The entrance building to Ochtinská Aragonite Cave is located in the Ochtinská cryptokarst area, on the northwestern slope of Hrádok Hill in the Revúca Highlands, which form part of the Slovak Ore Mountains. The design of the entrance building was initiated after Ochtinská Aragonite Cave came under the administration of the Slovak Caves Administration in Liptovský Mikuláš in 1970. The project was designed by architects Hlavica and Droppa, who at the time worked at the Institute for the Development and Design of Cultural Buildings and Monument Restoration in Bratislava.
The architecture of the entrance building is an unusual structure in terms of its form, sensitively integrated into the surrounding natural environment. The centrally composed building takes the form of a 24-sided truncated pyramid on a circular plan, set on a masonry base and complemented by a raised terrace. The depth of the layout is illuminated by an interior courtyard with a fountain, which also forms a distinctive compositional element of the interior. The interior has retained its original radially arranged furnishings, which form an integral part of the architectural design.
The construction of the cave entrance building at the time represented more than merely an unusual building type. As part of the gradual opening of caves to the public, it also involved the creation of a comprehensive entrance complex which, in terms of its scale and architectural design, was the first of its kind in Slovakia.
author of the description: Monika Bočková
Bibliography:
LUCINKIEWICZ, Anton: Vstupný areál Ochtinskej aragonitovej jaskyne. Krásy Slovenska 1976, roč. 53, č. 12, s. 556 - 559.
LALKOVIČ, Marcel: Príspevok k histórii Ochtinskej aragonitovej jaskyne. Acta Carsologica Slovaca 2004, roč. 42, č. 1, s. 7-36.
JIROUŠEK, Alexander et al.: Východoslovenský kraj. Košice: Východoslovenské vydavateľstvo, 1980
