This is why the location is simply fantastic. The settlement can be reached on foot from the bus stop U Holazov (approximately 900 m.) or by car on a marked gravel road (approximately 2 km). My relation to the settlement has always been very special and I finally started accomplishing my childhood dream here.

When a I was child, my father, an enthusiast of photography and filming, used to take me for walks to various corners of Kysuce, its hills and settlements. It was a great chance to observe the settlements bustling with life, well-maintained cottages, domestic animals, and regularly farmed fields. Later, the less accessible settlements started losing its population as young people were gradually moved away in search of a more comfortable life. The old ones were fading away in their old houses which finally remained abandoned and dilapidated after their death. An old wise quote said that wooden houses can last for 200 years as long as they are inhabited, aerated, and heated. On the other hand, if a wooden house remains uninhabited, its self-destruction progresses relatively quickly.

Some of the wooden buildings fell to ashes in accidental fires, some of them collapsed under a heavy rush of snow, others fell victim to flowing water. The picture of destruction remained etched deep in my memory, leaving me in tears. As early as in my teenage years, I started thinking about saving a settlement like this and transforming for the purpose of tourist industry. It took me many years to find the hamlet of my dreams.

Building Sudopark

Eventually, it was the settlement U Varmusa in Klokočov which caught my interest. The location was ideal, far enough from civilization, with an access road with a manageable slope, a small stream and beautiful views. It was all I needed. At the time when I became interested in this settlement, there were three original buildings, one of which was nicely maintained and used especially in the summer by the descendants of the original owners, the other two were more neglected and required a substantial refurbishment.

One of the houses placed a bit further was damaged by fire and only charred walls remained. As it happens, the beginning of my project was rather a coincidence, when the owners of the nicely maintained wooden house mentioned their intention to sell the cottage. However, the land under the building not been administratively settled and they, as the citizens of the Czech Republic, found it quite troublesome. Though it took some time, the outcome was successful for both parts and the first phase of building the SUDOPARK tourist complex could begin. From the very beginning, the project was purely a family affair. My parents lent me the money for the first wooden house, and my brother purchased the second one. It took almost three years before I managed to buy two more wooden houses and the one that had burned down, all together with the land covering the area of almost 1 hectare. At this stage, however, I found out that I could not be financially self-sufficient to realize my project, so I was obliged to find two partners to cooperate with in financial issues.

The era of building the Sudopark began. It took almost 12 years before it became one of the top tourist attractions in Kysuce. Since I literally shared my living with this area and its history for more than 12 years as a manager and co-owner of Sudopark, I wish to mention a few more interesting facts related to it.

The history of the settlement

The Second World War did not strike the settlement as significantly as other parts of Kysuce. To this day, however, there are many trenches dug by partisans around the place. According to the story narrated by the original inhabitants, this mountainous country was a strategic area where the partisans were supposed to obstruct the passage of the retreating German troops. Finally, before the end of the Second World War, at the turn of April and May 1945, intense fights took place here.

During the two weeks, the inhabitants of the settlement were hiding in their stone cellars that were a part of every wooden house. The people were so scared that they stayed in the cellars for a few days longer than necessary, and eventually came out only after being announced the end of the war by a neighbour from the valley.

During the reconstruction works, some evidence of fights was found. When we were building the house “Salaš” on the site of the burnt wooden house, we found a helmet from the World War II, and during the liquidation of an old barn, we found a hollow tree trunk where two magazines for a light machine gun, cartridges for a pistol and a submachine gun, gunpowder in a bottle and two anti-aircraft cartridges were hidden. We had to call pyrotechnicians to remove the dangerous findings.

Ján Varmus

The shoemaker Ján Varmus - the rumours about his mastery and expertise in repairing shoes was widespread. Though he had to face a cruel destiny, he lost both legs and had to move around in a wheelchair, he lost nothing of his skilful craftsmanship. According to the stories shared among the locals, the shoes he repaired for 1 or 2 Crowns were far better than the new ones. However, Ján was not the only person of the settlement sought after by people from as far as Turzovka. His sister had a reputation of a great pastry maker whose delicious cakes and tarts were ordered by people from other villages. She baked the cakes in an old oven which was a part of the kitchen in the current Farmer's House. During the house reconstruction, the oven was demolished and replaced with a new one in the original style.

Present

The settlement U Varmusov in Klokočov is worth visiting. Within the adjacent area, I recommend a visit to the Klokočov Rocks educational trail, a climb to the border area to the Biely Kríž (White Cross) or the Uhorská Hill (1010 m above sea level).

Autor: OCR Kysuce