Korňany oil spring

Korňany oil spring

In the village Korňa near Čadca, in the north of Slovakia, you will find a unique oil spring. It was preserved as the only one of the smaller surface oil spills in Central Europe – Korňany oil spring. It is a natural surface spring of oil with occasional outflows of self-igniting methane.

Crude oil

The oil is of high quality. It is a paraffinic oil with a low sulfur content and a high content of valuable oils and other substances. Nevertheless, the drilling in the area – as early as the end of the 19th century – did not show enough oil to pay off for industrial mining.

Natural monument

In 1984 the Korňanský oil spring was declared a natural monument. In the past, locust oil was used by locals to lubricate cars, footwear, lighting and also to treat cattle skin diseases.

To this day it is said that the spring was discovered by a poacher Žúbor when chasing forest animals, and also that “black water” comes to drink devils from the surrounding forests at night.