SK, Dovalovo – Urban District of Liptovsky Hradok Worth Visiting

The unbound Tatranian river of Belá flows through the former independent village with its left side tributary, the Dovalovec stream. Excellent transport accessibility is provided by buses, but also the presence of the D1 motorway.

The highway itself forms an inseparable panorama of the city district. On its edge stretches over half a kilometer long highway bridge Dovalovec, which ranks among the longest road bridges in Slovakia, but also a slightly shorter bridge Bela (about 300 m).

From the very beginning, Dovalovo was a serf settlement formed by the Liptov-Hradok estate. In the past, Liptovská Kokava (then Nové Dovalovo) was a part of the village. The original population was engaged in livestock breeding, weighing wood from the surrounding forests and, of course, agriculture. Crafts were also developing, even the Doval Bricklayers were the first in the county to start building brick houses instead of traditional wooden ones. Unusual is also the local dialect and pseudonyms indicating individual parts of the village.

And now we will go to the sights! The most precious is the Gothic Roman Catholic Church of St. Martin of Tours (this saint has the city district depicted in the coat of arms) from the 13th century. The single-nave building with a tower, fortifications and beautiful murals is situated on a hill in the middle of the former village. A little further stands the Evangelical Church from 1673, which was rebuilt and fortified in the 17th century and baroqueized in the 18th century. The late Gothic winged altar of St. Martin bishop and st. Stephen the First Martyr, who became a collection jewel of the Slovak National Museum in Martin. Another medieval inventory of the church was taken to Budapest, so today's classicist building offers much younger works of art by the famous painter Peter Michal Bohúň.

n the once independent village you would also find several important historical buildings, such as a valuable historical core with an interesting urban structure in the part Vyšný konec, Chapel of St. John of Nepomuk, monument to fallen citizens in the I. and II. World War II with unique decoration (Slovak double cross) or birth house of a famous intellectual with Slovak national interests, founder of the Slovak newspaper and prominent builder Ján Nepomuk Bobula.

There is also Gašperík's villa with a garden gazebo, Peninist's House, a chapel above Dovalov from 1862, reminiscent of a tragic event when a shepherd with oxen was killed in a storm (also a symbol of an old trade route from Liptov to Spiš). used for storing crops. The natural beauty of the city offers several hiking tours to the surrounding national parks.

And in a week we will end our visit to Liptov region in Liptovský Hrádok.

GPS: 49°02'57.1"N 19°45'32.9"E

Text: Oskár Mažgút

Photos: HIK, o.z.