After the long winter and despite the harsh climatic conditions, honeybees left the highest located Slovak beehive in Štrbské Pleso again one month ago. There is a good reason for saying that bees are a symbol of hard work. They seem not to have stopped since they flew out.
An experienced beekeeper “visited” the diligent creatures at their home in the second week of July and extracted the first honey of this year from colourful beehives which are decorated with traditional and natural motifs.
“So far, more than ten kilograms of honey have been found in two hives. We plan to extract honey from two other hives in the course of the next week. Everything depends on weather, though. If it gets cold for a longer period and the bees cannot fly out to eat, they will consume the honey which is in the combs now,” said Erika Fočárová, the general manager of the FIS hotel in Štrbské Pleso.
The Slovak rarity in the Tatras is meant to support the beekeeping tradition. The beehives face the nearby forest so that the bees have a direct access. Only natural products are used when caring for the bees, no chemicals. “Once the honey is registered officially, we would like to offer it to our hotel guests for breakfast,” added Mrs. Fočárová.
When fixing the hive, Jana Znášiková from the Apis Carpatica civic association had said that although the hives were located at the altitude of 1,380 metres, they should be doing fine.
“There is a lot of sunlit on the roof, the flight boards are east facing. The bees can find many nectar sources in the area, which is very stimulating for them,” said Mrs. Znášiková one year ago. The hives are considered beneficial by the hotel too. “We are helping the ecosystem in the Tatras because the number of pollinators is falling and bees are regarded as indicators of a healthy environment,” concluded Mrs. Fočárová.
Tatry mountain resorts, a.s. (TMR) is the leader in tourism in Central and Eastern Europe; it owns and operates attractive mountain resorts, amusement parks, restaurant facilities, sports services, shops and hotels. In the Low Tatras TMR owns and operates the resort Jasná Nízke Tatry and hotels Wellness hotel Grand Jasná, Boutique Hotel Tri Studničky, Chalets Jasná De Luxe, Hotel Srdiečko, Hotel Pošta and Hotel Rotunda. TMR is also the owner of Aquapark Tatralandia, the largest Slovak aquapark with year-round operation, which besides water entertainment includes Tropical Paradise, a special tropical indoor hall with sea water, as well as Fun Park, and accommodation in bungalows and suites of Holiday Village Tatralandia. In the High Tatras TMR owns and operates the resort Vysoké Tatry with mountain areas of Tatranská Lomnica, Starý Smokovec, and Štrbské Pleso, which TMR co-manages. In the High Tatras TMR also owns hotels Grandhotel Praha Tatranská Lomnica, Grandhotel Starý Smokovec, Hotel FIS Štrbské Pleso and Mountain hostel Hrebienok. TMR also owns a 9.5 % share in Melida, a.s., which leases and operates the resort Špindlerův Mlýn in the Czech Republic. TMR also leases and operates the ski resort Ještěd, Golf & Ski Resort Ostravice and leases Kaskáda Golf Rezort Brno, where it runs a hotel, a restaurant and a conference centre. In Poland TMR owns a 97% share in the mountain resort Szczyrkowski Ośrodek Narciarski S.A. (SON), a 75% share in a company that owns and operates Silesian Amusement Park (Śląskie Wesołe Miasteczko) and a 7.3% share in an amusement-educational project via the Polish company Korona Ziemi Sp. z.o.o. TMR also owns and leases hotels Slovakia, Kosodrevina, Liptov and Ski&Fun Záhradky a Bungalovy to third parties. By the end of 2018, more than EUR 350 mil. had been invested into development and modernisation of TMR’s resorts. TMR shares are traded on three European stock exchanges – in Bratislava, Prague, and Warsaw.