Zvolenská Slatina bryndza dairy: the oldest, since 1797

Bryndza with more than 220 years behind it

Zvolenská Slatina is a large village in the Podpoľanie region, a few kilometres from Zvolen, at the foot of the volcanic Poľana massif. Here, in 1797, the Molec family began making bryndza — a soft, slightly tangy cheese made from matured lumps of sheep’s cheese, ground and salted. The craft was handed down from generation to generation, and today the bryndza and cheese dairy in Zvolenská Slatina describes itself as the oldest still-working bryndza dairy in the world.

The history is interesting even without exaggeration. Bryndza-making and cheese-making were once described as “the most typical Slovak industry”. It boomed under Joseph II, when the state supported sheep farming. Merchants from Stará Turá travelled through the Trenčín, Zvolen and Liptov counties, slept on salaše and bought sheep’s cheese from the shepherds. The ground and salted bryndza travelled on rafts and carts in fir casks, which later became the famous geletky — small white wooden kegs. With the railways, the Molecs’ bryndza reached delicatessens in Budapest and Vienna, where it was compared to French ripened cheeses. The dairy’s website also quotes a 1932 expert opinion by the Prague professor O. Laxa on the quality of Slatina bryndza.

At first the cheese was kneaded and crumbled by hand, later on hand mills and then on motor-driven mills. Production is modern today, but the basis is the same: matured sheep’s cheese, salt and experience. Slovak bryndza (Slovenská bryndza) holds an EU protected geographical indication.

Why go

The main reason is the factory shop right at the dairy, where the products are at their freshest. You can buy and compare several kinds of bryndza: classic, 100% sheep’s, the seasonal May bryndza (májová) from the milk of the first spring grazing, when the sheep have just gone out to fresh grass, and even a lactose-free one. Cheeses from the same dairy sit on the shelves next to them. The dairy does not offer production tours for visitors, so this is a place for shopping, not a show.

What to taste and buy

• Sheep’s bryndza — the base of bryndzové halušky, Slovakia’s national dish.
• May bryndza — the mildest, seasonal; ask for it in spring.
• Cheeses — parenica, oštiepok and other cheeses from the dairy.

To make halušky at home, toss small potato dumplings with bryndza and top them with crispy fried bacon — exactly how they are served on every Slovak salaš. Bryndza travels best in a cool bag. The dairy shares recipes on its website — from pumpkin soup with bryndza to savoury muffins.

Practical information

Address: SNP 7, 962 01 Zvolenská Slatina — on the village’s main street, on the road from Zvolen towards Detva and Poľana (about 8 km from Zvolen). A large sign marks the dairy gate; everything is on flat ground and suits visitors of any age.

Hours (as of October 2026): the shop is open Mon–Fri 7:00–17:00, Sat 7:00–12:00 and Sun 9:00–17:00. In Banská Bystrica the bryndza is sold at a stall on ul. 29. augusta (weekdays 8:00–16:30). Shop phone +421 45 539 47 60, e-mail [email protected].

Nearby

• Zvolen with its castle above the town — the centre of Podpoľanie.
• Detva and the Poľana massif — the land of the fujara, carved crosses and the “Under Poľana” folk festival.
• Ľupča Castle above the Hron valley between Zvolen and Banská Bystrica.

Official website: bryndziaren.sk

Photos: Ladislav Luppa, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; bryndziaren.sk.