Košťany nad Turcom ( hu, Kostyán) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Martin District Martin District (''okres Martin'') is a district in the Žilina Region of central Slovakia. Its main cultural, economic and administrative seat is the city of Martin. Martin District is one of the most important cultural centers in Slovakia. The ci ...

, in

Turiec Turiec is a region in central Slovakia, one of the 21 official tourism regions. The region is not an administrative division today, but between the late 11th century and 1920 it was the Turóc County in the Kingdom of Hungary. Etymology The reg ...

territory, and in

Žilina Region The Žilina Region ( sk, Žilinský kraj; pl, Kraj żyliński; hu, Zsolnai kerület) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions and consists of 11 districts ( okresy) and 315 municipalities, from which 18 have a town status. The region ...

of northern

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

History

In historical records of the

, a dwelling 'villa Coschan' was first mentioned in year 1323. Main occupation of locals has been focused on agriculture and seasonal food-harvests that were produced for various landlords who resided in Košťany nad Turcom ever since. Abandoning feudal servitude

Feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

in 1848 and declaring basic freedom rights led residents to develop more commercial activities such crafts and trade. In the 20th century, especially during communist regime Joint agriculture and farming

Collective farming Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member- ...

remained major daily bread for locals. Early years of new millennium have seen legislative support towards larger businesses, which led to few industrial factories growth in Košťany nad Turcom. In fact, most residents commute to Martin

Martin, Slovakia Martin (; sk, Turčiansky Svätý Martin until 1950, hu, Turócszentmárton, German language, German: ''Turz-Sankt Martin'', Latin: ''Sanctus Martinus / Martinopolis'') is a city in northern Slovakia, situated on the Turiec (Váh), Turiec river, ...

, major workhub in

Geography

The village settlement lies at an altitude of 410 metres and covers an area of 6.436 km². It has a population of about 1,095 people. It lies on Turiec river, Košťany nad Turcom as the whole

Turiec basin The Turiec Basin ( sk, Turčianska kotlina; hu, Túróci-medence; german: Turzbecken; la, Pelvis Thuroczae) is located in the northern part of central Slovakia, within the Fatra-Tatra Area of the Inner Western Carpathians. The basin is delimit ...

(Turčianska kotlina) are surrounded by

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

Greater Fatra Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 *Greater Bank, an Australian ...

(Veľká Fatra) on east-north and by mountain range

Lesser Fatra Lesser, from Eliezer (, "Help/Court of my Elohim, God"), is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolf Lesser (1851–1926), German physician * Aleksander Lesser (1814–1884), Polish painter and art critic * Anton Lesser (born 1952 ...

(Malá Fatra) on west.

Places of interest

Košťany nad Turcom as other allied villages in

lies in picturesque scenery. Near mountain ranges offer abundance of outdoor opportunities; from trekking or

bouldering Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers use climbing shoes to help sec ...

in summer, to

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

kiteboarding Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

in winter. Local castle ruins sightseeing,

geocaching Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", at specific l ...

, mountain-biking etc.

region is also rich in precious mineral water sources, or you can visit few of the left sheep-farming chalets called '

salaš Salaš (in Serbo-Croatian, Czech and Slovak, from Hungarian ''szállás'' meaning "house, accommodation"

' scattered on the hill tops. If you are not that lucky to find them, then try ruins of ancient castles

List of castles in Slovakia This is a list of castles in Slovakia. This list includes palaces, citadels and manor houses. These Slovak words translate as follows: #''hrad'', ''hrádok'' - castle #''zámok'' - correctly: château, commonly translated as castle #''pevnosť' ...

in few neighbor villages. On the top of landscape beauty, 3 km north of the village sits forest area 'Jahodnícke Háje', with hidden 'skanzen'. Skanzen is another name in Slovakia for an

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

. From all open-air museums in Slovakia, Jahodnícke háje (or Martin) skanzen is the largest one and it's worth to pay a visit especially during Christian holidays (recommended are Christmas and Easter..) as presentations of life from ancient times, markets with historical items, marches, and dances occur regularly. Dwelling houses, barns, church, and even taverna have been carefully replaced from various parts of Slovakian rural areas, brought to skanzen grounds and rebuilt in original style. http://www.skanzenmartin.sk/ (see map in external links for directions)

Notable residents

*Ivan Zbíňovský, Merchant, amateur

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

and

lepidopterologist Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian. Origins Post-Renaissance, t ...

*Andrej Polonec,

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

Images

File:Košťany nad Turcom16.JPG, alt=Puzzle globe logo, Košťany nad Turcom, and small river 'Belianka'. Peaks of Veľká Fatra mountain range in behind File:Turiec, Velka Fatra, podhlad z Priboviec.jpg, alt=Puzzle globe logo, View on 'Malá Fatra' mountain range from neighbouring village 'Pribovce' File:Košťany nad Turcom13.JPG, alt=Puzzle globe logo, Košťany nad Turcom File:Múzeum slovenskej dediny 12 - church.jpg, alt=Puzzle globe logo, Church in Skanzen Martin File:Košťany nad Turcom12.JPG, alt=Puzzle globe logo, River Turiec flowing through Košťany nad Turcom File:Turiec Basin from Drieňok.jpg, alt=Puzzle globe logo, Eastern view on 'Turiec basin' and 'Veľká Fatra' in distance File:Košťany nad Turcom04.JPG, street view

Genealogical resources