The Baranie nature trail together with the Tokáreň and Priehyby trails form the “Čergovský náučný chodník” (Čergov nature trail). Along its route you will also find the Altar Stone - an interesting natural creation - a lone massive prismatic sandstone boulder with a slab-like layering - near the top of Lysá (1 068 m above sea level) to the north of Drienice, which is the end of the most massive escarpment rising from the main back of the Čergov Mountains.
The place is shrouded in many legends and legends. The mysterious, hard-to-decipher signs, symbols and letters carved into the stone add to its mystique. The stone is an ancient monument to history, a testimony to the cult customs of our ancestors, a refuge for believers persecuted for their religious beliefs. According to some sources, there was a stronghold where the Crusaders - the Templars - were already in the 12th century. Later, the Brethren (15th century) and Protestants from the surrounding towns and villages gathered here for worship. The first mention of the massive sandstone block dates back to 1786. Today there is a wooden chapel dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Lord, built in 2001. It belongs to the Greek-Catholic parish of Drienica. Services are held here once a year. The next point on the trail is the Črchľa saddle, which is part of the Čergov area of European importance and the Čergov protected bird area (both part of the Natura 2000 network).
The next stops are the settlements of Ambrušovce and Baranie. Scattered settlements in the valleys of Čergov north of the Lysá - Ostrý kameň ridge, whose inhabitants were engaged in agriculture, forest work, charcoal burning and the production of shingles and cordons. They disappeared in the 1960s. Monuments in the cemetery or scattered wooden houses, now used for recreational purposes, have been preserved. Administratively, they belong to the municipality of Olejníkov.
Source: naucnechodniky.sk
Photo: naucnechodniky.sk, cergov.sk
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