We look into the winding valley. The forests around are blowing deep. From the Little Carpathians, jagged sunbeams crawl to the kick. Where they smoke from the chimneys of houses scattered throughout the settlements. At Zimovce, Rehušov, Dolný Štverník, Horní Paseky and elsewhere, life awakens until a new morning.

Breaking point

It is here, in this valley, that Kopanice with Záhorie and also Trnavský with the Trenčín Region break. According to the map, we are standing at the breaking point - on the Lipovec hill next to the lookout tower of the same name. At the place where Prietrž shakes hands, the final village on one side, with the town of Brezová pod Bradlom. The history, the fate of Kopaničiar and Záhorák are also written in this valley. Welcome to the end of the county.

“Rivalry? Rather such a tease, for fun. We have a good time here together. We are from Prietrž, from the Senice, Záhoráká side, but I feel more like a kicker, "says Mrs. Irenka. She came to this region from the Lower Lands a quarter of a century ago, and has been home here ever since. Married, family, children, background. It caught robots typical of this region and settlement near Rehušov. In the fields, around the house, orchards, cattle, poultry where needed. Also accompany the guests in the room of revolutionary traditions, which they built at Rehušov as a token of gratitude to the partisans. They allegedly hid American pilots here during the Uprising.

We have also confirmed from our second host that the anger between the diggers and Záhorák is only in appearance. Jaroslav Ciran, mayor of Brezová pod Bradlom, explains: “I am a native of Brezov, a digger. The division into Kopaničiarov and Záhorák were certainly not helped by territorial divisions and interventions from the past. Once we were together, then again separately, once one district, then suddenly three ... However, people do not perceive it dramatically at all, they like to remember the common period, they have been living together for decades. And as rivalry translates among the elderly, young people often do not even know what it is. Older people are looking more towards Záhorie, "adds the first man in the second city of the Myjava district.

After the beer emergency

And to put a dot behind the age-old duel of Záhorie versus Kopanice, we offer a few collected, guaranteed reports on this topic. Kopaničiari allegedly feel like a larger nobility, because they live in kopanice, which is geographically higher than Záhorie (folk translation - the area behind the mountains). Kopaničiari also feel more affected. Probably because Kopanice was once considered from the point of view of history as the Záhorie region. The perception of Kopanice as an independent original region was also damaged by the previous regime, which deprived Myjava of the status of a district town, so it became part of the Senica district. The simplest football fans had and still have. Especially around 2015, when Myjava and Senica were on the football map in the first league. Both camps declared a state of emergency before the big derby, they sold out the stadium to contribute generously to the club box office. In the stadium sectors, they shouted at each other during the match, cursed each other, dusted off folk creativity, dialects, expressive words ... And after the match, they gathered for beer regardless of the result.

Break is not an ordinary village. Its first name is Petrus, the first mention dates from 1262 and according to the last census it has 730 inhabitants. The break is also relatively large in size, in addition to the center with top monuments - a majestic church and "Hussite walls" - it also has thirteen satellites, ie settlements. Several corner names of Slovak history are connected with this corner of Záhorie, which is only six kilometers away from Senice. Jozef Ignác Bajza worked here in the years 1805 - 1815, the parish priest Viliam Paulíny again in the revolutionary year 1848 and JM Hurban often sought refuge from Hungarian gendarmes in Prietrž. For example, Pavol Čendekovič, a personal friend of Ľ. Štúra, or Jozef Kvetoslav Holub, one of the first professors of the first evangelical grammar school in Revúca. There are more famous names and personalities from here.

Museum, Mrs. Irenka and an ostrich

"There used to be a barn. They belonged to the cooperative, in fact the whole area. We bought it in a desolate state about ten years ago. Leaky roofs, broken buildings, brothels everywhere, mud, neglected, it fell on my head. You know, just like when something doesn't have a master. Slowly, we gradually started to put it right, "Mrs. Irenka Reptová opens the door to the former barn and invites us to the Farmers' Museum. It is a jump from the Memorial Room of Revolutionary Traditions and from the SNP Memorial. The monument, situated below the Lipovec hill, is again a short walk from the lookout tower of the same name. All this is on one hill, within a radius of five hundred meters, in the settlement near Rehušov. Many larger villages or towns can envy the Prietrž junction, only very little is known about it yet.

Irenka Reptová will precisely present almost every single exhibit. Farm machines, seeders, scythes, wagons, threshers, clothes, ancient peasant furniture, sledges, some pieces have a year of birth 1900 or more. "Mostly we received these exhibits, people donated them to preserve them for the future. We often got into a truck and drove a hundred kilometers to a new exhibit. What are we going to throw away? We paid for some machines, I guess at most 1500 euros for this seed drill, "he shows in the middle of the exhibition hall, where there can be 300 exhibits, and continues. "We had a few exhibits outside on the terrace or under the shade, but since it's cold, we had to hide them. After all, this museum is a seasonal affair. "

Colorful tourist knot

Few people know about the unique museum in these parts, although in the guestbook you will also find links and thanks from Australia, Canada, Orava, Argentina, Poland, Bardejov or Nadlak, Romania. Admission is voluntary, excursions are mainly attended by high school students and diners from the surrounding area. "We have already done pilot day camps for children who are related to nature. It turned out great, a lot of children learned, we have a beautiful paddock, eight horses, in addition to poultry, even an ostrich, "recalls Irenka and immediately retuns to a funny note: Curiosity. This is ours and he listens to the word. "

From the parking lot in front of the museum, you can reach the SNP memorial on a prepared and neat asphalt road, it takes three minutes on foot. Thanks to this monument, the goal of Behu is thanks, car races were also organized here, but due to smog, noise and frustration of the locals, they moved them elsewhere. Every year at the end of the summer, people from the surrounding area meet here to remember the SNP, which affected this locality intensively, at the wind and in the gazebo. We learn that the artwork of the memorial is not complete, as some goodies stole the copper part of it and tried to monetize the loot. The Lipovec lookout tower, which is located exactly at the turning point of the Trenčín and Trnava regions, has already been discussed, but it is requested to add that it is 15 meters high, its construction was supported by the Trenčín self-governing region, thousands of tourists visit and right now you're collecting darts and thorns there.

Birch is not just a mound

And what does the other side - Kopaničiarska - from Brezová pod Bradlom offer to lovers of tourism? At the time of the pandemic, we found out directly with the mayor Jaroslav Ciran. We took him on a small walking "circuit" around the city center and we learned interesting things.

When Brezová is mentioned, everyone is immediately reminded of the mound and Štefánik. “It is a good, quiet, small town to live. It is also very important from a historical point of view. Many personalities come from here. And it's not just about Štefánik, "states the first man of the city. Side by side, there are two monuments to famous natives. The first is Ján Papánek, a Czechoslovak diplomat and lawyer and also the holder of the Order of Tomáš Garrigu Masaryk. He received a call-up order from Štefánik to Rome, where he edited the magazine V boj! And for the next few years he worked as a diplomat and in the USA he participated in the formation of the final text of the UN Charter. His "neighbor" Štefan Osuský was also a diplomat and a politician, who was a co-author of the Cleveland Agreement and was able to influence US President Woodrow Wilson. During the peace talks in Versailles, he subdued the dreaded Count Apponyi, and after the breakup of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, he refused the Germans to issue an embassy in Paris and was at the signing of the Trianon Agreement.

"Now we are going to renovate their monuments. We should start by the end of this year. The whole thing will get a new dress and we will connect this memorable place with the square. There will be a wall of famous natives with granite slabs, "he pointed to a place that locals and visitors will soon be able to admire. "In addition, two years ago we renovated the Dušan Jurkovič Museum, which designed the mound and many other buildings," the mayor points to the building across the road from the end of the square.

More attractions, train and bicycles

Birch and mound - a connection that will never disappear. The locals are also aware of the need to constantly attract tourists to the Štefánik region. "We cleaned the slope on Bradla, we made a small planting there so that the trees would not be completely sown. The guardhouse is already ready. It has undergone a complete reconstruction. We have a new tenant there, the Slovak Cycling Club Piešťany. They want to make a center for cyclists there. They will rent bicycles, do service, there will be a charger for electric bikes. A new Tourist Information Center is being built at the turn. We would like it to work from the beginning of the new tourist season in April. So far, there have been no toilets in Bradla, but even that will change, ”Jaroslav Ciran said from the sleeve of the news. Strengthen tourism is the plan of the Brezov people. After inspiration, they also go to other places. "A train should run to the Bradlo from below the square, similar to the one in Čachtice. We planned that it would be electric, but it would not work on the mound, so it will be classic for the engine, "adds the mayor.

What is a moment tourist?

The number of visitors to Bradla is 130,000 a year. "It's more of a momentary tourist. We want to keep them here longer to stay in the city, to see other beauties of Brezová and its surroundings. There are many bike paths, there are also opportunities for hiking, in the direction of Košariská is a dam. It was launched for ten years. It was restored and filled with water. I believe that it has the potential to attract tourists, "Mayor Ciran continues. In the vicinity of the football stadium there is also a swimming pool, which in the summer months serves not only Brezovčany, but also people from the wider area. How will the Christmas holidays be spent at the end of the region in Brezová? "We wanted to do Christmas markets, but I don't know how it will be. Around Mikuláš, we have a charity cabbage house in the square. It is brewed by Catholics, Evangelicals and Orthodox, and the proceeds go to people in need, "concludes the mayor of Brezová pod Bradlom.

The imaginary borders of Kopanice and Zahorie have their charm. Dozens to hundreds of cottagers who come here for years to clean their heads, mainly from Bratislava, would be able to "tell" about it. They know why they're running away. At this end of the region they will find everything they desire. Especially peace of mind. Under-counter tourism item, which is what our newspaper is about.