phone rings again the friend answers and then speaks to his mother.
He had called to see when the next train to Martin leaves Žilina. When they discovered
the time, they abandoned their plans to get the spring water in order to get us to the station in time! When we got there, we all got out of the car and said thank you, thank you. The mother gets into the trunk and gives us a bottle of their spring water!
We are so blessed!
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