On 28th December 2013, the iconic construction of Rotunda was brought back after more than 10 years. Located in the windiest place, it used to be a shelter for skiers and walking tourists in bad weather in the past. The refurbished Rotunda offers a unique panoramic view of the Western Tatras and the region of Horehronie, refreshment in a restaurant, 61 top-class rum brands from Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Colombia, Mauritius, the British Isles etc., or home- made desserts and typical meals in an atypical style.
Ján Kromka, the main interior architect said the construction itself was really symbolic:”The whole concept of the interior is based on the contrast between round shapes of soft Slovak wood – spruce and modern materials such as brushed stainless steel, ceramics and cast stone. The whole interior is a demonstration of craftsmanship of our regional blacksmiths and craftsmen. Inner facing was designed according to old pictures of the original interior. We stuck to the most important feature – beautiful views. That´s why the seating arrangements and chairs are rather low, to let the panorama of the Tatras and Mt. Choč shine. And in good weather, the southern terrace of Rotunda offers nice views of the region of Horehronie too.“ He continued that the interior had been made within 6 weeks, there had been 120 tonnes of material brought up in extremely bad weather. A fireplace in the middle of the rum bar attracts most attention. It has a rather philosophical motto: “Remelted past” as material from the original Rotunda restaurant and an old cable car were used to build it.
Ján Žiška from Hybe, an 87-year-old former leader of the cable car assembly team, remembers the original Rotunda restaurant and construction of the upper cable car station as follows: “The times were hard. We were building the station in winter, it was freezing, we had to melt snow to have water for cooking. It was the season of 1951/1952. The original Rotunda restaurant was built within a year, a transport cable car helped us bring up the material, there were no helicopters. I remember wiring being dug into the ground. The weather made it hard for us, we were working between 14 and 15 hours a day. The original Rotunda restaurant was different as we had an observatory there too. It has been 20 years since I was on Mt. Chopok last time. Big constructions can be seen everywhere, hats off. This is a much higher level.“
Tomáš Moravčík, the project architect and civil engineer of the present Rotunda was inspired by the history and the idea of mutual connection between the northern and southern side of Mt. Chopok via transport facilities and a restaurant. “While reconstructing the original Rotunda, we realised it was too destroyed to be renewed, so we built a small round Rotunda (present Rum Bar) on the same place and added a restaurant. When making the project, we had to take the cable cars from the north and south into consideration. They determined the height for the future Rotunda restaurant. As this is the windiest place, we calculated the wind and snow load along with stress analysts. So Rotunda is completely safe,“ added Moravčík.
Rotunda with a Rum Bar, a panorama restaurant, 3 suites of the highest standard, 2 suites of a lower standard, a southern terrace on the roof of cable car stations and a self- service bar on the ground floor is a unique architectonic masterpiece connecting slopes of the southern and northern side of Mt. Chopok. The first guests will stay in suites and enjoy a magic winter morning in the second half of January 2014, when the accommodation section of Rotunda shall be opened. Rotunda contains a Time capsule with messages for the future which were sealed for the following 20 years at the grand opening ceremony of Rotunda on 28th December 2013.
To download pictures of the grand opening ceremony and sealing of the Time capsule, please click on the following link: http://uschovna.zoznam.sk/download?code=1342687795722- mDMFUEBcpPeRllPXLSPX __________________________________________________________________________________
Tatry mountain resorts, a.s. is a top subject in the field of tourism in Central and Eastern Europe, which itself or via subsidiaries owns and operates attractive ski resorts and hotels in the area of the Low and High Tatras. These include the resort Jasná Low Tatras and the following hotels: Wellness hotel Grand Jasná, Tri studničky and Chalets Záhradky De Luxe. In the High Tatras, TMR owns and operates resorts Tatranská Lomnica, Starý Smokovec and the following hotels: Grandhotel Praha Tatranská Lomnica, Grandhotel Starý Smokovec and hotel FIS Štrbské Pleso. TMR also co‐operates the resort Štrbské Pleso and since the winter season 2012/2013 it has been leasing the mountain resort Špindlerův Mlýn in the Czech Republic in cooperation with SMMR, a.s.. TMR owns Tatralandia, the largest Slovak aquapark with all- year operation, which offers a lot of water and other entertainment in the Fun Park relax or in a special tropical hall with sea water. It also offers accommodation in bungalows and suites of the Holiday Village Tatralandia. TMR also owns and rents hotels Kosodrevina, Liptov and Ski&Fun Záhradky and Bungalows. More than 190 million Euros will have been invested by the end of 2013 in the above mentioned resorts, which helps increase the standard and visitor turnout in the Tatras. The TMR shares have been traded on three European stock exchanges – in Bratislava, Prague and Warsaw since 2012.