View of Bobrovec, Western Tatras

The end of the 15th century was a very important time in Bobrovec's history. At that time the local people decided to start reconstruction of Bobrovec's most dominant symbol, the church (later named Sv. Juraj, or St. George). The original wooden church was very small and the townspeople decided to replace it with a much bigger Gothic style structure. The tower of the church was equipped with bells. One of them was dedicated to St. George and was made by the famous master Pozdech from Pest' (Budapest) in 1527. That bell has survived 482 years to the present. Later, in the 18th century, the church was reconstructed again, enlarged, and remodeled in the Baroque style.

Interior of the church
Interior of the church

The later reconstruction was organized and financed by the powerful family of Duke lleshazy.

In general, churches at that time were built with an east - west orientation of the altar. A curious aspect of the church in Bobrovec is that the altar location was changed after reconstruction to a north - south orientation.

In 1782 the church was named after St. George (Sv. Juraj). St. George is also shown in the Bobrovec municipal coat of arms. Legend holds that St. George killed the dragon and saved the princess from death. In the coat of arms he sits on a white horse, the symbol of purity, while killing the dragon, the symbol of evil. In 1222, St. George became the patron saint of England, and almost 500 years later, the church in Bobrovec was proudly named after him.

The church survived very difficult times and two world wars in the 20th century. Before World War I there were six bells in the tower which made a beautiful melodic sound. The bells were manufactured from high quality metal that was in very short supply during World War I. When World War I was coming to an end in 1918, a desperate Austro-Hungarian army was seizing church bells to melt down and recast into artillery barrels. Hungarian army units sealed the fate of the bells of St. George by cutting the bells from their ancient moorings, lowering the heavy bells to the ground, and securing them atop a wagon to take to the cannon foundry.

Coat of arms for Boborvec

Brave Bobrovec villagers, risking their lives, but dedicated to the great historical monument of their village, under cover of darkness, secretly rescued one of the bells from the wagon: the oldest one designed and created by master Pozdech in 1527. The villagers hid the bell until after the war and then restored it to its rightful place high up in the bell tower of St. George's church. The Bell of St. George was thus saved and remains in the bell tower of St. George church to this day.

After the first world war, three bells were reconstructed in 1931. They were named the Bell of Peter and Pavol, the Bell of Maria of the Sorrow, and the Bell of Cyril and Method. In Slovakia, when something had a clear, strong sound, it was always compared with the sound of Bobrovec bells. People said, "lt sounds like the bells in Bobrovec."

Church after world war II.
Church after world war II.
Birth documents of bells

An audio recording of the bells' beautiful and melodic sound was for many years played on Slovak National Radio to announce the noontime interlude for lunch and prayer. Not only the people of Bobrovec and the Liptov region, but the entire Slovak nation heard the peal of the bells of Bobrovec.