A mountain settlement • the Javorníky • Makov
A place of stories, quiet and the memory of the land.
On the slopes of the Javorníky, five kilometres above Makov, lies Greguše – one of the oldest settlements of the village. It grew up as kopanice: fields won from the slopes, with cottages scattered beside them.
The quiet of old Kysuce here comes with log cottages, a bell tower and the memory of the war. The waymarked path carries on to Kasárne.
Why come here
Scattered log cottages, pastures, quiet. Along with a bell tower and a dolmen – two structures that give the settlement a spiritual and a commemorative dimension. And views into the valleys of the Javorníky.
What not to miss
The bell tower was the only thing that survived the burning of the settlement in 1944. Dolmen života a smrti stands on the meadow above the settlement. Stop at the memorial stone too, with its call: stop, traveller.
How to behave
Greguše is a lived-in settlement. Respect the privacy of its inhabitants and the peace of the place; approach the places of remembrance with respect. Take stout footwear for the walk.
Log cottages of the Greguše settlement on the slope – and a log cottage with a view into the Javorníky valley.
The bell tower from the path, the bell inside it and a weathered wooden cross with flower decoration.
Dolmen života a smrti from above and from the ground: the central stone in a circle of stones on the meadow above the settlement, with a view into the Javorníky valley.
From a bell buried in a dung heap, through the fire that left only the bell tower standing, to a native son who came back as a stone.
Kopanice
Greguše is among the oldest kopanice settlements of Makov. It grew up as kopanice – small fields dug and cleared out of the hillsides, with people building their cottages right beside them, so there was never a village green here.
The Greguše settlement belonged to the Bytča estate and used to be part of the village of Petrovice, which had its own village head as early as 1312. The exact year Greguše was founded is not known; on the sheets of the Second Military Survey from the 19th century the settlement is recorded as Gregussi. Today 16 cottages stand here, mostly serving as holiday homes.
The log cottages on their stone bases keep their authentic character to this day – the inheritance of earlier generations lives on in the everyday running of the cottages.
The bell tower
Greguše is dominated by a wooden bell tower dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. It is among the rare religious buildings of Makov. The plain tower on a stone base became the natural centre of the settlement. Masses and gatherings of the faithful are still held at it.
For decades the bell was the settlement's voice: it rang on feast days and at important events, and in moments of joy and grief in local families too. Anyone who wanted to know what was happening at Greguše listened to the bell.
The settlement knew how to value its bell. When bells began to be requisitioned for the army in the First World War, the gazdas buried their bell in a dung heap for three months and so saved it from the soldiers. The present bell tower of 1997 replaced the original building of 1850.
War and memory
During the Second World War partisans hid in the mountains around and the people of Greguše helped them. When a Soviet aircraft dropped chests of weapons meant for the partisans near the settlement, the villagers took the contents into their cottages. German soldiers found the equipment – and on 13 December 1944 they burned the whole settlement down. One structure alone withstood the fire: the wooden bell tower. The day before, the same fate had met the neighbouring settlement of Magale.
„Zastav sa, pútnik, a spomeň si na obyvateľov osady Greguše…“the opening of the inscription on the memorial stone (in Slovak)
Today Greguše serves not only as a destination for visitors but also as a place of quiet respect for the past. The memory of the burnt settlements of Greguše and Magale is also carried by a sculptural memorial designed in 1967 by Milan Greguš, a native of the place.
A native son who came back as a stone
Milan Greguš (1934–2025) was born at Greguše – an academic sculptor and the first sculptor-conservator in Slovakia (VŠVU, 1962). He restored precious monuments across Slovakia, co-founded the Kysucká galéria – and did not forget the country he came from.
„Som hrdý, že pochádzam z rodu, ktorý sa tu na Starom laze usadil a prežil stáročia.“Milan Greguš on the settlement he came from (in Slovak)
His Dolmen života a smrti, the dolmen of life and death, stands on the meadow above the settlement: a central stone surrounded by a circle of stones. The work speaks of the tragedies of the war and the suffering of local people – and at the same time it stands for the victory of life over death. Today it is among the important places of remembrance in Makov.
Timeline
From the Bytča estate through two wars to a new bell tower. The year the settlement was founded is not known.
1312
Greguše used to be part of the village of Petrovice and belonged to the Bytča estate. The year the settlement was founded is not known – the oldest surviving mention of Petrovice comes from 1312, when a village head is recorded there.
1850
A wooden bell tower stands in the settlement. Its present form will be almost a century and a half in coming.
1914–1918
To save the bell from wartime requisition, the gazdas buried it in dung for three months – and kept it.
13 December 1944
The Germans burned Greguše for helping the partisans in hiding. Only the bell tower survived the fire. The day before, neighbouring Magale had burned.
1967
The sculptor Milan Greguš designs a memorial to the burning of the settlements of Greguše and Magale.
1997
The present building replaces the original bell tower of 1850.
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A made-up forest road leads to log cottages, a wooden bell tower and Dolmen života a smrti. The settlement is lived in – walk through it quietly and with respect.
The ridge carries on along the border as far as Kasárne – the gateway to the highest summit of the Javorníky, Veľký Javorník (1,071.5 m).
Car park: a large area by the Melocík restaurant (Google Maps · Waze). Driving right into the settlement only by arrangement or with the permission of the property owners; a second, less steep road climbs from Makov-Čierne on the yellow waymarks. You will find the whole route with a map on the page Melocík – Greguše – Kasárne.
You walk to the settlement on a waymarked mountain route – put on stout walking boots.
Greguše is a living, inhabited settlement. Respect the peace of the place and the privacy of its inhabitants.
Driving in is possible only by arrangement or with the permission of the property owners. Park at the Melocík restaurant.
Dolmen života a smrti and the memorial stone are places of remembrance – approach them with respect.
The nearest is the Melocík restaurant, where you also park.
The Nazis burned it down on 13 December 1944 – the villagers had been hiding weapons dropped for the partisans.
Yes, the bell tower survived. Its present form dates from 1997 and replaced an older bell tower of 1850.
A memorial work by the sculptor Milan Greguš called Dolmen života a smrti – a “stone gallery of sculptures” above the settlement.
The first sculptor-conservator in Slovakia (VŠVU 1962), a co-founder of the Kysucká galéria and the author of the 1967 sculptural memorial to the burning of Greguše and Magale.
The settlement now serves holiday-home owners – in place of the earlier 13 two-family houses with 50 to 100 inhabitants, about 16 houses stand here today.
On foot from Makov, from Melocík, where a waymarked path leads through the settlement and on to Kasárne; the Beskydsko-javornícka magistrála passes along the ridge here.
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