{"id":52159,"date":"2022-05-03T10:58:40","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T08:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zahoramizadolami.sk\/in-the-footsteps-of-dobsinsky\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T10:42:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T08:42:30","slug":"in-the-footsteps-of-dobsinsky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zahoramizadolami.sk\/en\/in-the-footsteps-of-dobsinsky\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Footsteps of Dob\u0161insk\u00fd"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” z_index=””][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1651566695302{padding-bottom: 16px !important;}” el_class=”title-custom-font”]<\/p>\n

In the Footsteps of Pavol Emanuel Dob\u0161insk\u00fd and Discovering the Beauty of the Drien\u010dany Karst<\/h3>\n

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What does Pavol Dob\u0161insk\u00fd have in common with the people of Drienec?<\/h3>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”56px”][vc_column_text]Where:<\/strong> Drien\u010dany
\nCounty:<\/strong> Rimavsk\u00e1 Sobota
\nTime\/Duration:<\/strong> Set aside the whole day.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”24″][vc_column_text]I grew up on the fairy tales of Pavel Dob\u0161insk\u00fd. In my eyes, he was someone who wrote and created beautiful fairy tales. After all, you can imagine the perspective of a little girl growing up in a village, running around the garden and the surrounding area all day long.<\/p>\n

My childhood years turned into adulthood with the wave of a magic wand, and I forgot about fairy tales\u2014almost all of them. It wasn\u2019t until my children came along that they were brought back to life, and a longing arose in my heart to pass on to my children the magic hidden within books.<\/p>\n

And through my passion for writing (including professionally), I one day came across the figure of Pavol Emanuel Dob\u0161insk\u00fd again and learned that it is precisely the small villages in the south of the Bansk\u00e1 Bystrica Region that are closely associated with him. Honestly, I hadn\u2019t the faintest idea about that until then.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”24″][vc_column_text]That\u2019s when the idea was born to visit those places and discover a piece of literary history through the character of each location. After all, experiencing and exploring authentic places is the best way to learn, remember, and form your own opinion. I\u2019m not even sure if I wanted this more for myself or for my children.<\/p>\n

It doesn’t matter. What’s important is that when we planned our summer vacation in Gemer, I immediately added Drien\u010dany and the Pavol E. Dob\u0161insk\u00fd Museum to the itinerary. And in addition to the museum dedicated to this famous figure, we stumbled upon other interesting and appealing places.<\/p>\n

Pavol Emanuel Dob\u0161insk\u00fd (a Slovak Evangelical priest, folklorist, collector of folk literature, translator, and writer of the \u0160t\u00far generation) is the most significant figure whose life was linked to the parish in Drien\u010dany for 24 years, beginning in 1861. Until his death in 1885.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”24″][vc_single_image image=”42623″ img_size=”full” qode_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space height=”24″][vc_column_text]When you enter Drien\u010dany, it\u2019s clear at first glance that you\u2019ve found yourself in a land where water poured and sand flowed. The wooden figures from Dob\u0161insk\u00fd\u2019s fairy tales, found everywhere, will accompany you throughout the village.<\/p>\n

A passionate collector, recorder, and writer of folk tales, songs, proverbs, and sayings, he was born in Slavo\u0161ovce. He attended high school in Ro\u017e\u0148ava, Miskolc, and the Evangelical Lyceum in Levo\u010da.<\/p>\n

We owe him 90 fairy tales in 8 volumes, which continue to be published in various editions and have been translated into many languages. I don\u2019t know exactly how many, but the pastor from Drien\u010dany surely knows.<\/p>\n

Well, did you know that Pavol Dob\u0161insk\u00fd stripped some of them of their original eroticism and risqu\u00e9 humor to make them suitable for young readers? In fact, many of them are really only suitable for adults.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”24″][vc_single_image image=”42611″ img_size=”full” qode_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space height=”24″][vc_column_text]The museum, located right on the premises of the rectory where he worked, is spread across five rooms, furnished with period pieces as well as some furniture dating back to the time when Pavol Dob\u0161insk\u00fd was working here. We were particularly fascinated by the writing desk at which he wrote his texts. Apparently, he wrote only while standing. I can\u2019t even imagine that.<\/p>\n

The pastor and his wife gave us a very colorful and engaging introduction to the life of Pavol Dob\u0161insk\u00fd. He also shared many interesting tidbits and behind-the-scenes details that certainly aren\u2019t found in school textbooks. It\u2019s no wonder that even our boys managed to listen to him for over an hour. Or could it be the magical world of Dob\u0161insk\u00fd\u2019s fairy tales?<\/p>\n

Near the parish grounds stands a monument featuring a golden pen, a golden horseshoe, and a golden lock of hair\u2014all of which serve as a reminder of the legendary fairy-tale figure whose land you are standing on.<\/p>\n

The sundial at the end of the Drien\u010dansk\u00fd kras nature trail and the fairy-tale maze with a gazebo in the garden above the parish house in Drien\u010dany are also in the same style.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”24″][vc_single_image image=”42617″ img_size=”full” qode_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space height=”24″][vc_column_text]If you want to take a break from fairy tales for a while in Drien\u010dany, head to the beach at Tepl\u00fd vrch (about 3 km away) to cool off, or treat yourself to a walk along the \u201cBeauties of the Drien\u010dany Karst\u201d nature trail. As we\u2019ve learned, this is another attraction for tourists who happen to wander this way.<\/p>\n

The restored nature trail winds through a mix of sun-drenched meadows and dense forest, providing pleasant shade for hikers who have decided to explore the area\u2019s unique karst landscape. We were there on a day that followed a violent nighttime storm, and some parts of the trail were wet and muddy.<\/p>\n

But so what? Fifteen stops with information signs, huge ferns that practically begged us to take a beautiful photo with them, and sinkholes along the side of the path kept us moving along the trail very quickly. The biggest hit with my kids was the Mal\u00e1 Drien\u010dansk\u00e1 Cave, which gave us a glimpse of ancient history and revealed that the remains of settlements from the Late Bronze Age, the Eneolithic, and the Middle Ages had been found there.
\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”24″][vc_column_text]For the rest of the day, we decided to relax by the water at Tepl\u00fd vrch, which provided us with a pleasant refreshment and a brief sense of being at the beach. But you can extend your trip\u2014after all, Kraskovo (11 km) and Kyjatice (15 km) are right nearby, where, in addition to unique Gothic churches, you\u2019ll find the mysterious Archeoskanzen, an open-air museum of the ancient Kyjatice culture. We\u2019ve saved that for our next visit to the Rimavsk\u00e1 Sobota area.<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re looking for an even more fairy-tale-like experience, head to Kyjatice to visit Ladislav Hedvigi, who makes beautiful wooden toys from Kyjatice. But more on that another time.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s continue exploring our region and its unique figures who have shaped the history of not only Slovakia.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”56px”][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”42623,42620,42614,42617″ img_size=”400×400″ column_number=”4″ grayscale=”no” images_space=”gallery_with_space”][vc_empty_space height=”56px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”83″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” qode_css_animation=”” el_class=”my-divider”][vc_empty_space height=”56px”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1651580906030{padding-bottom: 16px !important;}” el_class=”title-custom-font”]<\/p>\n

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