Morskie Oko Zakopane – Tatra Mountains

You can get medals at the hostel!

Morskie Oko is the largest and best known lake in the Tatra Mountains, located at an altitude of 1,395 metres above sea level. Its name is linked to an old legend about its underground connection with the Adriatic Sea. On the moraine enclosing the lake from the north, at an altitude of 1405 metres above sea level, stands the Stanisław Staszic PTTK mountain hostel. The earliest mention of an existing shelter in the Morskie Oko region comes from 1823. After many fires and reconstructions, the ‘Old Shelter’ was built, which is the oldest existing shelter in the Polish Tatras. ‘New Hostel’ of 1908, after modernisation, is the most comfortable hostel in the Polish Tatras. Both buildings have been recognised as historical monuments.

As a tourist place, Morskie Oko already existed in the early 19th century. The charm of this place inspired the work of many artists, both painters and poets. It has also served as the backdrop for films, including Krzysztof Zanussi’s Spiral, and has been visited by many distinguished guests, including Pope John Paul II in 1997. Karol Wojtyła used to visit the place with his father even before the war – as a young boy. Later, as a priest, bishop and cardinal, he would walk in the mountains, doing – as he called them – many hours of ‘day work’. The last time John Paul II visited the Morskie Oko Lake was on 5 June 1997. He wrote a short ‘Good luck’ in the hostel’s memorial book.