We cordially invite you to a lecture by author Maroš Semančík on his publication: Embracing the Elements: Architecture of the High Tatras 1871–1918.

Maroš Semančík’s presentation on his book, “Embracing the Elements: Architecture of the High Tatras 1871–1918,” offers a comprehensive and in-depth exploration of historical architecture on the Slovak side of the Tatras. It traces the development from the birth of Tatra settlements and their specific spa-center urbanism up to 1918, framing it as a dynamic and exceptional architectural phenomenon with numerous developmental specificities.

Excerpt from a review by Prof. Matúš Dulla:

"As an expression of nostalgic regret for a world whose last remnants are fading away, Maroš Semančík conceived his book on the architecture of the High Tatras during their great building boom of the last quarter of the 19th century. This boom began in 1871, with the opening of the Košice-Bohumín railway section from Žilina to Poprad-Veľká, and ended with the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918. The author makes no secret of his admiration for the picturesque eclectic architecture of that era and bitterly comments on the arrival of modernism, which signaled its rapid decline and irreversible end. He notes with considerable regret that much of what he writes about in the book no longer exists, sometimes without even a single historical photograph to document it. For some buildings, 'not even their status as cultural monuments... could sometimes protect them from destruction or even physical liquidation' (p. 11). Yet, despite this poignant sorrow over the demise of the 'good old world,' his work transcends mere sentiment. It offers a well-founded and rich argument based on extensive archival research from the Tatras to Budapest, a detailed knowledge of both lost and preserved buildings and their designs, their stylistic models and specific templates, and a scientifically thorough synthesis."