The future resort began to emerge in 1872 when Jozef Szentiványi ("of
St. John". 1817-1906, from a noble family with roots in the nearby village
of Liptovský Ján, originally: Sv. Ján, "St. John") built a
hunting lodge on the banks of Štrbské pleso. Access to the High Tatras was made
easier the year before when the railroad reached Poprad in their foothills.
Szentiványi rented the lot from the village of Štrba whose municipal lands
included the lake and which gave its name to it. He opened it to tourists