UNDER Orava Castle, one of the most picturesque in Slovakia, an interesting settlement arose sometime in the 16th century. It began with just a farmstead and a church, and gradually evolved with the arrival of a pub, toll-house, mill, sawmill, brewery, and a special mill for the production of gunpowder.
Naturally, the life of Oravský Podzámok (Orava under the castle) was closely connected to the castle itself. All local craftsmen, officials and servants worked for the castle.
The settlement owed its existence to the castle, and thus enjoyed its protection. However from time to time if the castle was besieged by an enemy army, it usually managed to defend itself while Podzámok suffered a lot. An example of this would be when it was burnt down in 1686 by the Kuruc army. The Kurucs were the soldiers of the rebel Hungarian nobles who fought against the Habsburg dynasty.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Oravský Podzámok has gained a new lease on life due to the ever increasing number of tourists visiting the area. The photo above shows it as seen by the photographer at the beginning of the 1920s.
