Salaš Pružina: 100% sheep’s bryndza in the Strážov Hills

A farm where cheese is born within two hours

Pružina is a village in a picturesque valley of the Strážov Hills (Strážovské vrchy) west of Považská Bystrica. The local salaš bears the name of its founder, Oľga Apoleníková, and has been writing its story since 1991. At first it was an ordinary farm with cattle, pigs and fields, but it gradually turned into a modern, nature-friendly sheep farm that now has a good name among Slovak shepherds and cheesemakers.

The guiding principle is a closed loop: the farmers make their own hay and haylage on the mountain meadows, milk the sheep in their own milking parlour, process the milk themselves and sell the cheese themselves. The filtered milk goes straight into a small cheese dairy built to strict standards and under veterinary supervision, and within two hours of milking becomes fresh lump sheep’s cheese (hrudkový syr). From it they make 100% sheep’s salaš bryndza and other products. The milk is regularly tested for tick-borne encephalitis virus, and the results are published on the website.

Experts recognise the quality. At the national cheese show in Prague in 2020 the salaš bryndza was rated “outstanding”, and in February 2026 the smoked steamed sheep’s cheese was rated “excellent” there. In September 2026, at the Ovenálie show in Východná, the salaš won first places for smoked and unsmoked sheep’s cheeses, and its sheep took second place at the National Animal Show at Agrokomplex 2026. At the Danubius Gastro food fair in Bratislava, the farm says, it sold out everything it had brought.

Why go

• Buy straight from the farm. The products are sold in a period-style log cabin (dobová drevenička) on the farm grounds — it doesn’t get any fresher.
• Taste žinčica. The sour whey drink is a classic of Slovak salaše; here it comes from the farm’s own sheep.
• Salaš festivities. In spring the salaš holds the “Shepherd’s Way” (Bačova cesta) feast with food and a folk programme under a timber pavilion.

What to taste and buy

The range is wide: 100% sheep’s salaš bryndza, fresh lump cheese, smoked sheep’s cheese, steamed cheese (smoked and unsmoked), sheep’s cheese strings, “shepherd’s knots” (bačove uzlíky), matured cheese, cheese and urda (whey cheese) in oil or brine, plus sheep’s yoghurt, yoghurt drinks, žinčica, whey and sheep’s-milk butter. Cheese “cakes” are made to order.

Practical information

Address: Pružina 391, 018 22 Pružina — on the edge of the village in the valley. It is about 15 km from Považská Bystrica and roughly 45 km from Trenčín. A car is the easiest option; everything is on flat ground, so the place suits families with children and people who do not hike.

Hours (as of October 2026): the shop is open Mon–Thu 7:00–15:00 and Fri 7:00–18:00; weekend hours are not published, so call +421 42 435 87 28 before a Saturday visit. No prices are published on the website. If you cannot make it to the salaš, Pružina products are sold in farm shops in Považská Bystrica, Trenčín, Nitra, Trnava and Bratislava.

Nearby

• Manín Gorge (Manínska tiesňava) — one of the narrowest gorges in Slovakia, with the road squeezed between the rocks.
• Súľov Rocks (Súľovské skaly) — a nature reserve of bizarre conglomerate towers with the ruins of Súľov Castle.
• The Strážov Hills with caves, gorges and marked trails.

Official website: salaspruzina.sk

Photos: salaspruzina.sk.