The Guild of Czech Masters of Blacksmiths and Artistic Blacksmiths,

GCMBAB was established in 2008. The guild is a voluntary association of citizens that brings together specialists in the field of traditional blacksmithing and purposefully protects their interests. The guild’s priority is to preserve the traditional craft of our forefathers, as well as to enhance it. Any citizen of Slovakia who is over 18 years old, is a trained blacksmith or self-taught individual preferring traditional hot metalworking in a blacksmith’s forge can become a member of the guild.

The blacksmithing craft has been his passion for 11 years, during which time he has received many diplomas and awards. One of the most prestigious recognitions is the inclusion in the Biographical and Educational Dictionary of Southern Zemplín, a book about notable Slovaks active in southern Slovakia.

He was born in Trebišov, graduated from the Vocational School of Crafts in Košice in 1993. He held various jobs and in 2001 he started working at an engineering company in Trebišov, where he first discovered his love for iron. He worked as a foreman in the workshop and set up a small hobby workshop in his garage spanning 15 m2. Working with metal became his passion. Initially, he crafted small items like candle holders, but after two months, he received an offer to make a wrought iron gate. Later, he left his job and devoted himself fully to blacksmithing. Over the years, he has completed numerous projects, leading him to expand his business premises. The current area is over 500 m2. In 2004, he built a scaled-down version of the Eiffel Tower out of iron. It took him two years to gather the materials for this project. In 2006, he displayed this structure in front of his house. A week later, he was surprised and overwhelmed by the attention he received from journalists, TV crews, and various agencies. He had not expected such a reaction. Two years later, he built a leaning tower of Pisa /iron/, followed by a globe on human hands /iron/ the next year, and his latest work is a Statue of Liberty made of hammered copper sheet. His works have been featured in various television programs and magazines – JOJ, Markíza, STV, TA3, Nový Čas, SME, Život, Televízia Pravda, Slovenský Rozhlas, Expres… He has completed a Dutch windmill /iron/ and Big Ben from London /iron/. His next project will be the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Saudi Arabia. He decided to gradually create replicas of famous structures from different countries around the world. The countries are chosen randomly, but he is considering conducting a poll for people to choose the next building. All these works are displayed in front of his house. The village mayor requested to place them throughout the village, but he would prefer if all these works were located in a more dignified location than a piece of land along a secondary road – for example, in Bratislava at Kuchajda. Several cars and even buses stop by daily with people passing through the village. On 24.06.2011, in Nový Čas, he was ranked fourth among the top 5 holiday destinations in Slovakia. He visits various fairs and cultural events, showcasing blacksmithing on an open fire, forging iron while it’s hot. He always chooses a child to help him, enjoying seeing their happy eyes, wagging tongues, and their attempts to strike the glowing iron with a heavy hammer. He believes that preserving the traditional craft is a top priority for every honest blacksmith, and that our children deserve to know how hard our ancestors worked, especially how iron is forged. Another dream of his is to establish a Blacksmith Museum. He owns hundreds of tools and equipment for blacksmiths dating back to 1860. He wants to create an old blacksmith workshop with a bellows and everything associated with a blacksmith shop, demonstrating blacksmithing to the general public, especially to school children. They should go on excursions to try out this craft. Through playful activities, they would be guided back in time. He participates in various blacksmith meetings and events in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ukraine, Austria, Slovenia, and Poland…