The villages of Riečnica and Harvelka have their own centuries-old history dating back to the 17th century. Just around the middle of the century, Count Vešeleni moved into the village of Riečnica. This place seemed to be a sufficient shelter for him, as he was involved in an unsuccessful anti-Habsburg uprising. He was said to be so much captivated by the beauty of the local nature that he decided to settle here permanently. With his arrival, this settlement began a great expansion and a population growth. The count gave them work and the residents gave him much respect in return.

On his honour, Riečnica was even renamed to Veseleny in the years 1905-1920. Even though Kysuce was not an attractive plce for building castles and mansions, Count Vešeléni had a 27 x 17 m summer house built above the old church in Riečnica. The mansion had stone foundations and the rest of the structure was probably wooden. The foundations of this summer house have been preserved to this day. The later history of the villages of Riečnica and Harvelka was related not only to Kysuce, but also to the Orava region since the road led to Oravská Lesna.

In 1957, one of the most important personalities of Kysuce and Slovakia, Viliam Judák - the current bishop of Nitra, was born in Harvelka. In the 1970s and 1980s, both villages were affected by a fundamental change leading to their complete demise - the preparation and implementation of the construction of the Nová Bystrica waterworks. On the one hand, the project implementation was an extremely sad event for the inhabitants of both villages, who had to involuntarily move out of the natural environment and start living in cities in several regions of Slovakia. But on the other hand, the construction of drinking water reservoirs for many municipalities of Kysuce was a great benefit for the region as a whole.

The interesting fate of the church in Riečnica is worth mentioning. Originally and in full accordance with the plan, it was supposed to be demolished together with the other buildings. Eventually, the disapproval of the locals led to its preservation. Environmentalists and protectors of nature from Čadca had a big share in its preservation and maintenance. The original inhabitants and natives of the villages of Riečnica and Harvelka regularly meet there.

The demise of Riečnica and Harvelka

In 1985, the villages of Riečnica and Harvelka disappeared forever. In their place, a water reservoir was built in 1989, which has an area of 180 ha and a depth of almost 50 m. The dam itself is 65.4 m high, 330 m long, 8 m wide at the top and 242 m at the bottom.

The original villages of Riečnica and Harvelka, but also the current water reservoir and its surroundings have become the object of interest for tourists and for artists. Academic painter Martin Benka has several paintings from Riečnica. One of them portraying the women of Riečnica walking along Urvisko is displayed in the Martin Benka museum in Martin.

Academic painter Ondrej Zimka considers Riečnia as one of the most beautiful corners of Slovakia and he thus likes visiting Riečnica regularly. A cycling path with wonderful views has been built around the entire reservoir. An observation tower is built above the former village of Harvelka. There is just one witness of the history of the flooded villages, the church standing there like a white lighthouse.

A cycling path with wonderful views has been built around the entire reservoir. Don't forget to visit the original river church, the lookout tower built above the settlement of Harvelka and remember the history of this magic place.

Autor: OCR Kysuce