Discover Píla: Mills, Nature Trail and History

Píla is best explored through two themes: the history of water-powered mills and the nature trail below Červený Kameň Castle. Church architecture, the landscape and places of remembrance add further aspects of the village’s history. If you are considering Píla as a destination, you can plan your stay around the themes that interest you most.

Nature Trail and Červený Kameň Castle

The nature trail runs through the valley of Píla. At its stops, visitors can learn more about local sights and events from the municipality’s history. The route is 3 km long and has an elevation difference of 53 m. Two rest areas provide an opportunity to refill drinking water. Marked hiking trails lead directly to Červený Kameň Castle from two points along the nature trail. This makes it possible to combine the village’s history with a walk to the castle. The trail also offers nature experiences in the Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area.

Mills and Craftsmanship Through the Ages

Píla developed in the first half of the 16th century around water-powered sawmills belonging to the Červený Kameň estate. Water power also shaped later trades in the village. The ruins of the grain mill recall a manor mill owned by the Pálffy family. Its core dates from the late 17th century. The mill was powered by water, and its millrace has survived behind the building to this day. A paper mill had also been in operation since the second half of the 17th century. The paper produced there bore a watermark featuring the Pálffy coat of arms.

Other stops show how local production changed over time. The former copper hammer produced copper cauldrons until 1916. It was then converted into a fluting workshop for rolling grain-mill rollers and a machine workshop. Parts of two millraces remain at the site of the former Upper Sawmill. Another, comital sawmill owned by the Pálffy family of Červený Kameň burned down toward the end of 1928. The Brunovský family crypt is located in the cemetery. In the first half of the 20th century, the family operated a grain mill and a fluting workshop for rollers in Píla.

Church, Landscape and Places of Remembrance

The present-day Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary dates from 1822; its original church was built toward the end of the 17th century. The single-nave building has a polygonal apse and a barrel vault. A small roof turret with a pyramidal roof sits above the gabled façade. The description of the church offers a different perspective on the village’s history from the mills: here, the focus is on the building’s design and the distinction between the original and present-day churches.

The landscape and local places of remembrance also form part of Píla’s character. At Hučák, also called Prielom Gidry, the stream squeezes between two rock walls and flows over stone cascades. Above Píla, a monument on Prostredník Hill, which rises to 403 metres, commemorates the Janka Kráľa partisan group. A small chapel near the confluence of the streams was built toward the end of the 19th century and was last renovated in 2005. Together with the millraces, the church and the nature trail, these sites offer various ways to explore Píla during a stay.

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