Skalica attempt at record-size trdelník cake. (source: TASR)
THE SKALICA-BASED mill of the Pilárik brothers is back on line after a half-century break. The three storey mill in this western-Slovak town will be open each weekend during the tourist season, joining other local attractions such as the Romanesque Rotunda of St George and the Baťa canal to the Czech Republic.
In 2004, the town of Skalica bought the mill for four million Slovak crowns from descendants of the Pilárik brothers. Mayor Stanislav Chovanec told the SITA newswire that there were several bidders – some with higher bids – but Skalica’s bid was the only one that promised to preserve the mill and maintain the Piláriks name.
The mill’s new operation was launched on the weekend of May 18-19, when the Trdlofest, a traditional bake-off, took place. The only genuine trdelník cake is made in Skalica. This sweet pastry is hollow, cylindrical in shape and is made from sponge dough topped with sugar and nuts then baked over a charcoal fire on a wooden rod called “trdlo” – hence the name of the festivity.
The mill will be open Fridays to Sundays. Entry fee is €1. During the high season, selected night tours of the mill will be available.
This year, the Trdlofest produced the longest trdelník ever baked – 206 centimetres. The bakers used 3.5 kg of dough and it took over three hours to make it, the TASR newswire wrote. Afterwards, it was cut into pieces and sold to visitors, the profits going to a local orphanage. Trdelník was registered as Slovakia’s first product in 2007 and holds PGI, the protected geographical indication, an EU scheme.
More information can be found at www.skalica.sk
