The Presidential Mansion in Veľká Javorina is a national cultural monument, which served mainly for the representative purposes of the highest constitutional officials. Since 2015, the President of the Slovak Republic Andrej Kiska has opened it to the public. It is open every Thursday.
The castle was built in 1883 - 1885 by the Prussian prince Christian Craft Hohenlohe-Öhringen on the place from where you can see the Belianske and High Tatras.
Prince Hohenlohe bought more than 10,000 hectares for half a million gold coins in the old days. At first he forbade access to the area, but later he laid out hiking trails - the Polish Ridge, Sedielko and Kopské sedlo - which are still in use today. When the Tatra National Park was created, several nature protection measures from the time of Prince Hohenlohe were incorporated into the principles of national park protection.
The Prussian tycoon was also an avid hunter - he set up a menagerie in the forests where he imported bison, ibex, American and other deer.
The original appearance of the mansion has been preserved to this day, as has much of the original furnishings, including a telescope by the Munich optician Jacob Merz, hunting trophies, weapons, photographs, paintings and a gong for calling social events.
The chateau has been a national cultural monument since 2009.
Opening hours and booking: www.prezident.sk/page/tatranska-javorina/
Cover photo: Jano Štovka
