The following excerpt is from an interesting article published in the May 30, 2012 edition of spectator.sme.skd dealing with the Slovakian Bytča Archive, their records, and doing research on-site in Slovakia.
“Nomen Omen” – the name is a sign, said the ancient Romans. And if your name sounds Slovak, then you might want to follow the signs and find out if that’s really where your ancestors come from. Over the past few years, the seven state archives in Slovakia, which house historical records of births and deaths in their region, have grown accustomed to welcoming overseas researchers, trying to trace their genealogy in Slovakia.
Individual archives have slightly different methods for organising and accessing records, but the procedure for research is fundamentally the same, which makes the State Archive in Bytča typical. It is located in the centre of town in a Renaissance manor house from the 16th century, which was donated by František Thurzo as a place for safekeeping documents, especially ancestral archive and documents of property management.
Nowadays, the Bytča archive contains documents from northern Slovakia, including the counties Orava, Liptov, Turiec and formerly Trenčín. Poring through the records could reveal that your ancestors were aristocrats, or that there is a fortune in inheritance waiting for you. Just be prepared, however, because you might also learn that a genetic disorder wiped out your ancestors and could be coming to you next.
Thanks for this article. Note that they’ve changed their file structure so the news article has a different link now. The new one is:
http://spectator.sme.sk/c/20043570/find-your-ancestors-in-slovakia.html