The wooden church at Hronsek looks at first like a large barn with a steep shingle roof, standing among old lime trees in a village in the Hron valley. It is in fact one of the rarest kinds of building in Central Europe: an articular church, built for Lutheran worshippers in 1726 under strict conditions imposed by the Catholic Habsburg authorities. After decades of religious conflict, the Hungarian diet of 1681 allowed Protestants to build churches in certain places, but they had to be made entirely of wood, without stone foundations or metal nails, outside the village centre, with no tower, and built within a single year. The Hronsek church was constructed of spruce and larch, held together by wooden joints, and it can seat more than a thousand people. A separate wooden bell tower stands beside it. Along with other wooden churches in the region, it was listed by UNESCO in 2008.
Inside, the simple timber structure is softened by galleries, a painted altar and an organ, and the scent of old wood is strong. The church is still used for services, and the guides are proud of it.
The Hron valley lies between Zvolen and Banská Bystrica, two of the main towns of central Slovakia. Zvolen has a Gothic castle in the middle of town, and on the hill above stands the ruin of the older Pustý hrad, one of the largest castle sites in Central Europe. Banská Bystrica was a rich mining town, with a beautiful square surrounded by burgher houses, and a museum dedicated to the Slovak National Uprising of 1944, which began here against the Nazi occupation and the collaborationist government. Nearby, Kováčová is a small spa village with thermal baths.
The riding is good. The main roads through the valley are busy and fast, but the side roads into the surrounding mountains, the Poľana, the Kremnica hills and the Low Tatras to the north, offer twisty climbs through forests and meadows, with little traffic. The road north from Banská Bystrica towards Donovaly and the Low Tatras is a favourite with Slovak riders.
Zvolen, eight kilometres away, has fuel, garages and plenty of places to eat. Try bryndzové halušky, potato dumplings with sheep's cheese and bacon, the national dish. Slovak motorways require an electronic vignette; the minor roads do not.