2021.08.20. Day 3 Bacúch - Čertovica

Bacúch (Vacok)

Located 16 km northeast of Brezno, on the right bank of the Hron River.

The settlement originated in the 15th century on land belonging to the Schaffer and Gaismair families near Brezno's borders, close to iron ore mines and smelters. It was first mentioned in 1563 as "Bazuch," later appearing as "Batzuch, Watzuch" in historical sources. The village belonged to the mining chamber, inhabited by lumberjacks; its residents were forest workers and sawmill laborers. In 1828, it had 68 houses with 499 inhabitants. Besides forest work, residents engaged in rafting, transport, and seasonal agricultural labor. The village burned down in a fire in 1905.

According to Elek Fényes, "Baczuch is a Slovak village in Zólyom County, at the northeastern tip of the county where the borders of Gömör, Zólyom, and Liptó counties meet. It has an iron mine, mineral springs, and a beautiful pine forest."

In 1910, it had 1241 mostly Slovak inhabitants. Until the Treaty of Trianon, it belonged to the Brezno district of Zólyom County. In 1921, another fire destroyed 133 houses.

Prameň B. Němcovej

The spring was discovered by mining councillor Berghrát Heider in 1813.

The spring is a natural mineral water with moderate mineral content, hard and slightly acidic (pH 6.1), with an earthy taste and high iron content. The spring water is cold, 6-11.5 °C, and locals call it "Kyslá."

The spring water was used for drinking and bathing, as it harmonizes with the human body. The local environment and fresh forest air greatly contributed to this.

In the 19th century, small spas were built here, used among others by the famous Czech writer Božena Němcová for rest and recovery. The spring was renamed in her honor on October 14, 1962, on the 100th anniversary of her birth.

The writer not only drank the spring water but also relieved her melancholy here in the company of locals who inspired her; she described her experiences in Bacúch in her work "Chyže pod horama."

The romantic wooden "hunting lodge" where she stayed still stands near the spring but is private property and not open to visitors.

The spring never freezes or dries up; locals and visitors continue to carry the refreshing water in bottles. In earlier times, mineral water was bottled in labeled, sealed bottles and sold.

Čertovica (Devil's Wedding Pass)

The Devil's Wedding Pass (Čertovica) (1238 m) almost precisely divides the main ridge between the Ďumbier Tatras and the Kráľova hoľa Tatras, the former largely visited by tourists—unsurprisingly, as this section hosts three peaks over 2000 meters and better infrastructure (several mountain huts and ski lifts). It is the only mountain pass crossed by a road on the main ridge, providing passage from the Upper Hron Valley, Brezno (Brezno) to Liptov County, Kráľova Lehota.

The pass is an excellent starting point for many hiking tours. The grassy northern slopes of the Bocianska Valley and the surrounding slopes of Devil's Wedding, Lajtroch, and Rovienky form excellent ski areas. Nearby, below the pass, are the villages of Vyšná Boca and Nižná Boca.

The interesting name's origin is that many ore-containing rocks in the surrounding mountains attract frequent lightning, resembling wedding firework displays. Historically, horses harnessed to carriages often became startled by this and ran away as if chased by the devil.