Land-based incline plane

History

Already at the beginning of the 20th century, the Poprad firm of Matejka and Krieger had a project developed to carry tourists from Stary Smokovec up to the Hrebienok ridge. After successful realization, 20 December 1908 saw the initiation of the inclined plane's operations. Two counter-weighted wagons brought up to 184 travellers per hour in each direction. It quickly became one of the Tatras' greatest attractions.

After various reconstructions in the 1940s and 1950s, its most significant technical upgrade took place on the occasion of the World Championships in Skiing, held in the High Tatras in 1970. At this time the tracks were overhauled and the inclined plane was furnished with new technology from the Ceretti-Tanfani company.

Present

Today, the inclined plane can transport up to 900 people per hour in each direction, in cars with a capacity of 128. The two stations offer sales and rental of summer and winter sporting equipment, and a snack bar with a striking view of the Poprad valley and the Levocske and Low Tatras mountains. The Hrebienok ridge boasts good skiing conditions, a delightful setting for rest or convalescence, and is also an approach station for high mountain hiking and climbing -- up to the peak Slavkovsky stit (2452 m above sea level), the valleys of Velka Studena dolina and Mala Studena dolina and their surroundings.

Technical specifications