Bilíkova chata

Bilíkova chata (colloquially Bilíčka, German Bilík-Hütte) is a mountain hotel and restaurant situated on the Kancel (Kanzel) at an elevation of 1,255 metres above sea level, near the resort and winter sports area of Hrebienok in the High Tatras of Slovakia. It is a well-known stop on the Tatranská magistrála hiking route and serves as a base for hikers heading to peaks, waterfalls, and other mountain huts. The current building has its origins in the Dr.-Guhr-Hütte, erected by the Karpathenverein (Carpathian Association) in 1933–34 and opened on 22 December 1934. It was renamed Bilíkova chata in 1946 in honour of Pavol Bilík, a Slovak skier, financial guard member, and resistance fighter who was executed in 1944 for his role in the Slovak National Uprising. The site itself has a longer history: the area around Hrebienok was popular with visitors from the early 19th century, and the first shelter, the Rosahütte, opened on 1 August 1875. After a fire in 1893 and the destruction of the Wildbad Kohlbach complex in 1927, the land was donated to the Karpathenverein, leading to the construction of the Dr.-Guhr-Hütte. Today, Bilíkova chata operates as a hotel and restaurant, offering cosy rooms with traditional mountain atmosphere, regional cuisine made from fresh local ingredients, a Finnish sauna, Wi-Fi, and card payment. It markets itself as a convenient base for hiking, with trails leading directly from the hut. The official website promotes special offers such as breakfast included from €82 per night for a single night, or from €75 per night for stays of at least two nights, and a 50% deposit payment option. The restaurant also serves Kofola Original products. The property is privately operated and is not part of a large hotel chain.

The area around Hrebienok was already a popular destination for visitors from the early 19th century, although it was only accessible by bridle paths. One of the first decisions of the Hungarian Carpathian Association (Ungarischer Karpathenverein), founded in 1873, was to build a shelter. The association lacked funds, but with the support of various patrons, it opened the new hut on 1 August 1875. It was named Rosahütte (Hungarian Róza-menedékház, Slovak Ruženina chata) after the then-popular Hungarian singer Rosa Gräfl-Györffy, who donated a significant portion of the proceeds from an art tour. The small wooden hut with a few rooms had a wooden relief of a pink rose on the exterior, and thanks to this decoration, tourists mistakenly called it the Rosenhütte (Hungarian Rózsa-menedékház, Slovak Ružová chata). Next to the hut, the two-storey Hotel Kohlbach was built in 1884, forming the core of the Wildbad Kohlbach. The hut then served as emergency accommodation, later as a warehouse and stable, before a fire destroyed it in 1893. In its place, the Hotel Zips (also called Rosa-Hotel), part of Wildbad Kohlbach, was built in 1894, before the entire spa complex burned down on the night of 18 February 1927. In the same year, the Georgenberg doctor Michael Guhr acquired the land of the burnt spa from the Georgenberg forestry company and donated it to the Karpathenverein, which built the two-storey Dr.-Guhr-Hütte (Slovak Guhrova chata) there in 1933–34, with the opening on 22 December 1934. This new building was expanded as early as 1936 and after World War II was extended with a tourist hostel. In 1946, the hut received its current name Bilíkova chata after the Slovak skier, member of the financial guard in Horný Smokovec, and resistance fighter Pavol Bilík, who was arrested by Wehrmacht troops as a participant in the Slovak National Uprising and executed on 7 September 1944 in Kežmarok. Today, the hut operates as a hotel and restaurant, continuing its role as a mountain refuge and hospitality venue.

• 1946

  Renamed Bilíkova chata after resistance fighter Pavol Bilík.

• 1936

  The hut was expanded.

• 1934

  Dr.-Guhr-Hütte opened on 22 December.

• 1927

  Wildbad Kohlbach complex burned down on 18 February; land acquired by Dr. Michael Guhr and donated to the Karpathenverein.

• 1894

  Hotel Zips (Rosa-Hotel) built on the site as part of Wildbad Kohlbach.

• 1893

  Fire destroyed the original Rosahütte.

• 1884

  Hotel Kohlbach built next to the hut, forming the core of Wildbad Kohlbach.

• 1875

  Rosahütte opened on 1 August, named after singer Rosa Gräfl-Györffy.

• 1873

  Hungarian Carpathian Association founded; one of its first decisions was to build a shelter near Hrebienok.

A historic mountain hotel and restaurant in the High Tatras, positioned as an ideal base for hikers and nature lovers, offering traditional mountain atmosphere and regional cuisine.

• Accommodation in cosy rooms with traditional mountain atmosphere

• Restaurant serving regional cuisine from fresh local ingredients

• Finnish sauna

• Wi-Fi throughout the property

• Card payment accepted

• Kofola Original products

1. 1Bilíkova chata – Ubytovanie na Hrebienku, Vysoké Tatry | Horský hotel Bilíková chatabilikovachata.sk
2. 2Bilíkova chata – Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Bilíkova chata – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org