Oravská Polhora () is a large

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

and

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

Námestovo District Námestovo District (''okres Námestovo'') is a district in the Žilina Region of central Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the ea ...

in the

Žilina Region The Žilina Region (; ; ) is one of the eight Regions of Slovakia, Slovak administrative regions and consists of 11 districts (okresy) and 315 municipalities, from which 18 have a town status. The region was established in 1923, however, in its p ...

of northern

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. The northernmost point of Slovakia is located close to the village.

History

In 1550, the Upper Hungarian Chamber, believing that the right of the royal salt monopoly was being violated in the area, sent two royal commissioners from Hallstadt, Andreas Kraiser and Joseph Milaver, who were experts in

salt mining Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite Formation (geology), formations. History Before the advent of the moder ...

, to Slaná Voda, modern day Oravská Polhora. They were accompanied by the administrator of the customs checkpoint from

Tvrdošín Tvrdošín (; ) is a town in Northern Slovakia. Geography The town is located at the confluence of the Orava and Oravica rivers, from the Polish borders and cca. from Dolný Kubín. It consists of the boroughs of Krásna Hôrka, Medvedzie, and ...

. The commissioners wrote an extensive report on the visit to the springs and attached a manuscript map of the wider area, in which, Oravská Polhora can be seen. This was the first time the village was mentioned. The second mention of the

was in 1580, the third in 1588. On October 1, 1939, following the

Munich agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...

, Polish troops, using Czechoslovak weakness to solve all border disputes in their favor, marched into the very northern tip of Oravská Polhora, annexing the Jalovec mountain peak.

Geography

Oravská Polhora is the northernmost town in

. There is a border crossing in the eastern part of Oravská Polhora into the Polish village of Korbielów. The town is surrounded by the Oravské Beskydy mountain range, with its highest mountain being Babia Góra (1725 meters). Due to its mountainous nature, the town contains a lot of

rivers A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...

. The biggest river in the town is Polhoranka. The town contains a complex of

forests A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological functio ...

and iodine-bromine springs, also known as spa salt water. In the 16-17th century, these springs were renowned locally, with rumors about them reaching even

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Tourism

In Oravská Polhora, there is a possibility of skiing during winter in ''Polhorský hrádok''.

References

http://wikimapia.org/7401309/Oravsk%C3%A1-Polhora (in Slovak) ir:Oravská Polhora Villages and municipalities in Námestovo District Orava (region) {{Žilina-geo-stub