1593 Five houses on the plateauPäť domov na planine

The name Zuberec comes from the zubor, the European bison that was still hunted in these mountains; a ridge above the village carries the same name. The settlement appears in writing in 1593 as Zwberczyc, with a šoltýs — the man who organised a new village and held a share of it in return — and five peasant homesteads. Like its neighbours it was founded under Wallachian law, the lighter terms the Thurzo family offered to anyone willing to clear forest and keep animals on ground this high. At around 800 metres the growing season is short and the winter long, so this was never a corn village: sheep, cattle and timber from the very beginning.Meno Zuberec pochádza od zubra, ktorého v týchto horách ešte lovili; rovnaké meno nesie aj hrebeň nad obcou. V písomnostiach sa osada objavuje v roku 1593 ako Zwberczyc, so šoltýsom — človekom, ktorý novú dedinu zorganizoval a za to z nej mal podiel — a s piatimi sedliackymi usadlosťami. Tak ako susedné obce vznikla na valašskom práve, teda za miernejších podmienok, aké Thurzovci ponúkali každému, kto bol ochotný klčovať les a chovať dobytok tak vysoko. Vo výške okolo 800 metrov je vegetačné obdobie krátke a zima dlhá, takže obilnou dedinou to nebolo nikdy: od začiatku sa tu žilo z oviec, dobytka a dreva.