Late classical manor house of the Péchy family and a unique giant sequoia
The late classical manor house of the Péchy family is located on a hill above the church and the municipal office, in a place from which there was certainly the best view of the whole village even at the time of its construction. The Péchy family had the manor built sometime between 1840 and 1850, and it seems that the foundations of an older manor house were probably used for its construction. The manor has an elevated ground floor and two shallow side protrusions on the main facade, which have a corner bossage and in its middle two windows under a common window ledge. The manor house was inhabited by the Péchy family until 1945. After the end of World War II, the state illegally confiscated the property of the Péchy family. The manor has since been used for various purposes, for example, the District Children’s Home (1951-1961) was located here, which housed orphans, half-orphans and illegitimate children from the entire the Prešov region.
A park was planted around the manor house, after which some trees remained, e.g. pine, European beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Atropunicea’), a few linden trees, but the most famous example of the park, which is now called The Nobles’ meadow or The Nobles’ court (in Slovak: Panská lúka or Panský dvor), is the protected giant sequoia. This unique tree is a rare conifer, which has been declared a protected species since 1989 due to its unique occurrence. The massive tree grows in the middle of the garden and its age is estimated at about 130 years. It got to the proximity of the manor house, which was built by the local nobles in the past, when planting the park. The conifer has grown to a height of more than 20 meters and about half a meter above the ground has a trunk girth of 450 cm, and 1.3 m above ground it has the girth of 437 cm. Its trunk is massive and straight, the growth is considered very symmetrical, while the diameter of the crown is about 14 meters. According to the literature, this species originally came from California and came to Europe as an ornamental park tree. It is said that some individuals in their country of origin can grow up to the height of 80 meters and have a trunk girth of more than 30 meters. Experts estimate that the maximum age of a giant sequoia can reach up to 4,000 years, which is quite unbelievable. A good example is said to be a giant sequoia in California, named General Sherman, and it holds the title of the “The Largest Tree”. Its age is estimated at 2,500 years by experts.
