Brdárka - cherry paradise

Brdárka. Idyllic village lying in the arms of the surrounding hills and orchards. Few people know that it hides a Slovak and perhaps a European one. It lies in the so-called sun trap, thanks to which, even at an altitude of 600 meters, about 4,000 cherry trees of at least 50 different varieties grow here. So many of them managed to map a civic association in cooperation with the Slovak University of Agriculture Old Native. The most important varieties are trying to graft and preserve for future generations. In addition to cherries, there are about 2000 trees of pears, apples and walnuts of various varieties. There are springs of quality drinking water in the village and its surroundings, which you do not forget to stock up before the hike.

The most popular tourist destination, in addition to the cherry orchards, is the dominant feature of the surroundings of Malý and Velký Radzim (991 m above sea level). And especially one of his lookout points, known as the Widower's Chair. The chair is literally a limestone throne where you can sit comfortably and enjoy the views of the Beech Mountains in Hungary, 70 km away, or Brdárka, which is more than 300 meters deep. You can reach it after a two-kilometer climb of the yellow marked hiking trail, in about an hour.

From the lookout points on the northern side of Radzim, in good weather, you can see the King's Hill and the peaks of the High Tatras. The location and natural conditions of the site have contributed to the emergence and preservation of a special rare flora. Here you can see a critically endangered, legally protected endemic - Ligularia glauca, which you will not find anywhere else in Central Europe, but also the Carpathian subendemite Aconitum moldavicum. The Attentive Eye will also see the Green Tit (Buxbaumia viridis), an inconspicuous moss that is a species of European importance and is considered an indicator of the continuity of the natural forest and rainforest, which covers an area of almost 39 hectares. It is dominated by beech and fir on the northern slopes. There are many thermophilic species on the southern rocky slopes, which reach their maximum height here in Slovakia. Thanks to its limestone composition, Radzim is also an interesting speleological locality. The Great Abyss, 35 m deep, is unique.

Admirers of cultural monuments will certainly be interested in the Renaissance-Baroque church from the end of the 17th century. There is a 258-year-old, the only completely preserved, organ of master Wallachy from Spišská Sobota.
Brdárka belonged to the church to Kobeliarov, from where the father of Pavol Jozef Šafárik also worked here as a pastor. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, it had more than 200 inhabitants. Today there are 60 of them in the village.

Enthusiasts of the sacred monuments can recommend a visit to the Gothic churches with unique frescoes in the nearby on the way from Brdárka. Koceľovcech, Ochtinej a Shield. By maintaining folk crafts, traditions and folklore festivities, the village is upset Rejdová, 5 km from Brdárka on foot. At the same distance, but in the opposite direction is Kobeliarovo, with the memorial house of the native Pavol Jozef Šafárik, where you will be taken by a green marked hiking trail.