TOURISTS "discovered" the High Tatras in the second half of the 19th century. Nature lovers began to pour into the then unknown and hardly accessible mountain range.
The agreeable climate and mineral springs attracted people suffering from respiratory and other problems. Sanatoria and spa buildings started to be erected to accommodate them.
The Studenopotocké spa, pictured in this postcard from the 1920s, was one of them. The building of this "eagle's nest" started in 1884, with the construction of the Studený Potok Hotel, with its nicely designed observation tower.
During the next decade the Ružena Hotel and small spa buildings were erected around it. Because the whole complex was constructed high on a steep slope and a hiking trail led right through it, a tunnel had to be built in the middle of the hotel for the hikers (see building at the back).
Studenopotocké spa, with its beautiful mountainous architecture, graced the entrance to two Studená dolina valleys until February 18, 1927, when it was destroyed in a fire. Today, the Bilíkova hut stands in its place.
By Branislav Chovan,
Special to the Spectator
