Friday, June 28, 2013

Dobsina Ice Cave



This postcard shows a 1905 view of ice skating in the Dobsina Ice Cave. The location was part of Hungary when this postcard was published, but is now part of Slovakia. The following information about the cave is from touristmemory.com:
Situated 20 km north from Dobšiná village within the Slovak Paradise National Park, Dobšiná cave is the oldest and at the same time the largest ice cave in Europe.The layer of ice has a volume of 110 thousands cubic meters, in many places reaching a thickness of 26.5 meters.

Apart from an ice floor, this huge underground glacier has enchanting waterfalls, stalagmites, and columns of ice. The cave was discovered in 1870. Until 1946 the general public was allowed to skate throughout the year. Dobšiná cave is part of a cave system stretching for 21 kilometers. It measures 1232 meters, of which 475-meter stretch is open to the public.

Along with 11 other caves of the Slovak Karst, Dobšiná Cave was added on UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000.
There is a gallery of photos of the Dobsina Ice Cave on the website of the Slovak Caves Administration.

The postcard was mailed in 1908 to Amy Sisser c/o O. H. Peck Company in Minneapolis.


The O. H. Peck Company offered photo finishing services and sold photographic supplies. The store had been bought along with other businesses by Eastman Kodak about 1902. It was the scene of a major Minneapolis fire in 1904. When searching for information about the company, I found this interesting December, 1910 newspaper ad for Kodak cameras and supplies sold by O. H. Peck.



For More Vintage Images



17 comments:

  1. Wow -- I never knew such a thing existed. I wonder why they stopped letting people skate in 1946. Global warming?? Safety issues??

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  2. Being fearful about caves, I had no idea their maintenance was so complicated and involved so much scientific endeavor. The web site of the caves is very interesting. The photos you've included of the ice formations are most interesting. Thanks for a great read.

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  3. I visited an ice cave in Austria - it was very cold, and picturesque, but I wasn't too enamoured with the coloured lights. Great finish, with that Kodak advert.

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  4. It looks like this would be big enough to avoid that closed in cave like feeling that I imagine I would get in a cave. And ice skating all year sounds good.

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  5. I'd never heard of an ice cave; it sounds the stuff of fairy tales. It certainly looks enchanting.

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  6. How fascinating - I had never even heard of ice caves. What a splendid postcard as well.

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  7. What everybody else said !

    No really, thanks for posting. I am intrigued and would love to see it one day.

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  8. Wonderful post! I'd love to skate in such a fairy-tale place. Of course I haven't been on the old blades for a few decades now so I'd probably wind up embarrassing myself royally. I used to love to skate, though

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  9. Fantastic. I did more research on Slovakia and have now added it as a destination that I would like to visit.

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  10. So interesting and I thought I'd heard of everything by now...just goes to show ya.

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  11. Oh this sounds like a beginning to a wonderful story. Nice postcard!

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  12. A fine postcard! I had never heard of an "ice" cave either.

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  13. I was intrigued by the thought of ice skating in an ice cave. Then I surfed thru the gallery of pictures. What a fairy tale place!

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  14. I love the clip art people on the card. Images that were probably used for newspaper advertising were grouped and pasted on the photo. Never seen a card like this.

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  15. No pun intended,
    but it seems like a "cool" destination.
    :D~
    HUGZ

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  16. Not for me. I can't even say long in an ice rink.But this is an interesting place from a geological point of view.

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