Museum of Emigration from Slovakia to North America “Kasigarda”

The Museum of Emigration from Slovakia to North America presents the history of Slovak emigration, especially to the United States, and the cultural activities of Slovaks abroad.

The name of the museum – Kasigarda – is a Slovakized version of the English “Castle Garden,” the main immigration gateway in New York through which every immigrant had to pass. The term “Kasigarda” reflects the phenomenon of emigration itself: illiteracy, language barriers, hardships, stress, disappointments, but above all the hope that this immigration office represented for many of our ancestors.

The exhibition is located in a reconstructed “American house” in the village of Pavlovce nad Uhom, part Ťahyňa. In the past, this area was an independent village from which many inhabitants emigrated overseas.

The museum houses around 4,000 artefacts from the USA and Canada. It also features the largest collection of ribbons of Slovak associations in America. A special display is dedicated to banker Michal Bosák, who signed a U.S. dollar banknote. Visitors can also see a uniform of an American Slovak who served in the Czechoslovak Legions during World War I.

The museum is complemented by the Slovak American Heritage Garden, which expands the visitor experience. The garden includes a traditional bread oven, a barn with a historic apiary, and a small observatory called ŤahyŇASA.

The museum is open upon prior telephone or online reservation.