About cottage

Chata pod Suchým is a mountain cottage located at an elevation of 1,075 meters above sea level, beneath the peak of Suchý (1,468 meters above sea level), in the cadastral area of the village Nezbudská Lúčka.

Access to the cottage is possible via hiking trails from Strečno, Varín, or Nezbudská Lúčka. The valley is marked with a blue trail.

The route from Varín through Jedľovina is a forest road that is also suitable for cycling. Therefore, it is a popular destination not only for hikers but also for cyclists who prefer mountain routes.

The hike from Nezbudská Lúčka or Strečno along the red trail passes by the ruins of Starhradu, where reconstruction is currently underway. From here, there is a unique view of the Domašínsky meander, created by the Váh River.

You can also reach the cottage from Vrútky, by taking a circular route through Chata pod Kľačianskou Magurou.

Since the cottage is located on the Malá Fatra main ridge trail, it serves as either the starting point or the endpoint of the Malá Fatra ridge hike.

History

Article comes from: https://www.pomehore.sk/chata-pod-suchym/

I can't help but begin this article with a few words about a person not everyone knows, yet his influence is almost everywhere we look during our trips to the mountains.

We’re talking about Mikuláš Mlynarčík, a prominent figure in Slovak tourism. He was born on December 6, 1894, in Tatranská Kotlina, and passed away on November 5, 1977, in Žilina. Throughout his life, he contributed immensely to the development of tourism. He was a key figure behind the founding of the mountaineering club JAMES, was an occasional mountain guide, and completed around 2,000 mountaineering and hiking tours. After moving to Žilina, he became a very active member in the Malá Fatra region, serving as both a member and later the chairman of the Žilina branch of KČST (Club of Czechoslovak Tourists), later KSTL, and was instrumental in the creation of the Mountain Rescue Service in Malá Fatra. We also have him to thank for two cottages that have likely been visited by anyone who has set foot on the peaks of Krivánska Malá Fatra: Chata pod Chlebom and Chata pod Suchým. In this article, we will take a closer look at the history of the latter.

It was in 1937 when Mikuláš Mlynarčík, as a member of the KČST branch, came up with the idea and plans to build a cottage beneath the peak of Suchý in Malá Fatra. Due to the nearby mountain called Plešel, some people, especially older generations or locals, may also associate this cottage with the name Chata na Plešeli.

The construction began in 1938 with contributions from the city (50,000 crowns) and the state (120,000 crowns), and the process moved relatively quickly, as accommodation was already available that same year. However, despite the smooth progress, the division of Czechoslovakia that year slowed many things down, extending the construction to five years. The cottage was not fully completed until 1943, with the newly established KSTL central office providing a loan of 20,000 crowns for the final works.

About cottage

The new cottage was a two-story building with an attic, constructed in a very modern style. It featured tastefully furnished rooms and a shared dormitory, providing a total of 80 beds. The cottage, illuminated by a generator, also had a dining room and a small kitchen where hikers could prepare their meals. It was even equipped with a water supply.

The first tenants, starting on July 1, 1943, were Mr. Tichánek and his wife. They also had their own apartment in the cottage.

At that time, it was called the Žilinská Chata KSTL pod Suchým. Initially, only members of the Žilina branch of KSTL visited the cottage, and occasional visitors would “wander” in, mostly over the weekends. Over time, more guests started coming, eventually returning for vacation stays. They were very well taken care of, as the cottage had a bakery oven, ensuring fresh bread was always available. Cows were raised there, providing fresh milk, and the Ticháneks, along with their staff, produced excellent dairy products.

In the winter of 1943, although the front was approaching, the members of KSTL from Žilina still had big plans. They wanted to build a ski slope near the cottage. However, by the spring of 1944, the situation had changed significantly. People could no longer freely go to the mountains, and the cottage became a refuge for partisans. Although they didn’t occupy it constantly for obvious reasons, not a night passed without someone staying there. The Ticháneks, realizing the danger, wanted to leave the cottage, but the KSTL branch in Žilina forbade them, as they were responsible for it and had put down a deposit. Then came that fateful day, October 31, 1944, which Tichánek recalled like this:

"I left for Strečno in the morning. While in Strečno, I heard that German soldiers were on their way to burn down the cottage. They were soldiers from an armored division stationed in Vrútky. I hurried back. As I approached the cottage, the first flames were already leaping up. It was 11:45 AM. My distraught wife, along with the staff, sat on a pile of belongings in the meadow below the cottage. That pile was our entire property and practically everything that had been saved from the cottage. Then the soldiers set the cottage on fire in several places. It burned for 25 hours, and we weren't allowed to extinguish it. My wife left in the evening to find people who could help carry down the items we had managed to save."

Thus ended the story of the first cottage under Suchý, into which many tourists and skiers had invested a great deal of money, time, and effort. Mr. Tichánek, a nature lover and a very friendly person, never regained the strength or desire to continue with anything similar after this event, and he gave up being a cottage caretaker.

New cottage

After the war ended, the country essentially had to start over in all aspects. Mikuláš Mlynarčík, now the chairman of the Žilina branch of KSTL and known for his energetic approach, took on the task of building a new cottage.

Construction was supposed to begin as early as 1946, but Mlynarčík couldn't find someone to lead the building efforts. It wasn't until a year later that Gejza Burčík arrived from Veľká Rača. Gejza was the son of a local official in Varín, an excellent skier, and a nature lover. After the war, he married Hanka Akantisová, and together they decided to work in the mountains. They initially started building a cottage on Strážska hoľa at the end of Kurská Valley, but they didn’t complete it. A greater challenge arose—the need to rebuild Chata pod Suchým. Restoring a cottage that had been reduced to only its foundations and chimney was indeed a significant challenge.

However, they accepted the challenge, and along with a good friend, Vilo Sauer, they started the work on May 15, 1947. Although Sauer left after a month to build Chata pod Chlebom, the couple continued on with the project.

They began by constructing the utility building. The early stages were very challenging—they lived in a tent at first, and later in a lumberjack’s shack. Materials were transported from Strečno by carts to a drop-off point under Starý hrad, where there was a makeshift depot covered by a tarp. From there, people and mules carried the materials up the trails. The wood was chopped in front of the cottage, and after it was prepared, with the help of the Švík family and Adamov from Lysica, the basic structure of the utility building was erected. The entire process took 14 days.

In the summer of 1947, the Banderites began fleeing from the Poles, and during their escape, they destroyed many villages in Slovakia. They didn't spare Chata pod Suchým either, and the construction work had to be halted for a short time that summer. Work resumed at the end of September, but much of the material had either disappeared or been damaged. Despite this, the utility building was completed before winter, and the foundations of the cottage were reinforced. All the transported materials were stored under a temporary roof for the winter. Porters were paid 4-5 Kčs per kilogram, with payment made in cash, and students from Varín, including Janino Gábor and Paľo Tretina, earned extra money this way. However, there were also some schemers; some soaked their boards just before reaching the cottage to make them heavier, or they reused boards that had already been weighed and delivered. All of this was discovered during inventory.

When everything was ready for construction in 1948, in the spring, eight carpenters built the framework of the rough structure in three days. The cottage was completed in the summer of 1949 with the help of a state grant in the amount of 1,350,000 crowns. It was almost identical to the first cottage, just without front windows in the attic, due to the fact that the gable roof was replaced by a symmetrical one. Her first lodger was Gejza Burčík from September 1. As a tenant, he paid 3,000 kroner as a monthly rent. His task was heavy boy's work, his wife was in charge of the kitchen and the running of the cottage, which had supplies 66.

After nationalization, the owners changed regularly, in 1951 it was the tourism company Turista, then Stredoslovenské hotels and Interhotels, they then sold it to a production organization that didn't even let tourists in, all these changes damaged the cottage a little, people lost interest in it and more often they visited Malá Fatra with access through Vrátna dolina.

It wasn't until 1971 that TJ Lokomotiva Žilina bought the cottage, and Laco Dubec and his wife, who had previously been a cottager at the Chata pod Rozsutcom, came as a cottager (there is already information about it on the website článok). Together with Libor Šram, they improved the access to the cottage, repaired the water supply system so that it was possible to use the cottage to its full potential even in winter, the situation began to improve and interest in the cottage grew again.

Another cottager was Tono Ďuriník, who built an EPV 350 ski lift, central heating, water tank, roof covering, entrance extension to the cottage, flooring and beds were replaced, new sanitary facilities were built, but simply, a huge piece of work. TJ Lokomotíva Žilina is still the owner at the present time, and the cottage has been in use since 2011 owned and operated by Drahoš Štěpanovský from Martin.

In addition to those mentioned, until then, Mr. Palkovič, Kamil Hanuliak and his wife, Jožko Cigeľ and his wife, Mr. Lorko, Vilko Magváš with his wife and Mr. Hromjak.