Vysoké Tatry (; ; , ; , ; , ), formally Mesto Vysoké Tatry () is a town at the feet of the Slovak part of High Tatras in Slovakia including all the major resorts in that region. It was created in 1990, and its official name from 1990 to 1999 was Starý Smokovec, which is the name of one of its major settlements.
Features and statistics The town of Vysoké Tatry is special in many aspects. It is not a true town, but a conglomerate of separate and different settlements (originally separate villages), whose only common feature is that they are the main tourist resorts in the Slovak High Tatras, while being connected through a common railway network (the Tatra Railway). After the country's capital, the town is Slovakia's major tourist destination. It has inhabitants (), excluding tourists. It is located at an elevation of above sea level. Covering , it is Slovakia's second-largest urban area, after the country's capital, and was the largest until 2007, when the village of Štrbské Pleso became a part of Štrba after Štrba's municipal government's successful claim on the Supreme Court.
The local authority, cultural centre, and main shops are located in the settlement of Starý Smokovec.
Administrative division The town consists of three cadastral areas, which consist of 14 settlements.
Cadastral area Settlement Founded Altitude(m) Map Štrbské Pleso Vyšné Hágy 1890 1100 A map of the three originally separate municipalities in this area making up the present-day town. Podbanské 1871 940 Starý Smokovec Horný Smokovec 950 Dolný Smokovec 890 Nový Smokovec 1000 Starý Smokovec 1793 1010 Tatranská Polianka 1885 1005 Tatranské Zruby 1923 995 Nová Polianka 1946 1060 Tatranská Lomnica Tatranská Lomnica 1893 850 Tatranská Kotlina 1881 760 Tatranská Lesná 1927 915 Kežmarské Žľaby 920 Tatranské Matliare mid-19th c. 885 The settlement itself was transferred to the village of Štrba, according to the ruling of the Supreme Court. Partly in the village of Pribylina.
History The present-day town was created in 1990 and has a complicated administrative history.
The municipality (that is, not a town) of Vysoké Tatry was created as early as 1947 on the territory of the following formerly distinct municipalities: Batizovce, Huncovce, Folvarky, Gerlachov, Kežmarok, Liptovská Kokava, Mlynica, Nová Lesná, Malý Slavkov, Mengusovce, výbor Vysoké Tatry" - literally, "The United National Committee of High Tatras", 'national committee' being the term then used to designate local authorities in Czechoslovakia.
In 1954, parts of the municipalities Pribylina (the majority of which was returned in 2004), Východná, and Liptovská Kokava were added to Vysoké Tatry. Starý Smokovec was made the seat of the Vysoké Tatry municipality.
In 1960, the Vysoké Tatry municipality ceased to exist and was divided into the following separate municipalities: Starý Smokovec (enhanced with town status), Štrbské Pleso, Tatranská Lomnica, Ždiar, and Štôla. However, since 1964 these municipalities had again a common local authority, although they remained distinct municipalities.
In 1990, three of the above municipalities - Starý Smokovec, Štrbské pleso and Tatranská Lomnica - were merged to create the town of 'Starý Smokovec'(named after the settlement serving as the seat of the authorities). The remaining municipalities - Ždiar and Štôla - are still independent municipalities.
In 1999, the town of 'Starý Smokovec' was renamed 'Vysoké Tatry'.
Population
It has a population of people (31 December ).
Ethnicity
Religion
Sport In 1935 and 1970 the area hosted the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. The area was scheduled to host the 17th Winter Deaflympics, but the event was cancelled because of the lack of readiness by the Slovakian Deaflympic Organizing Committee to host the games.
Notable people Ludwig Greiner, identified Gerlachovský Peak as the summit of the Tatras, Carpathians
Twin towns — sister cities
Vysoké Tatry is twinned with:
Bukowina Tatrzańska, Poland Košice, Slovakia (since 2006)
Nosegawa, Japan Pardubice, Czech Republic Poprad, Slovakia Zakopane, Poland
References
External links
Official site