It is a well-known village situated close to the High Tatras mountains, 20 km in the east from Liptovský Hrádok. It was founded by Šoltýs Gerhard in 1280. A catastrophic fire in 1931 destroyed the village completely. After the fire, brick houses replaced destroyed wooden houses.
In past, majority of the local people were farmers, woodcutter, carriers and rafters. Local architecture was typical carpathian architecture with three divisions houses. Famous Slovak celebrities such as Ján Kollár, Ondrej Halaša, Karol Plicka and Pavol Socháň were interested in the local folk arts (distinctive costume, songs, legends and customs).
Painters Jaroslav Augusta, Ján Hála and František Havránek (he was also a writer and a spelunker) lived in the village, too.
Close to the village, there is the Važecká jaskyňa (Važec Cave).
