Originally, the shrine consisted of a wooden box with a gabled roof, mounted on a wooden post. The box was painted dark brown, with a tin roof featuring a serrated edge.
Construction Date: reportedly 1922
Patronage: Virgin Mary (Our Lady of Lourdes?)
Location: Vysoká nad Kysucou, Zátoka, U Kubalov, GPS: 49.416494N, 18.493305E
Material: originally wood, tin; currently wood, plastic
Statue: later a plaster or plastic statue of the Virgin Mary
Builder: the Halík family
Description: Originally, the shrine consisted of a wooden box with a gabled roof, mounted on a wooden post. The box was painted dark brown, with a tin roof featuring a serrated edge. The glass door opened outwards, and the statue of the Virgin Mary was placed inside with floral decorations. The post stood on a stone slab, serving as some sort of a pedestal. Recently, the shrine has been renovated, with all parts completely replaced. The new wooden box with a gabled roof is larger and features carved decoration above the door, including a cross and two wedges. The door is glass-fronted. The box now rests on a natural wooden stand shaped like a fork; a smaller third prong at the front holds a stone platform for candles. The upper section of the fork is covered with a plastic roof, as is the top of the box.
According to local accounts, the shrine was originally commissioned by the Halík family. Its construction is linked to an event where Mrs. Halík and her daughter-in-law were working in the potato field on a church holiday when lightning struck their home. They managed to extinguish the fire, and the family, in gratitude, erected this shrine at the site.
Surroundings: The shrine is located to the left, a few meters above the road that runs through Zátoka (U Masnicov settlement) to U Kubalov settlement. It stands between two smaller deciduous trees, wild apple trees, with no nearby buildings.
Masses or worships (for which feast, regularly/irregularly): Private only.
References: HUDECOVÁ, Antónia – VELIČKA, Drahomír. Kostol Božského Srdca Ježišovho v Hornom Kelčove 1931 – 2021 (The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Horný Kelčov 1931 – 2021). Čadca: Magma Publishing, 2021, p. 86.
Text by: Mgr. Drahomír Velička, PhD.
Photography: Štefan Strýček
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