The seal has a bear, flowing water and conifers... and it’s no wonder since Orava can be proud of and is characterized by the beautiful, natural landscape, pure water and clean air that charms so many visitors to this picturesque region. There is undulating green landscape visible everywhere the eye can see to simply calm the soul of anyone who loves nature, even in winter when all is shrouded in snow.

Whether in winter or summer, Orava is always generous to visitors. Choose among hiking, biking, agrotourism, horseback riding, mountain climbing, water sports, sailing, windsurfing, canoeing, swimming, rafting, fishing and both downhill and cross country skiing...

The first written mention of Orava was in a proclamation King Béla IV issued in 1265 that regulated the obligations and privileges of his subjects in Liptó (now Liptov). It was in this document that the existing customs station in today’s Tvrdošín was noted. Customs amounting to a thirtieth of the income were collected on the important trade route passing through Orava to Poland, through which cloth, salt, lead and various other commodities were imported to Hungary. At the time, according to another written document from 1267 Orava was not an uninhabited region. By means of this document, Béla IV gave Varín, Žilina and Teplička to the grandsons of Detrik in exchange for Orava together with the castle.

The phrase “possessio Arwa ..... cum castro” did not necessarily mean just Orava Castle and its immediate surroundings, but probably had a semantically broader formulation that covered more than the customs station and several historically artisan communities, encompassing all of what was then Árva County. It can be imagined that by the mid-13th century there were already small villages, which would only be later historically documented.