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FOLK COSTUMES are an important aspect of regional folklore. Every region, sometimes each village, has worn something distinctive.
In this postcard from 1936, women in festive dresses are coming out of a church in the mountainous village of Ždiar, which lies in the ethnically diverse Spiš region. The large German community that lived there wore clothes from black cloth, and large hats. And the Gorals, who came from the mountainous region on the Slovak-Polish border, wore red and green fabrics.
Interestingly, the folk costumes worn by the Gorals from Ždiar were similar to those of people from Orava, the region on the opposite side of the High Tatras' main massif.
By Branislav Chovan
