**3.2 Mining**

During the Turkish invasion of Central Europe in the 16th century, mining also began to develop here. The development of mining led to the appearance of coal miners who burned wood into charcoal for furnaces in which ore was melted. Copper ore was mined in Kopské sedlo, silver was mined in Belianská kopa and gold in Jatky. The mining sites were still visible at the end of the 19th century. Gold was sought on Belianska kopa and on the ridge between Kopské sedlo and the Jahňací štít. Mines on Belianska kopa are documented by the charter of the town of Spišská Belá from 1585 [52]. Despite the enactment of the Tatra National Park in 1949, mining activity in the

*Impacts of Human Activities on the High Mountain Landscape of the Tatras… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105601*

territory was definitively prohibited only by the Act of the Slovak National Council No. 287/199 Coll. SNR on State Nature Conservation [56].

The most obvious traces of mining were destroyed stands with consequences in the form of bad drainage conditions and losses of forest land. Therefore, a very significant element was that it changed the character of the region mainly due to the emergence of bare slopes. Nevertheless, since then, deliberately by foresters, but also by natural processes, these changes have softened or even disappeared [13].

#### **3.3 Aromatic plant-based oil industry**

In the alpine landscape, oilmen sought sustenance by the acquisition of medicinal oils and herbs and in their trade with them. In addition to balm, conifer oil and medicinal herbal extracts were used to produce other essences that were used in the treatment of the sick and in religious ceremonies [57]. An important location for oilmen in the Belianske Tatras was the Predné Meďodoly, where the so-called terpene and shrub oil factory was established [58]. It was located near the Biele plesá tarns. In 1890, the idea arose to develop a large-scale production of shrub oils. In 1897, the city of Kežmarok concluded a contract with the right to extract any quantity of shrub in the valleys of the Biela voda, the Zelené pleso tarn and the Biele plesá tarns and to distill aromatic oils from them on the spot. A working-class dormitory and a factory of medicinal 'oleum Pini pumilionis' shrub oils were built near the Biele plesá tarns. Due to a violation of the forest law of 1879, the contract was cancelled and the buildings were demolished. Pinus cembra oil "balsamus carpathicus" from the pinus cembra needles, twigs and cones [59] also played an important role in Spiš medicine.

The oil industry had a degrading effect mainly on shrub and pinus cembra stands.

#### **3.4 Hunting and poaching**

In the past, the owners of the Tatra mountainous territory, the kings and later the lower nobility, ordered their subjects to hunt in the area with the establishment of a mandatory game amount. The German prince, Prince Christian Kraft Hohenlohe, who bought a part of the Belianske Tatras in 1879, was one of the greatest hunters in the Tatras. He set up a game reserve here, in which people hunted until 1922 [60]. There were also poaching events in the Belianske Tatras, especially aimed at the marmot and chamois [57]. Poaching increased the most during the years 1919–1922. Due to extinction of the marmot in the Belianske Tatras, the restitution of marmots took place in 2009.

Hunting and poaching significantly affected the autochtonous fauna, which persisted even after the icing of past periods [61].

#### **3.5 World Wars**

The period of World War I is associated with a decrease in the number of grazed sheep in the Belianske Tatras, the number halved compared to 1803 [59]. During World War II, the German army captured the territory of the Belianske Tatras. Under the Hlúpy vrch, soldiers established a high-mountain firing position. In the massif of the Hlúpy vrch, or between the Hlúpy vrch (2060 m MSL) and the Zadné Jatky (2019 m MSL) there are preserved bunkers of the German army and trenches for artillery fire positions carved in the rock. The transport of military equipment,

ammunition, food and necessary material to the ridge of the Belianske Tatras was provided from Tatranská Javorina through the Zadné Meďodoly by Soviet prisoners guarded by German soldiers [62]. Bunkers − artificial underground spaces were built in a mining way with the help of explosives documented in 1993–1995 by speleologists [63]. The limestones of which the bunker is formed are heavily cracked due to the method of construction (blasting). The Germans' stay on the ridge of the Belianske Tatras was reflected in the condition of the chamois. Zelina [51] states that the soldiers contributed to the strong decimation of the marmot population as well.

#### **3.6 Tourism**

In the past, coal miners, treasure hunters, hunters, but also domestic nobility, stepped into the valleys and on the peaks. In the dense Tatra forests, robbers and deserters, smugglers or serfs found their refuge. Only in the 16th century can we consider the discovery of the Tatras associated with the first attempts at tourist walks [61]. The first tourist hike in the study area was made by Kežmarok castle's lady Beata Laská in 1565 [59]. The mountains began to be visited by educators, students, and later especially by the public.

The construction of hiking trails in the study area dates from 1879. In 1898 the Veľ ké Biele Pleso tarn received a tourist connection from Tatranská Kotlina. The extension of this trail to Kopské sedlo was established in 1905. The hiking trail continues from Kopské sedlo through Zadné Medďodoly to Tatranská Javorina. In 1938, a new trail to Predné Meďodoly was built, because the original path was exposed to falling stones, landslides and snow avalanches [59, 64].

In 1922, the army, together with the Czechoslovak Tourist Club, built a cottage with two rooms near the Veľ ké Biele pleso tarn, which later became overnight accommodation for tourists. However, the Kežmarok hut burned down in 1974. The design of the new Kežmarok hut from 1985 was in the end rejected [65].

The Belianske Tatras in the past had the attribute of extremely popular mountains for tourists, they were easily accessible, undemanding and with a ridge without extreme height differences. Due to the natural environment and the view of the countryside, they were very actively used. The maximum traffic was also several thousand visitors per year [66]. The attack on this very sensitive territory in the form of an excessive number of tourists manifested itself quite strongly. Disturbed chamois migrated from the ridge to the forest, where they were threatened by beasts; golden eagles left their nests, the number of bears decreased, and the almost complete destruction of some botanical species such as *Leontopodium alpinum*, *Gentiana clusii* and *Aster alpinus* was also alarming [67, 68]. With an enormous number of tourists on the ridge, there were secondary negative phenomena, such as shortening of trails, trampling around them and pollution of the natural environment with garbage and excessive noise [67]. The TANAP Administration therefore announced on 1 July 1978 the complete and long-term closure of the area to the public with a view to restoring ecological equilibrium. Until 1983, even scientists could not enter the Belianske Tatras [69]. Pressure from the public and various interest groups to make the Belianske Tatras accessible are constantly increasing. A compromise between the interests of tourists and the State Nature Conservation of the Slovak Republic was the opening of the educational trail in the Monková dolina valley in 1993 (one-way, payment for entry). Since 2008, this educational trail has been open both ways free of charge. In the Tatras, the seasonal closure of trails along the Tatra huts from 1st November to 15th June applies to ordinary tourists.
