Trstená is a quiet town in the northernmost corner of Slovakia. The town is quite sleepy; traditionally, it used to be famous for its pottery which was sold hundreds of kilometers away. On the 1870ies there were some 30 pottery workshops in the town. Trstená was founded by German colonists in the 14th century. It lies on a trade route from Poland to Hungary, had a right to organise markets. It was one of the properties of Orava castle. There are some places here worth seeing, all of them around the compact centre of the town.
St Martin Church, with a multi-tower tower was built in the 14th century, later modified many times, the last modification is the most curious. A story tells its tower was damaged by a Russian Katyusha rocket and was rebuilt in a different style. Still, as in many other Slovak towns, there is a thank you monument for the Soviet army (don’t look on them in Polish towns, however). It once was an important center of pilgrimage (see how many confessionals there are in the walls), but only until 1683, when a part of the famous (in Poland) infamous (in Slovakia) army of Polish king John III Sobieski was returning after their victory over the Ottomans in the Battle of Vienna. The town was damaged by the troops and the revered image disappeared. It is mentioned as having appeared in Vilnius in 1721 but not anymore ever since.
St George Church, owned by local Franciscans, was built in the 18th century, however inside it looks older than St Martin church. There is an ex-synagogue building (Železničiarov Street 44,, nowadays a shoe store, pale blue and white building), a trace of once significant Jewish population of Trstená.