Tatra Mountains

The first written record of the name is from 999, when the Bohemian Duke Boleslaus II, on his deathbed, recalled when the Duchy of Bohemia extended to the Tritri montes. Another mention is in the 1086 document from Henry IV, wherein he referred to the Diocese of Prague with Tritri mountains. Still another is in 1125, where the Kosmas chronicles (Chronica Boemorum) mention the name Tatri.[5]

Machek in 1931 favored the theory of the Polish linguist Rozwadowski with a syllabic r like in the words chrt (Czech hound), smrt (Czech death). In Czech this syllabic is sometimes with vowels i, e or u for example črný – černý, so the Czech reconstruction from Tritri/Tritry would be Trtry. In Polish, the term Tatry is firstly mentioned in 1255. Syllabic r often has vowels on both sides in Polish, so in case of Tarty we can reconstruct the name to Tartry, where the vowel a originated before the syllabic r which dissimilated. This theory is supported by Hungarian forms of term Turtur, Turtul, Tortol from 12th to 14th centuries. It is unknown how the Slovak term looked like until the 17th century when the form Tatry is firstly mentioned and was probably taken from Polish and later found its way into Czech and Hungarian. The term Tatra also appears as a general term in Slovak for barren or stony land, and also in Little Russia for rocks and little stones in a river. Machek stresses that the name has no Slavic origin and mentions Rozwadowski's theory of an Illyrian origin because of a connection with a Herzegovian highland called Tatra, thus taken from local inhabitants.[6] The name is also close to the Ukrainian word for gravel, toltry.[5]

Mountain lakes of Czarny Staw pod Rysami and Morskie Oko seen from Poland's highest point, the north-western summit of Rysy, 2,499 metres (8,199 ft) in elevation.

The Tatras are a mountain range of a corrugated nature, originating from the Alpine orogeny, and therefore characterized by a relatively young-looking lie of the land, quite similar to the landscape of the Alps, although significantly smaller. It is the highest mountain range within the Carpathians.

It consists of the internal mountain chains of:

• Eastern Tatras (Východné Tatry, Tatry Wschodnie), which in turn consist of:
  • the Belianske Tatras (Belianske Tatry, Tatry Bielskie)
  • and the High Tatras (Vysoké Tatry, Tatry Wysokie)
• Western Tatras (Slovak: Západné Tatry, Polish: Tatry Zachodnie)

The overall nature of the Tatras, together with their easy accessibility, makes them a favorite with tourists and researchers. Therefore, these mountains are a popular winter sports area, with resorts such as Poprad and the town Vysoké Tatry (The Town of High Tatras) in Slovakia created in 1999, including former separate resorts: Štrbské Pleso, Starý Smokovec, and Tatranská Lomnica or Zakopane, called also "winter capital of Poland". The High Tatras, with their 24 (or 25) peaks exceeding 2,500 m above sea level, together with the Southern Carpathians, represent the only form of alpine landscape in the entire 1,200 kilometres (746 miles) length of arc of the Carpathians.

By the end of the First Polish Republic, the border with the Kingdom of Hungary in the Tatras was not exactly defined. The Tatras became an unoccupied borderland. On 20 November 1770, under the guise of protection against the epidemic of plague in the Podolia, an Austrian army entered into Polish land and formed a cordon sanitaire, seizing Sądecczyzna, Spiš and Podhale. Two years later, the First Partition of Poland allocated the lands to Austria. In 1824, Zakopane region and area around Morskie Oko were purchased from the authorities of the Austrian Empire by a Hungarian Emanuel Homolacs. When Austria-Hungary was formed in 1867, the Tatra Mountains have become a natural border between the two states of the dual monarchy, but the border itself still has not been exactly determined. In 1889, a Polish Count Władysław Zamoyski purchased at auction the Zakopane region along with the area around Morskie Oko. Due to numerous disputes over land ownership in the late 19th century, attempts were made at the delimitation of the border. They were fruitless until 1897, and the case went to an international court which determined on 13 September 1902 the exact course of the Austro-Hungarian border in the disputed area.

A new round of border disputes between Poland and Czechoslovakia started immediately after the end of the First World War, when these two countries were established. Among other claims, Poland claimed ownership of a large part of the Spiš region. This claim also included additional parts of the Tatra Mountains. After several years of border conflicts, the first treaty (facilitated by the League of Nations) was signed in 1925, with Poland receiving a small northernmost part of the Spiš region, immediately outside (to the north-east of) the Tatra Mountains, thus not changing the border in the mountains themselves. During the Second World War there were multiple attempts by both sides of the conflict to occupy more land, but the final treaty signed in 1958 (valid until present day) preserved the border line agreed in 1925.

Snow covered Tatras in May 2019.

The Tatras lie in the temperate zone of Central Europe. They are an important barrier to the movements of air masses. Their mountainous topography causes one of the most diverse climates in that region.

Winds

Visible effects of the 2004 storm in Slovakia

The average wind speed on the summits is 6 m/s.

• southerly winds on the northern side
• westerly winds at the base of Tatra (Orava-Nowy Targ Basin)
• foehn winds (Polish: halny) most often occur between October and May. They are warm and dry and can cause extensive damage.
• Maximum wind speed 288 km/h (179 mph) (6 May 1968).[9]

On 19 November 2004, large parts of the forests in the southern Slovak part of the High Tatras were damaged by a strong wind storm.[9] Three million cubic metres of trees were uprooted, two people died, and several villages were totally cut off. Further damage was done by a subsequent forest fire, and it will take many years until the local ecology is fully recovered.[10]

Gentiana punctata

The Tatra Mountains have a diverse variety of plant life. They are home to more than 1,000 species of vascular plants, about 450 mosses, 200 liverworts, 700 lichens, 900 fungi, and 70 slime moulds. There are five climatic-vegetation belts in the Tatras.

The distribution of plants depends on altitude:

• up to 1,300 m: Carpathian beech forest; almost no shrub layer, herbaceous layer occupies most of the forest floor
• to 1,550 m: Spruce forest; shrub layer poorly developed, mosses are a major component
• to 1,800 m: Mountain Pine, numerous herbs
• to 2,300 m: high altitude grasslands
• from 2,300 m up: Subnivean - bare rock and almost no vegetation (mostly lichens)

Tatra chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica)

The Tatra Mountains are home to many species of animals: 54 tardigrades, 22 turbellarians, 100 rotifers, 22 copepods, 162 spiders, 81 molluscs, 43 mammals, 200 birds, 7 amphibians and 2 reptiles.

The most notable mammals are the Tatra chamois, marmot, snow vole, brown bear, wolf, Eurasian lynx, red deer, roe deer, and wild boar. Notable fish include the brown trout and alpine bullhead.

The endemic arthropod species include a caddis fly, the spider Xysticus alpicola[11] and a springtail.

• 
  Gerlachovský štít (2,655 metres or 8,711 feet), the highest peak in Slovakia
• 
  Kriváň (2,495 metres or 8,186 feet), the country's symbol on 1,2 and 5 euro cents
• 
  View from Lomnický štít (2,634 metres or 8,642 feet)
• 
  Skalnaté pleso Observatory (1,751 metres or 5,745 feet)
• 
  Bystrá (2,248 metres or 7,375 feet)
• 
  Kościelec (2,155 metres or 7,070 feet)

Tourists in Zakopane enjoying views of Giewont in 1938.

In 1683, an anonymous author published a book of adventures and excursions in the Tatras. It became very popular in Europe and contributed to the growth of tourism in the Tatras. As it later turned out, its author was Daniel Speer, born in Wrocław, who for a time lived in the sub-Tatra region.

A popular tourist destination in Poland is Zakopane but the developed tourist base also includes Kościelisko, Poronin, Biały Dunajec, Bukowina Tatrzańska, Białka Tatrzańska, Murzasichle, Małe Ciche, Ząb, Jurgów, Brzegi.

In Slovakia, the most important tourist base is the city Vysoké Tatry, consisting of three parts: Štrbské Pleso, Starý Smokovec and Tatranská Lomnica.

The Polish "national mountain" (featured prominently in myths and folklore) is Giewont, while the Slovak one is Kriváň.

Trails

Red trail marker on the Orla Perć path

Hiking in the Polish Tatras

Crowded Rysy peak

Orla Perć is considered the most difficult and dangerous mountain trail in the Tatras, a suitable destination only for experienced tourists and climbers. It lies exclusively within the Polish part of the Tatras, was conceived in 1901 by Franciszek Nowicki, a Polish poet and mountain guide, and was built between 1903 and 1906. Over 100 individuals have died on the route since it was established. The path is marked with red signs. The death of Polish philosopher Bronisław Bandrowski is often used by guides as a cautionary tale for tourists. He committed suicide after he was trapped for days on a rocky ledge in one of the trails near Zakopane.[12]

The highest point in the Tatra Mountains that can be freely accessed by a labeled trail is Rysy.[13]

Most of the peaks in the Western Tatras (on both sides of the border), including the main ridge are freely accessible by hiking trails. In the Slovak part of the Eastern Tatras, only seven peaks (out of 48 with prominence of at least 100 m) are accessible by hiking trails (Rysy, Svinica/Świnica, Slavkovský štít, Kriváň, Kôprovský štít, Východná Vysoká, and Jahňací štít). Two of these (Rysy and Svinica/Świnica) are located on the border with Poland and accessible from the Polish side. The rest of the peaks on the Slovak side (including the highest one, Gerlachovský štít) can only be accessed when accompanied by a certified mountain guide. UIAA members can climb them without a certified guide, but not using the normal (easiest) routes (from the III degree of difficulty).

In the Slovak part most of the hiking trails in the Tatras are closed from 1 November to 15 June. Only trails from settlements up to the mountain huts are open. In Poland, the trails are open year-round.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the mountains were used for sheep grazing and mining. Many trees were cut down to make way for humans. Although these activities were stopped, the impact is still visible. Moreover, pollution from the industrialized regions of Kraków in Poland or Ostrava in Czech Republic, as well as casual tourism, cause substantial damage.[14] Volunteers however initiate litter removal events frequently, on both sides of the border.

The Slovak Tatra National Park (Tatranský národný park; TANAP) was founded in 1949 (738 km², 285 sq mi), and the contiguous Polish Tatra National Park (Tatrzański Park Narodowy) in 1954 (215.56 km², 83.23 sq mi).[15] The two parks were added jointly to the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve list in 1993.[4]

In 2013, the International Union for Conservation of Nature threatened to cancel the Slovak TANAP's status of a national park because of the large investments (mainly in skiing infrastructure) in the park, which seriously interfere with the landscape and nature.

• The theme of the song "Nad Tatrou sa blýska" is that there is a storm in the Tatras. The song was the second part of the dual national anthem of Czechoslovakia from 1918 to its dissolution in 1993, and since became the national anthem of Slovakia.
• Czech composer Vítězslav Novák's 1902 symphonic poem V Tatrách ('In the Tatras', Op.26) was directly inspired by the mountains.
• "A 1930's ski-movie, filmed in Tatras, Poland". nevaasport.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2007.
• The 1999 film Ravenous was filmed in the Tatra Mountains.[16]
• In 2006, the Bollywood film Fanaa, portraying places in Kashmir, was filmed at Zakopane, mainly because of the risks associated with insurgency in Kashmir, as well due to some similarities in a mountain landscape.[17]
• Leo Frankowski mentions the Tatras several times in his science fiction novels in the Conrad Stargard series.

(Alphabetical by surname)

• Adam Asnyk, poet and dramatist, one of the first members of the Tatra Society
• Klemens Bachleda (1851–1910), Polish mountain guide and mountain rescuer
• Oswald Balzer
• Tytus Chałubiński, founder of the Polish Tatra Society
• Jan Długosz (mountaineer)
• Walery Eljasz-Radzikowski
• Julian Fałat
• Jan Nepomucen Głowacki, considered the father of Polish school of landscape painting, was the first to devote an entire series of works to Tatra Mountains
• Seweryn Goszczyński, Polish Romantic poet who escaped there from the Austrian invader
• Ludwig Greiner, identified Gerlachovský Peak as the summit of the Tatras and Carpathians
• Ruth Hale (alpinist)
• Władysław Hasior
• William Horwood (novelist), whose novel Wolves of Time largely takes place in the Tatra mountains
• Mieczysław Karłowicz
• Jan Kasprowicz
• Kornel Makuszyński
• Franciszek Nowicki
• Władysław Orkan
• Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer
• Daniel Speer, Baroque composer and writer
• Stanisław Staszic
• Mieczysław Szczuka
• Karol Szymanowski
• Göran Wahlenberg
• Stanisław Witkiewicz
• Leon Wyczółkowski
• Władysław Zamoyski
• Mariusz Zaruski
• Ludwik Zejszner
• Stefan Żeromski

Morskie Oko

• Polish Tatra National Park is ranked 12th place by CNN[18]
• The Wall Street Journal recognized Morskie Oko as one of the five most beautiful lakes in the world[19]

• Mountain Rescue Service (Slovakia)
• Sudetes
• Tatrzańskie Ochotnicze Pogotowie Ratunkowe (Tatra Volunteer Search and Rescue (Poland))
• Tourism in Poland

• Lacika, Ján (2006). Tatras (2nd ed.). Bratislava. ISBN 80-88975-95-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Saunders, Colin; Nárožná, Renáta (2006). Walking in the High Tatras (2nd ed.). Cicerone Press (Milnthorpe). ISBN 978-1-85284-482-0.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tatra Mountains.

• "Places to visit Tatras Mountains". travelzenith.com. April 2014. – (available in: ENG)
• "Town of Vysoké Tatry". tatry.sk (in Slovak). Municipal website (available in: ENG, SLV)
• Zakopane – municipal website (available in: POL, ENG)
• TANAP – Slovak Tatra National Park (available in: SLV, ENG, POL)
• TPN – Polish Tatra National Park (available in POL only)

Commercial tourism-oriented websites

• The High Tatras - Accommodation and Tourism (available in: SLV, CZE, POL, ENG, GER)
• Vysoké Tatry, Slovakia (available in: ENG, GER, SLV, POL)
• Tatry - The smallest mountains in the biggest detail. (available in: ENG, CZE)
• Tatra auf Travelia.sk

Mountaineering

• Tatra Volunteer Rescue Service (available in POL only)
• Mountaineering in Tatra Mountains (practical info about climbing in Tatras)

Photography

• K2 Studio - photographs of the Tatras (available in: SLV, ENG)
• 360 - a spherical panoramic journey in 1583 pieces (available in: POL, ENG)
• CinemaPhoto.pl - photographs in Tatras (available in: POL, ENG)
• Astonishing Vintage Images of the Tatra Mountains