Slanice Island of Art

In the middle of the Orava Dam, a small island with a church rises from the surface – all that remains of the village of Slanica, which was flooded by the dam in the 1950s. Today, it is Slanice Island of Art, which is managed by the Orava Gallery, and can only be reached by boat.

What will you see?

• Baroque Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross from 1766 – 1769 with a classicist double-tower facade
• lapidarium – Orava stone tombstones from the 18th and 19th centuries, remains of the Calvary and the original cemetery
• a statue of linguist Anton Bernolák, a native of Slanica
• an exhibition about flooded villages and the construction of a dam in a former tomb
• and especially the views of the dam, the Tatras and Babia Hora

WARNING: The church with the folk art exhibition is closed for renovation in 2026 - check if it is already open before visiting in 2027.

How to get there

The OG Slanica boat (90 seats, covered and open deck) departs from the port in Slanická Osada opposite the Slanica hotel. The round trip takes about 1.5 hours, of which about 40 minutes is a stop on the island. Tickets can also be purchased online at lodslanica.sk.

Good to know

• The season is from May to early October, with daily cruises during the season at 9:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 16:30 (last at 15:00 from September).
• Dogs are only allowed in the outdoor areas of the island.
• The island is not wheelchair accessible.

Photo: Orava Gallery in Dolny Kubín (CC BY-SA 4.0), Lucknow (CC BY-SA 4.0), Orava Gallery in Dolny Kubín (CC BY-SA 4.0), Miro Svorc (CC BY-SA 4.0), Fry72 (CC BY-SA 4.0) – Wikimedia Commons