The Tatra Ice Cathedral, a popular touristic attraction located at Hrebienok in the High Tatras, has ceremonially opened for visitors. If you want to check more attractions in the High Tatras, check our travel guide.
This year, it is inspired by the Church of the Savior on Blood in St Petersburg. The opening ceremony was connected to the official launch of the winter season in the High Tatras.
New motif, new technology
The creator of the Tatra Ice Cathedral is Adam Bakoš, who was helped by sculptors from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. They used 1,800 ice blocks to build it, weighing about 225 tonnes.
“We created a replica of the beautiful façade dominated by six main towers of the structure, emphasised by material that premiered in the Tatra Ice Cathedral,” Bakoš said, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
Altogether, 18 sculptors and 12 helpers build the structure. The whole cathedral is located in the dome with a diameter of 25 metres.
Domes are also located at the cathedral itself. They were created by Mia Bujňáková and Peter Klíma.
“We decided to depict the grandiosity and the purity of the dome shapes by a combination of modern technologies and handmade work,” Bujňáková told the TASR. “The bodies of all eight domes were designed as self-supporting constructions connected with circles and joints. The individual parts were then cut from polycarbonate with the help of a water jet in Prešov.”
New rules for visitors
Organisers decided on several preventive measures because of the pandemic. They would like to increase the safety of visitors.
Tatras travel guide: A fresh take on the stunning soul of Slovakia Read more “The first and the most important was the creation of entrance corridors in a way that visitors can visit the cathedral smoothly and without clustering,” said a manager of the High Tatras resort, Lukáš Brodanský, as quoted by TASR.
Time spent inside will be limited, likewise the number of people able to enter at the same time, with covered nose and mouth.
It is possible to reach the dome where the cathedral is located, via a ground funicular from Starý Smokovec or via foot using the touristic route. The cathedral is open daily between 9:00 and 16:00. Opening hours will be prolonged during the main season – Christmas holidays. The entrance is free.
Spectacular Slovakia travel guides
- A helping hand in the heart of Europe thanks to the Slovakia travel guide with more than 1,000 photos and hundred of tourist spots.
- Detailed travel guide to the Tatras introduces you to the whole region around the Tatra mountains, including attractions on the Polish side.
- Lost in Bratislava? Impossible with our City Guide!
- See some selected travel articles, podcasts, traveller's needs as well as other guides dedicated to Nitra, Trenčín Region, Trnava Region and Žilina Region.
Roháče in Západné Tatry (Western Tatras) (Source: Miroslav Mäsiar)
25. Nov 2020 at 11:45 | Compiled by Spectator staff
