History Talks: How communists banned celebrated climber from the Tatras

The communist officials failed to get rid of Štefan Zamkovský completely.

The Zamkovský chalet in the High Tatras sits below a towering mountain cliff, now tucked into the trees. For some hikers, it is a chance to buy refreshments on the way to higher destinations, for others, this is far enough. Less known is the story the chalet contains, one of love for the mountains and communist thievery.

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During the 1920s and 1930s, Štefan Zamkovský belonged among the top climbers in the Tatras. It is estimated that in this period he made about 30 first ascents with the most reputed Slovak and Polish climbers.

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Born on Christmas day 1907 in Levoča, he studied photography in secondary school and then went to the High Tatras to work. In the mountains, he found his passion and purpose. He started off as a mountain porter, exploring the mountains in his free time, and then became a mountain guide, celebrated climber and part of the mountain rescue service.

From 1936, he was the host at the Téry mountain chalet. After many years spent in the mountains, Zamkovský and his wife purchased land and built their own chalet at the mouth of the Studená Dolina valley. He built it himself, occasionally with help from friends, in 1942-43. During World War II, the chalet - the family's home - was used as a hideout for those politically persecuted, guerrillas, and also for Jewish families.

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Though the end of the war brought peace to Europe, it brought only turmoil to Zamkovský. In 1948, the communist authorities forced him to leave his own chalet. He was allowed to manage the lower Bilíkova chalet for several weeks but then even that was not possible.

Because he had had his own business, he was labelled a former capitalist. And in order not to have such an enemy of communism roaming around the socialist mountains freely, he was banned from the Tatras. To erase any trace of him, the regime renamed the chalet after a hero from the war, Captain Nálepka.

Zamkovský and his family moved to Banská Štiavnica, but from a positive cheerful man he became depressed and quiet. He never visited his beloved mountains again, but died of a stroke in 1961 at the age of 54. Family and friends blamed his ill health on a broken heart. Members of the mountain rescue service secretly came to his funeral and laid a wreath of krummholtz (stunted alpine trees) collected near his former home at his grave.

However strongly the officials tried to get rid of Zamkovský, they failed to do so totally. After communism fell, his name and ownership was restored to the chalet, though in a dilapidated state.

In this postcard, Zamkovský chalet is portrayed in 1947, i.e. one year before it was nationalised.


This story was first published by The Slovak Spectator on October 13, 2014. We have updated the piece to make it relevant today.

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