Malá Čalomija: Building history, memorial plaque and culture

Malá Čalomija offers a clear cultural and historical focus for trip planning: several building phases are evident in the Evangelical church, while the parsonage and the memorial plaque to Lehoczky Dániel make local remembrance tangible. The area’s history stretches far back before the written records. The nearby Poiplie Protected Area also adds a nature theme to the wider region. If you are looking for a hotel in Malá Čalomija, you can consider whether you would like to focus mainly on building history and places of remembrance, or also include the wider natural context in your travel plans.

Settlement and local history

The area of Malá Čalomija has been continuously inhabited since the Eneolithic, or Copper Age. Settlement finds from the Hallstatt and Roman periods, as well as an 8th-century Slavic inhumation cemetery, have been found in the area of today’s municipality. The written dates mark later, distinct stages: the original settlement of Čalomija was first mentioned in writing in 1244. Malá Čalomija emerged in the first half of the 14th century, when Čalomija split into two parts; the first written mention of Malá Čalomija dates from 1342. Thus, the long history of settlement and the later written records of the locality stand as separate chapters.

Evangelical church and building history

The Evangelical church can be placed in context using several dates. It was consecrated in 1787 and renovated in the Neoclassical style in 1884. It is also a Neoclassical hall church dating from 1884, built on the site of a wooden church from 1690. The tower dates from 1800 and is topped by a distinctive Baroque-style onion dome with a lantern. Inside are a Neoclassical altar with L. Kubányi’s 1896 painting Christ Among the Children and an organ from 1894. The Evangelical church is listed under number 459/0 in the Slovak Central List of Monuments.

Services are held in the Evangelical church every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. If you plan to attend a service, check the time before your trip, as schedules can change.

Parsonage, memorial plaque and local traditions

The Evangelical parsonage is a Late Classicist building dating from around 1850. On its wall beside the church, at house number 78, is a black marble plaque commemorating Lehoczky Dániel (1759–1841). It commemorates his work there as a clergyman, writer and educator from 1789 until his death. The building, memorial plaque and life story are therefore closely connected to the same place.

The Zslipka kereszt is a dark grey stone cross with a white figure of Christ and an inscription on its base. Folk traditions and culture are also maintained in Malá Čalomija, where folklore groups are active. Winegrowing is another traditional activity. These themes add further aspects of local culture to the building history, without requiring a specific event date.

Poiplie in the wider region

Another topic for trip planning lies explicitly in the wider region: the Poiplie Protected Area includes typical habitats of southern Slovakia, such as wetlands, agricultural landscapes and pastures. These are important, among other species, for the white stork, lesser grey shrike, little crake, spotted crake, kingfisher, European bee-eater and Eurasian scops owl. This distinction in scale is useful: the church and local history relate to Malá Čalomija, while the habitats and bird species described are part of the wider regional context.

Discover more destinations: Kiarov, Lesenice, Kamenné Kosihy, Balog Nad Ipľom, Obeckov, Horné Plachtince, Muľa, Čeláre.

Return to the overview of the wider area: Veľký Krtíš District.