Slanický ostrov, River island in Námestovo, Slovakia

Slanický ostrov is a small forested island on the Orava reservoir in Námestovo, Slovakia. It holds an 18th-century church with twin towers, a folk art gallery, and an open-air lapidarium among old trees and a path along the water.

The island was once part of the village of Slanica, which mostly disappeared under water when the Orava reservoir was filled in the 1950s. The baroque church, built in the late 18th century and enlarged in the 19th, remained above the surface and became the site of a permanent folk art exhibition from 1971.

The old church interior now serves as a gallery showing painted wooden sculptures and pictures from the Orava region. Outdoors, a lapidarium gathers carved stone pieces from local workshops of the 18th and 19th centuries, placed for visitors to view at close range.

Boats reach the island from nearby ports mainly during warmer months, when water levels help make landing easy. Walking is gentle on simple paths, but the ground can be uneven near the shore and around the old churchyard.

A bronze statue of Anton Bernolák, originally standing in the drowned village of Slanica, was moved here after the flooding. Few visitors notice that the island’s stone carvings come from tombstones and wayside crosses that local stonemasons made before the reservoir existed.