Wooden Churches of the Slovak Carpathians by Clyde
I visited this WHS in September 2014. This WHS is made up of 8 wooden churches in the Slovak Carpathians which bear a very strong resemblance to the Wooden Churches of Southern Malapolska and also some of the Wooden Tserkvas in Poland. The Slovak Wooden Churches seemed to combine some of the architectural elements from both these Polish WHS. Since I had visited quite a number of other non-inscribed Slovak wooden churches earlier and mostly because I had to drive back to Poland, I only had the chance to visit the wooden church of Hervartov. This Roman Catholic church is dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi and is said to be the most beautiful and representative of the 8 inscribed Slovak wooden churches. It also proudly houses the UNESCO WHS certificate. I had saved its coordinates on my GPS but they turned out to be the wrong coordinates. As with most of the wooden churches in Poland and Slovakia, they seem to be well hidden behind a number of trees so the best thing is to be on the lookout of tall trees and when in doubt just ask for help. Perhaps if you were to visit in Autumn or in Winter it would be easier to spot the wooden churches behind the leafless trees! When I arrived at the church's doorstep, a kind man opened the door and welcomed me in. He didn't speak English or German but he smilingly pointed to the UNESCO WHS certificate and the laminated information sheets available in different languages. Again the entrance fee of 2 euros + a camera fee of 3 euros wasn't cheap (perhaps I had got used to the idea of visiting the wooden churches and tserkvas for free in Poland!). At least I didn't have to knock around or phone for the keyholder to open the church as I had to do in Poland. The latin inscriptions as well as the beautiful frescoes of Adam and Eve and the Last Supper were the highlight of my visit. I hope to be able to visit some of the other inscribed churches near Bratislava in the future.