Píla emerged in the first half of the 16th century around water-powered sawmills belonging to the Červený Kameň estate. Water is therefore a recurring theme in the village’s history: mills, mill races and workshops tell the story of how it was used in the past. The nature trail below Červený Kameň Castle runs through the valley of Píla, with stops providing information about local sights and events from the history of the municipality.

Mills and crafts through the ages

The ruins of the grain mill are the remains of a manorial mill that belonged to the Pálffy family. Its core dates from the late 17th century. The former mill was powered by water, and the mill race behind the building has survived to this day. The ruins and the race thus tell two different aspects of the same trade: the structure itself and the infrastructure that made its work possible.

Paper-making is also part of local history. A paper mill operated in Píla from the second half of the 17th century. The paper made there bore a watermark featuring the Pálffy coat of arms. The former sawmill near Píla, in turn, belonged to the Pálffy family of Červený Kameň and burned down towards the end of 1928. Parts of two mill races remain at the site of the former Upper Sawmill.

Another branch of industry can be traced through the former copper hammer mill: copper cauldrons were made there until 1916. It was then converted into a fluting workshop for grain-mill rollers and a machine workshop. The Brunovský family is also associated with this craft. Their family tomb is in the cemetery in Píla; in the first half of the 20th century, the family operated a grain mill and a roller-fluting workshop here.

Churches and places of remembrance

The present-day Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary dates from 1822; the original church was built towards the end of the 17th century. The building has a single nave, a polygonal apse and a barrel vault. A small ridge turret with a pyramidal roof sits above the gabled façade. These features give the church a clearly defined architectural character and distinguish the present building from its predecessor in terms of date.

A monument on the 403-metre-high Prostredník hill above Píla commemorates the Janko Kráľ partisan group. Another local sight is a small chapel near the confluence of streams. It was built towards the end of the 19th century and last renovated in 2005.

Nature trail, stream and rock walls

The nature trail below Červený Kameň Castle is 3 kilometres long, with an elevation difference of 53 metres. Visitors can refill their drinking water at two rest stops. Marked hiking trails lead directly to the castle from two points along the route. The trail thus combines information about local history with a direct hiking connection; its length and elevation difference make it easy to plan as a separate leg of an outing. It also offers opportunities to enjoy nature in the Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area.

One of the distinctive landforms near Píla is Hučák, also called the Gidra Gorge: here, the stream squeezes between two rock walls and flows over stone cascades. Together with the mill races and the history of water power, it reveals another side of water in the area—not as a source of power for workshops, but as a defining feature of the landscape. Visitors to Píla can therefore focus on industrial heritage, church architecture, or the nature trail and its connections to the natural landscape and hiking.

Discover more destinations: Báhoň, Limbach, Modra, Budmerice, Dubová, Pezinok, Svätý Jur, Slovenský Grob

See the regional travel guide: Pezinok.