Múzeum oravskej dediny

About the museum

The idea of using Orava's folk buildings for museum purposes emerged as early as the 1920s, but concrete plans only took shape in the 1960s. The ethnographer Juraj Langer then travelled through all the Orava villages and documented the wooden folk architecture; Orava thus became the first region in which a regional open-air museum began to be built. Construction was approved in December 1966, and the foundation stone was laid on 24 September 1967 on the Brestová clearing at the foot of the Western Tatras.

Most of the buildings are originals, which were dismantled at their original sites and rebuilt in the museum; the others are copies or scientific reconstructions. The museum was opened to the public on 31 August 1975, and construction continued into the 1990s. The site is divided into five units: the Lower Orava Market (Dolnooravský rínok), the Upper Orava Street (Hornooravská ulica), the Goral Lazy (Goralské lazy), a church with a cemetery, and a mill with water-powered technical structures.

After 1989 the management of the museum passed to the village of Zuberec, which has owned the buildings and land since 2004. Since 2006 the museum has been an independent specialised museum with regional scope, and since 2014 a budgetary organisation of the village. Traditional farming is evoked by plots with historical crops and by the keeping of domestic animals.

Highlights

• More than 50 folk-architecture buildings from Orava
• The Lower Orava Market, the Upper Orava Street and the Goral Lazy
• Water mill, fulling mill, mangle for blue-print cloth and oil press
• Agro and zoo exhibition with traditional crops and domestic animals
• Online voice guide to the museum

Permanent exhibitions

• Stála expozícia ľudovej architektúry Oravy – The five units of the grounds – the Lower Orava Market, the Upper Orava Street, the Goral Lazy, the church with its cemetery and the mill – show the housing and farming of different layers of Orava's population.
• Agro a zoo expozícia – Plots with traditional crops such as oats, rye, pulses, potatoes, poppy and flax, and the keeping of domestic animals.

Founded

1975

Operated by

Obec Zuberec

Director

Mgr. Richard Janoštín

Admission & discounts

Residents of Zuberec pay €1. The price list applies from 1 July 2026. Admission can be paid in cash or by card; payment by bank transfer against an invoice must be arranged in advance. The Multisport card is accepted for a standard visit, not for evening programmes in the winter season. No admission is charged for a dog.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The car park by the ticket office is intended primarily for persons with a ZŤP parking permit and other persons with reduced mobility. Dogs on a lead are also welcome in the museum.

Kids & families

Children aged 4 to 6 pay €1. Sheep, goats, geese, hens and, in summer, horses are kept on the grounds.

Getting there & parking

The museum is 4 km from the centre of Zuberec in the direction of Zverovka. By car via Kraľovany – Dolný Kubín – Podbiel – Zuberec, via Ružomberok – Bešeňová – Liptovské Matiašovce, or via Liptovský Mikuláš – Liptovský Trnovec – Liptovské Matiašovce.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check

In the summer season the Krčma u mlynárky (Miller's Wife's Inn) is open, and there is a food stall Chuť domova (Taste of Home) on the grounds; nearby is the seasonal restaurant Koliba pod Roháčmi (Hut below the Roháče). The ticket office sells maps, publications and souvenirs, and there are several shops selling handicraft products on the grounds. Small items can be left at the ticket office; bicycles, skis and larger luggage can be left in the museum administration building.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit