Just a step from the sprawling Moravia, it is attached to the heart of Javorina. Even so, the location of the village of Lubina could be located, while we helped the verses of Dušan Haruštiak from the publication about this village. Lubina has many attributes, secrets, she remembers a lot. It is steeped in rare history, trapped in a mountain valley, protected by the White Carpathians and the highest peak of Veľká Javorina.

The first written mention of the village dates back to 1392. According to the census from 1777, there were 23 farmsteads and 264 ironworks in Lubin. Typical Lubin houses were "below height". The floor plan was rectangular. In front was a room, behind it an autopsy room with a furnace, a storage room, and a farm building. The entrance was to the autopsy room. There was a longitudinal “embankment” in front of the whole house, which was walked in. Such a settlement was on a long and narrow plot and was divided transversely during the inheritance. This created multi-house and long courtyards. They also had their names according to the owners. Only a few have been preserved here. Samuel Štúr, an important pedagogue and father of Ľudovít Štúr, was also born in such a house. After the reconstruction of the building, which is included in the list of cultural monuments, the Municipal Council in Lubin with the help of Matica Slovenská established a museum here - it was opened in 1992. In addition to the exhibition about Lubin Štúrovce world-renowned priest and botanist. "His birth house and the old rectory where he worked have been reconstructed here," adds the mayor of Lubina, Martin Beňatický.

In addition to documents that describe the fate of these personalities of national history, the second part of the exhibition contains fragments of the history of the village of Lubina, especially the history of church life, education and crafts, supplemented by examples of folk clothing. "The most valuable on the Lubin costume are 'proránky'. It is embroidery on the braid and the collar of the sleeves. It is a characteristic circular motif with a hole in the middle, unique in Slovakia. The oldest authentic form of the Lubin costume is preserved in photographs from 1900, "explains Martin Beňatinský, who has both men's and women's costumes displayed in the office at the municipal office.

There is also a wealth of documentary material in the museum in the section devoted to the anti-fascist resistance in the Podjavorin region. The permanent exhibition is on loan from the Slovak National Museum - Historical Museum in Bratislava. Just a few kilometers from the village on the hill Roh above the part Hrnčiarová is a memorial area. It includes a mound dedicated to partisans who fell in the Slovak National Uprising. Under the main tomb, ie a brick tombstone, 45 partisans are buried with Commander Miloš Uhr, Capt. in memoriam, which was awarded the Štefánik Council of the 4th degree on May 8, 1992.

The area is architecturally very tastefully designed, complemented by a statue of a partisan and tombs with the names of the villages in which the fighting took place. Commemorative plaques of well-known refugees from Auschwitz - Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler - are placed on the tomb called the village of Lubina. "There is a significant trail of partisans, because we were the center of the resistance. Very many of them come from this region, from Podjavorina, Cetuna or Lubina, "says the mayor.

The name of the village derived from the oak

In the vicinity of the village there are extensive deciduous and coniferous forests, which alternate with agricultural land, meadows, pastures and arable land. The impressive image is completed by fruit orchards with old rare varieties of fruit trees - hazelnuts, pears, apples and plums. "Despite the rumors that the booze plum brandy is top, it's not like that. We also have nicer songs, "the mayor smiles. "The well-known plum belica is not doing so well down here, but it is still giving birth at the kicks. This is due to the climate, because this fruit is ideal for harsh environments. This year, apples, varieties of hazelnut, are very successful, but they are also very rare for medical purposes. You will find many of them after the area, some of them are over 200 years old, "he adds.

The occurrence of rare plants and animals in the territory of Veľká Javorina was the reason for declaring this area with 83 hectares on 30 June 1988 as a state nature reserve.

The name of the village Lubina is derived from the word base "lub" with the meaning lyko (later part of a deciduous tree). The name of the settlement in the oak stand (dubina) is the basis of the legend about the founding of the village. "Lub-dubina, you will be Lubina." There are two different forms of Lubina seals on various sales contracts at the beginning, but also in the second half of the 19th century. One has a fish in a horizontal position, the other shows a lamb with a flag. In 1992, however, they approved the coat of arms of the village with the motif of a lamb, which is on a white background with a flag and has a golden cross as a symbol of Christianity.

A ribbon with a star unfolds from the lamb's mouth as a symbol of the proclamation of the birth of Jesus Christ. Under the hooves of the lamb are three golden oak branches, which resemble the original name of the village Lubina.

People live a hard kicking life here. "I have no idea that we are at the end of the region. I don't see the difference whether a village is located in the middle of the region or on the outskirts, "the mayor develops the debate.

The inhabitants are close not only to our region, but also to Moravia, which is literally a few steps away. "The border has been demolished, but it has never been. I'm not talking about World War II or the years of division, when the hard line worked here. Well, any paths, sidewalks remained, "says Beňatinský. "It reminds me a lot of my home region here, as I come from the east. I'm a Ruthenian. My home cottage is about 500 meters from the line with Ukraine. So I moved from one end of the republic to the other, "smiles the mayor of the village, which has 33 separate farmsteads, where traditional Kopaničiari live. Some are already over 80 years old.

The tree where the Štúrovci met

There are many hiking trails in the area, whether for pedestrians or cyclists. You can even refresh and stay here. Either in close proximity to the amphitheater, or in a tavern with the distinctive name At the End of the World. "We managed to buy from the private owner the motel Roh, which was once built by the village of Lubina. We do all general cultural and social events in the amphitheater, ”continues Beňatinský. "We have 63 hectares of beautiful land there. Forests, paths, sidewalks. You can look at various places, such as Záhradská, where Natura 2000 is, or memorable places where the Štúrovci or Holuby family went. We have a "thick beech" here, where the Štúrovci and Hurbanovci met when they went to Veľká Javorina. The tree still stands today. We have made a "poetic trail" with the town of Kunovice, which is over 60 kilometers long. It consists of stones, which are from us from Lubina and on which there are signs with various of our and Moravian statements or poems. It's a nice road, the zero point is on Javorina. Some walk there and give it in three or four days. Others ride bicycles, ”attracts tourists to the Podjavorina region and the village of Lubina, the first man in the village. From various places of a small village you can see the towering Čachtice Castle. "Lubina used to belong to the Čachtice estate and various trade routes led here," Beňatický explains.

Lots of events and your own dialect

Every year, tourists are also attracted to Lubina by the Czech and Slovak Brotherhood Celebrations, which take place in Veľká Javorina, where Holuby's cottage, which is one of the oldest mountain huts in Slovakia, also stands. "This year we held the event in a smaller way for the coronavirus. The pandemic also affected other events, such as the SNP Celebrations, or in April the knitting of Easter baskets, the construction of May, the Journey through the Fairytale Forest for Children's Day or the Lubinská kosa, which are Slovakia's championships in hand-mowing grass. This year it was connected with the Podjavorin folklore festivals, which are very popular. We organize a Traditional meeting of citizens at Chríba or Traktoriáda, or a Historical Harvest with period machines. We managed to get to the amphitheater several times also Radošinské naivné divadlo. We organize a Christmas concert with the church. At the end of the year, we also make New Year's Eve on the border connected with the Czech-Slovak fire of friendship and marvel at the world, even more people go there than at folklore festivals, "the mayor appoints.

Lubinians also have their own dialect vocabulary. It contains more than 2,700 dialect words, inventory lists, description of the preparation of folk dishes, memorial narration, recording of ancient wedding songs and inherited nicknames. The dialect is still spoken by some older inhabitants of Lubina and hides some Moravian expressions. For example, a cake is called magaras. "We also use dialect words that are explicitly kicking. For example, the prophet we mentioned in our costumes is our word, "says Mayor Martin Beňatický.

You can visit Lubina in summer and winter and you will definitely not be bored. Whether you go hiking in the footsteps of partisans, Štúrovec and Holuby, or visit some of the cultural events, you will discover a piece of beautiful region hidden under Javorina.

photo: Radovan Stoklasa