Visitors can rarely see unique expositions of military equipment directly in nature at the battle sites. An exception is the region below Dukla. In addition to the Dukla Memorial and the Dukla observation tower, the Death Valley, the German military cemetery in Hunkovce and the Military Museum in Svidník are also very popular all year round.
"First of all children and youth enjoy climbing on tanks and other heavy equipment, which is forbidden elsewhere. Together with the adults, they like to take photos. Visitors enjoy views of the Dukla battlefield from the observation tower and walk around the grounds of the Svidník Natural Museum," said Radomír Jančošek, director of the Regional Tourism Organization (OOCR) "ŠARIŠ" - Bardejov.
Death Valley
Between the villages of Kapišová, Kružlová and Nižná Písaná there is a tank deployed in the terrain showing a tank company in attack. It is symbolised by 8 T-34/85 tanks. Visitors are reminded of the tank battles that took place in this area in the autumn of 1944. In April 2019, a new inscription was added to the VALLEY OF DEATH, which is reminiscent of the world famous HOLLYWOOD inscription.
Czechoslovak Army Memorial at Dukla is a national cultural monument. This natural area is one of the most visited places in the region. It is located near the border crossing to Poland Vyšný Komárnik and commemorates the Carpatho-Dukla military operation that took place in the autumn of 1944. Over 60 thousand Soviet and Czechoslovak soldiers were killed during the fighting here. Monument 28 m high built in 1949. It is incorporated into the military cemetery, which is crossed by a colonnade with bronze plaques.
Observation tower at Dukla
The former battlefield can be seen from a perspective, which provides visitors observation tower. It is located on the place where in October 1944 the commander of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps in the USSR, Brigadier General Ludvík Svoboda, had one of the many command observation posts during the fighting for the Dukla Pass and the lands below it. It is 49 m high. Observation tower at Dukla is currently open to the public for operational and investment reasons closed until 31 May 2019, or until further notice, other attractions, including the permanent exhibition "Military History of Slovakia 1914 - 1945" in the Military Museum in Svidník, are accessible.
In the entrance hall of the Observation Tower, visitors can see an exhibition of photographs, weapons, ammunition and equipment of the Red Army, the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps in the USSR and the German Wehrmacht. The entrance hall is supplemented with artworks by academic sculptors A. Račka, J. Koreň and F. Patočka. The observation tower is open to the public on Tuesdays to Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In the area of the natural museum as well as around the road to Svidník there are 55 pieces of various heavy combat equipment from the Second World War. In the forests around Vyšný Komárnik you can see reconstructed bunkers.
Military Museum in Svidník is housed in a building whose shape resembles an anti-tank mine. It documents the course of heavy fighting that took place in the north-east of Slovakia in the First and Second World War. The museum contains authentic photographs from the battles, personal relics, various types of weapons and finds from the battlefields of the Dukla Pass. In the park near the museum there is external exposition of heavy military equipment. In the neighbourhood of the exposition stands since 1954 Soviet Army Memorialwhere more than 9 000 soldiers killed in the autumn of 1944 are buried.
Opening hours - Dukla and Svidník
What not to miss in Svidník and its surroundings:
In the town of Svidník there is also Slovak National Museum - Museum of Ukrainian Culture, a unique, specialized and the oldest ethnic museum in Slovakia. It includes open-air museum of folk architecture with a rare wooden temple and Dezider Milly Gallery in a Baroque manor house from the 18th century. Relax and have fun in the water in the water world Aquaruthenia with outdoor and indoor swimming pools and wellness facilities open all year round.
In the vicinity of Svidník there is eleven wooden temples. Wooden churches in Ladomirova and Bodružal are UNESCO monuments. Their architecture and magnificent interior will win over visitors. In Bodružali, for example, there are still traces of a grenade that went through the roof of the temple. There are also wooden churches in Vyšné and Nižný Komárnik, Hunkovce, Dobroslav, Korejovce and many others.
3. 5. 2019, Source: vhu.sk, OOCR Šariš - Bardejov, KOCR SVS
