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Visit the picturesque part of the Dudvážsky circuit with GoSlovakia

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In this article, we will visit 5 nearby and picturesque villages, which are part of the Mikroregión 11 PLUS association and which really have something to offer their visitors. We will gradually cross the village of Križovany nad Dudváhom, where we will then cross into the neighboring Vlčkoviec, from where we will carefully cross the R1 expressway to the village of Opoj, stop in Majcichov and finally visit the village of Zeleneč.

As the first village we will visit Križovany nad Dudváhom , which is located about 7 km from Trnava. The first mention of this village is from 1296, but it is not the year the village was founded, but we will talk about that later. In the past, the village was probably the center of guard, economic, but also religious life. In critical times during the invasions of the Tatars, a church administration could have settled here, as evidenced by the ancient Romanesque rotunda, about which we will talk more in a moment.

Legend has it that the village was named when a powerful and rich prince named Tur, who was still a pagan at the time, lived near Trnava during the Great Moravian Empire. She did not even want to hear about the penetration of Christianity and the acceptance of the new faith. Later, however, she still received baptism. The place where this prince received baptism was called by the people Krest Tura, which was supposed to be the original name of the village. From this, for centuries, the name was created, which appears in written documents in 1296 as Kerestur . This name of the village was used until 1948. After this year it was, and still is, Križovany nad Dudváhom.

The oldest architectural monument in the village is the already mentioned Romanesque rotunda - Rotunda of St. of the Cross , which until recently was said to date from 1246. It is a side chapel of the Church of the Hanging of St. Cross. During the conservation of its murals in June 1938, the year 1246 was uncovered in the rotunda under the plaster, which became the presumed year of the building's origin. Exploratory work on the rotunda, led by academic painter Vladimír Úradníček from 1967 to 1970, brought remarkable facts. These latest research proves that the rotunda is older and the year 1246 was probably the year of reconstruction of the building in the early Gothic style. This claim is evidenced by the unveiling of the original Romanesque window in the apside of the rotunda. Inside the building, the shape of the Romanesque saddles, the immovable seats in the niche of the rotunda, was discovered. From the outside, under the roof of the apse and nave of the rotunda, a decorative Romanesque brick frieze is exposed. The apse is illuminated by two Romanesque windows. It is oriented to the east, the ship of the rotunda is connected to it by a high, semicircular triumphal arch.

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Source: GoSlovakia (21.8.2019)

The interesting thing about the rotunda is that the total length of the building is the same as its total height, ie 10.5 m. The masonry of the building has a constant thickness of up to 1 m. Geometric dependencies also apply to individual elements of the building, such as windows, the triumphal arch, the saddle, the frieze. Of the identical buildings in the vicinity, the origin of which is documented in writing, we know only the church in Dechtice (1172).

In the village we can also find several small sacral monuments such as statues of saints. One of them is the statue of St. Joseph . It is a pleading statue with the text “Saint Joseph, pray for us! Dedicated to Juliana Bošácká r. 1935 ". Praying means polite, respectfully submitting some application, the fulfillment of which depends on the will of the requested person. The walls of the cemetery are guarded by a statue of St. John of Nepomuk . Across the road opposite the church is a huge statue of St. Florian , patron saint of firefighters and rescuers. Floriánko is a really nicely painted beauty here. With faded colors, he looks very attractive as a man. He also has bricks on his stomach.

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Source: GoSlovakia (25.11.2019)

If we go from Križovian nad Dudváhom to Vlčkoviec, we will be there in exactly 0 seconds. Yes, these 2 days follow each other smoothly. Vlčkovce, with its very advantageous location, was in the past, but also today a crossroads between the nearby towns of Trnava and Nitra. The R1 expressway passes along the outer edge of the village, to which the village of Vlčkovce is connected by two crossroads.

Many accidental finds and archaeological excavations in the wider vicinity of Vlčkovice prove that the whole area was relatively densely populated in prehistoric times. However, a large part of the establishment of the village was the existence of an old communication artery later called the Czech Way, which has long led in close proximity to today's village. Many settlements were established along the way for practical reasons. At that time, buyers and traders rested in them, repaired damaged wagons and shoeed draft animals. Later, these settlements served as a toll station. In addition to the already mentioned Czech Way, bridges over the Dudváh and Blava rivers played an important role in the creation of Vlčkovce. This is confirmed by the fact that later the bridge became the central coat of arms in the creation of the general coat of arms.

The name of this village, as the name suggests, is according to the local preserved reputation. Wolves were often to roam in large groups near the area, so the locals named the village after these beasts. However, the village often did not change its name, in fact only the names Forkoshyda , Farkashyda , Farkašín and Vlčkovce since 1948 are known, but in the period 1975-1991 it was named Dudváh . Since then, however, we know it again under the old-new name Vlčkovce. The oldest written mention of Vlčkovce is a document from 1231, but many inhabitants are in favor of the second written mention from 1336.

As you walk through this picturesque village, you certainly cannot miss the beautiful Country House . It stands out from afar in a blue radiant color and is usually beautifully decorated by the locals. The country house was renovated and opened on October 6, 2017 and serves both locals and visitors to the village, because during the year it hosts various cultural events. In the house there is also a memorial room of the national artist Fraň Štefunk . The country house is actually a museum that brings current life to the village in the past. In the future, the Country House is to be opened especially to children from schools in the area, because such a collection of museum pieces, which was managed to be collected in Vlčkovce, is not exhibited anywhere in the surrounding villages.

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Source: GoSlovakia (26.11.2019)

At the end of the village towards Sereď s is the church of St. Theresa of Lisieux from 1934, which was built on older foundations. The church stands on the original site of the old church, from which some statues and paintings have been relocated and are its decoration and monument. The new church is built according to the project of architect Michal Milan Harminc from Bratislava. The church was built in less than 14 months. The last changes in the church took place in 2009. A new marble sacrificial table and ambon from the Croatian canfaran were placed in the presbytery, and a new seat for the priest and ministers, which is made of solid beech. Consecrated by Mons. Pavol Zemko, Vicar General. More information about the church of St. Theresa of Lisieux can be found directly on our website .

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Source: GoSlovakia (26.11.2019)

When Vlčkovce is mentioned, it is impossible not to mention Mlyn from the beginning of the 16th century. We find it at the lower end of the village between the church and the Sugar Factory. It is a mill from the Habán times, but when the Habans came to Vlčkovce, the mill was already standing here and therefore its history goes even further, but a specific record of who built the mill was not found. We can only assume that it was one of the Pállfy family to whom the village belonged at that time. In 1925, the then miller Retzer had the most modern mill equipment installed in the mill. The descendants of the then miller Retzer live to this day and manage the mill building. Since 1989, the mill has been operated and first engaged in the production of compound feed for poultry and pigs. They gradually operated three compound feed mixers and supplied several large farms. At this time, they operate one mixing plant, where they specialize mainly in the production and sale of compound feed for poultry intended for small farmers.

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Source: GoSlovakia (26.11.2019)

We will jump off from Vlčkovice for a jump. However, not as it was in the previous case, but in less than 2 minutes we are in the village of Opoj . Opoj is a quiet village that provides its location in the middle of greenery high quality of life, clean air and a peaceful family atmosphere. The first known written mention of Opoji can be found in a document of the Nitra Chapter from 1266. The content of the document concerns the sale of part of Majcichov's property. In a document of the Bratislava Chapter from 1278, which describes the borders of Zelenča, the "terra Opoy" is mentioned as the property of Bratislava Castle.

The northwestern part of the village is closed by the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity from 1775. It was originally a funeral chapel with a crypt for the Szásy family. František Szásy, the then owner of the intoxicating property, had the sacral building built so that its facade was perpendicular to the oldest street development and thus closed the northwestern edge of the village. At the beginning of the 20th century, the chapel was extended by a polygonal presbytery with a cross vault. At that time, the ceiling was also decorated in the form of scenes from the Bible and paintings of St. Mark and Luke. The current external appearance of the church is the result of post-war reconstructions related to the disruption of the tower and truss, during the liberation of the village in 1945. These are two sandstone monuments with a cross and an inserted marble signboard.

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Source: GoSlovakia (25.11.2019)

In the middle of the oldest Opojská street, protruding from the terraced buildings, there is a bell tower from the first half of the 19th century. The building with a square layout, pyramidal roof and arched windows is divided in the middle of its height by a cornice. Its justification was relevant until the construction of the tower on the church after the war, because the original funeral chapel did not have a tower in the function of a bell tower. There are three bells in the bell tower - small, medium and large. The small bell with a lower diameter of 300 mm is undated and its location is not known. The middle bell with a lower diameter of 450 mm was cast by the Fischer Brothers in Trnava in 1902. The oldest bell is a large bell from 1692 cast by Ján Achamer in Bratislava. Currently, the bell tower is unused because the village uses electronic church bells.

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Source: GoSlovakia (25.11.2019)

The penultimate village in our article is the village of Majcichov , which recently commemorated the 750th anniversary (1266) of its first written mention. Majcichov is a village located about 10 km south of Trnava. The village is known mainly for its nationalists and pastor Ján Palárik , who from 1862 until his death in 1870 created and worked at the parish and is also buried here.

There is a memorial room dedicated to him in the village, which is visited by many students, especially high school students, but people from abroad also come here. Ján Palárik was a national awakener, a Catholic priest, a playwright and an organizer of national life. He was born into a poor teaching family on April 27, 1822 in Raková na Kysuciach, where a memorial room is also dedicated to him. He wrote several Slovak books and textbooks for Slovak schools. In addition, he wrote his fourth play called Dimitrij samotvanec. On the occasion of the centenary of his death, great celebrations took place and this memorial room of Ján Palárik was established as a permanent exhibition. After 10 years, it was reinstalled and relocated to more suitable premises. On the 120th anniversary of his death (1990), the greatest memorial service was held and the memorial room was re-installed in the beautiful premises of the new modern culture house. In the memorial room of Ján Palárik there is a painting, which represents the so-called Majcichov peace, which symbolizes the end of the imperial-Kuruk wars.

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Source: GoSlovakia (25.11.2019)

On the main road leading through the village stands the Roman Catholic Church of All Saints , which is unmissable thanks to the tower on a hill in the middle of the village. It was built in the Romanesque style in the 13th century. However, the tower is most likely much older and dates from the period of the Slavic fortified settlement from the 8th to the 9th century. In the past, it served as a watchtower, as evidenced by the masonry on its eastern side. There are triangular openings that served as windows towards the fort. In the 13th century, the main nave of the church was added to the tower, where they used stone and brick as masonry. The sanctuary was built in 1749 from bricks, which was found during the dismantling of the walls during the extension of the side ships. In the 17th century, the church was acquired by the Evangelicals for a time, so Catholics had to build a new church in 1697 - the Chapel of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the cemetery, which has been preserved to this day. The church stood in a medieval form until the middle of the 18th century, when the original shrine was demolished. They replaced it with a larger presbytery, which was as wide as the nave and separated only by a triumphal arch. The reconstruction of the church and the addition of side aisles began in the early 1950s, when they also built a new altar. In the nineties of the 20th century, the church was reconstructed and a cave of the Virgin Mary of the Rosary was built next to it.

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Source: GoSlovakia (21.8.2019)

Finally, we move to the last village, which we mention in this article. This is the village of Zeleneč , which records the first archival record from 1634 and lists 200 inhabitants and 40 houses. At the beginning of this year, the village has 2660 inhabitants. However, the first historical mention of Zelenec is already found in the deed of the Hungarian King Bel IV. from 1243, where the village is named SEELENCH and where King Belo IV. donates land to the Bratislava burgher Woch as a token of gratitude for the proven services in the endangerment of the kingdom by the Tatars.
Of all the municipalities mentioned in this article, Zeleneč is clearly the closest to the regional city of Trnava. It is only 2.5 km away, which the inhabitants certainly appreciate.

Probably the most attractive building in the village and certainly in the vicinity is the Roman Catholic Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary , which is attractive for its modern architecture and the fact that it was built in totalitarian times, a time that did not favor the construction of buildings of this kind. The construction was carried out from charity believers. The church consecrated 5.9. 1993 Mons. Dominik Tóth. It was on the 750th anniversary of the first written mention of Zelenec and on the 20th anniversary of the construction of the church. The interior of the church is visually and acoustically beautified by a unique flute organ from the renowned Austrian company Walcker-Mayer, which has been producing these musical instruments since the end of the 18th century. It is the exceptional quality of the organ that presupposes organ organs, which are usually held twice a year.

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Source: GoSlovakia (25.11.2019)

We will not end this article traditionally with a church or any monument, but we will visit the newly opened Pizza Roman restaurant located at the end of the day towards the D1 motorway. Huge stylish spaces will be waiting for you, which together with the terrace will create an excellent atmosphere in this nice and cozy environment. Last but not least, a number of gourmet experiences await you. The restaurant prepares a great daily menu every day and you can also choose from the menu. You will definitely not have to talk to your children to eat properly, because after the meal they will have a well-deserved reward in the form of a mini farm . You can ride the children on a carousel or even ponies, or they can play alone on the playground. The environment is generally pleasant for those who love nature and animals. It is interesting that the farm takes care of those animals that no one wanted to take care of anymore. The animals that you can meet and see here were born in captivity and therefore would not survive in the wild. Not only can you observe the animals, but you can also come into contact with them, while you can feed them purchased food.

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Source: GoSlovakia (25.11.2019)
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Updated on: 8.6.2020
Source: GoSlovakia


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