Thousands of tourists, crowds in Zakopane, queues on the trails - it would seem that the Tatra Mountains no longer have secrets from us and are not something distant and inaccessible. However, I would like to prove to you that many stories are waiting to be discovered there. Here are 10 historical curiosities that will surely appeal to Tatra maniacs :-).
1. Dethronement of the Sławkowski Summit
The top of the great and sprawling Sławków Summit was once considered the highest point in the Tatra Mountains. Local reports say that on August 6, 1662, a gigantic rockfall took place, as a result of which the peak lost about 300 m in height. The sources of the catastrophe were found in the long-term cloudburst, earthquakes, meteorites, and even the activity of a dangerous dragon.
Well, enthusiasts of legends say theirs, and science pours a bucket of cold water on their heads. The research carried out so far rejects the hypothesis of the collapse of the apex and the dethronement of the Sławków Summit by Gerlach. It seems that the great piles of stones were formed much earlier ...
2. Border in the Tatras
The Tatras have been border mountains since time immemorial. Interestingly, until the end of the First Polish Republic, the border between Poland and the Kingdom of Hungary was not strictly defined here. A strip of no man's land ran through the Tatra Mountains.
The contractual border survived for a long time under the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that it was finally decided to resolve the question of belonging to the Tatra lands. The case ended in an international court which awarded Galicia with most of the disputed areas. The verdict of the court turned out to be extremely long-lived because the border from 1902 is still in force (with a little turmoil on the way) to this day.
3. Slovak stretchers
Due to the difficulties in supplying Slovak shelters, many of them use the help of stretchers, i.e. porters who follow steep routes with a backpack of several dozen kilograms. They carry beer kegs, drink packs, gas bottles, and food preparation ingredients.
The institution of notice was established in the Tatras for good in the 1930s when a large number of porters employed in the construction of the cable car to Lomnica found work in mountain huts. The legend of that period, Ondrej Hudáček from Lendak, carried an average weight of 70 kg to the top. The record holder, Laco Kulanga, carried a load of 207 kg to the Zamkovsky Hut.
4. Ariadne in the Mylna Cave
The name of the Mylna Cave is not accidental. The multitude of its branches means that not only a flashlight but also Ariadne's thread can be a useful element in a backpack.
History knows one fatal case in cave exploration. On July 25, 1945, Father Józef Szykowski set off for the Tatra Mountains without giving the purpose of his trip. When his hearing was lost, TOPR undertook a rescue operation, which ended in a fiasco, and the priest was declared missing. His body was not found until January 1947, in one of the arms of the Mylna Cave. He probably lost his way in deceptive corridors and starved to death. Difficult conditions (caused by the military downtime in tourism) prevented him from finding his way back.
5. Expedition to the Chochołowska Fissure
In the 1950s, the communist authorities supported - in their ideologically bizarre way - the emancipation of women through work and professional activity. Fortunately, the women not only found tractors but also contributed to the exploration of the Tatra Mountains. From February 1 to February 4, 1956, the first exclusively female cave expedition in the history of world speleology took place, the Chochołowska Crack was chosen as its target.
The result of the expedition was more than satisfactory - the Krakow team led by Zofia Łukaszczyk discovered a new passage from the lower floor of the cave to the vicinity of the entrance.
6. The Tatra Mountains in technicolor
In 1899, the peak of Rysy was reached by Maria Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie. Love for the mountains was also shared by their daughter, Ewa. Together with Romuald Gantkowski and the Polish community in New York, she made a colorful film about Poland in 1938, entitled The Land of My Mother. The Tatra Mountains could not be missing there.
In the 11th minute of the film, the material about Zakopane and Kasprowy Wierch begins. It shows the gondola lift, the majesty of the mountains, beautiful vegetation, ski jumping competitions, and above all - the pre-war climate devoid of today's trash and commerce.
7. Eldorado in Krywan
Krivan is a "holy mountain" of Slovaks, with popularity comparable to our native Giewont. This is evidenced by, for example, the masses of tourists and the presence in the anthem, the state emblem, and even on the local euro cent. Few people know that probably the first conquerors of this summit were the fifteenth-century gold miners mining in Krywanski Banie, located at an altitude of about 2100 m above sea level.
The mountain, however, jealously guarded its treasures. The output was so small that the effort and cost put into obtaining it did not pay off in any way. Exploitation was soon abandoned, its traces can be seen today on the blue trail to Krivan.
8. The last way of the cable car to Lomnica
Much is said about the effort put into the construction of the cableway to Kasprowy Wierch, and less often about a similar undertaking on the part of Czechoslovakia - i.e. the construction of the cableway to Łomnica. It was built in the years 1936–1940, it operated in its original form until 1973 when the previous lower part was replaced by a new connection with greater capacity.
The old cable car was gradually taken out of service, today a dilapidated car is dusty in the lower station under the hotel "Praha". His last journey took place in 2005, for the film Príbeh one lanovka (in the words: The History of a Certain Queue). At the end of it, see how a certain epoch in the history of the Tatra Mountains is passing away.
9. Słowacki's sarcophagus
When in 1909 it was decided to transfer Juliusz Słowacki's ashes to Poland, the country was in turmoil. It can be said that the bones of the poet have become a bone of contention in the nation. Stefan Żeromski spoke on the matter, who proposed to place the ashes of the Prophet in ... the crag of the Tatra Kościelec:
In its western wall, two hundred meters above the Czarny Staw, i.e. halfway up the mountain, there is a huge granite recess eighty meters high and of considerable depth, where, due to the natural deviation at the top, avalanches do not fall and the screen does not fall off . - In this Tatra chapel, according to the plans of the appointed artists, a catacomb in the granite should be carved, in it a large sarcophagus from the same granite, the whole cave should be covered with an iron or bronze grate and the monumental stairs leading to the whole tomb should be carved - from the path that leads to this niche.
Eventually, peace broke loose between the proponents of the various burial locations. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Słowacki rested next to Adam Mickiewicz in the Crypt of National Prophets in the Wawel Cathedral.
10. Nazi Monk
The absurd ideas of Nazi ideologues also reached the Tatra Mountains. In 1941, the German border guards hung a large wooden swastika, painted white, on the wall of the Monk (visible from the Morskie Oko lake).
Two mountaineers did not like it - Czesław Łapiński and Kazimierz Paszusza. During the attack on Mnich's summit (thanks to which they went down in the history of Polish mountaineering), they tapped and tapped on the fasteners of the ropes holding the swastika. At the first stronger gust of wind, it collapsed onto the nearby scree. The guilty party of this "sacrilege" was halny, who replied to the accusations with only a long sigh.
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