High Tatras - Transport
International Airport Poprad-Tatry
The Poprad-Tatry Airport is one of the highest-lying in Europe;
at its altitude of 718 meters above sea level, it is higher than
Innsbruck, Austria. The gateway to four national parks, and to
historical towns and settlements in Spis and Liptov regions, it
serves winter sports and summer hiking centres in the Low and
High Tatras, and in Spis and Orava.
The rich history of special transportation in the High Tatras
unquestionably relates to the eternal human dream of reaching the highest
peaks.
The main surface transport is via a road known as
Cesta slobody.
This passes through all resort areas, and continues to Liptovsky Hradok
in the west and Lysa Polana on the border with Poland to the north.
Other roads lead down to the villages and towns of the
Podtatranska kotlina basin.
The railways made their first inroads in 1871, when the Tatra region
first became accessible to the Kosice - Bohumin railway. In 1895,
Tatranska Lomnica was connected by railway with Poprad, and
in 1896 the cog-wheel railway connecting Strba
to Strbske Pleso was completed.
This network was tied together during the period from 1908 to 1912
by the Tatra Electric Railway. In recent decades, refurbishments and
technical adaptations have kept the system up to date and reliable.
Since 1908 a funicular railway
has joined Stary Smokovec
with the Hrebienok ridge. An
aerial cablecar from
Tatranska Lomnica to
Lomnicky Stit peak was built in 1940, and an
adjacent cablecar
to the Skalnate Pleso tarn in 1873.
Finally, before the Second World War the airport in Poprad was built.
In 1970 it became officially international, and the Tatra
region became easily accessible by air. The airport also serves
as a heliport, as helicopters play an important role in the
Tatra mountains, not least for rescue operations. Since 1962
TANAP's Mountain Rescue Service has utilized a helicopter in its work.
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