History and present
It is passed on that the Demänovská Ice Cave is known from time immemorial. The first mention about the openings to caves in the Demänovská Valley is recorded in the Esztergom Chapter document from 1299. However, it cannot be related to a specific cave. The first written mention about the Demänovská Ice Cave is related to the description of a cave not far from Liptovský Mikuláš and comes from 1672 by J. P. Hain who was interested in cave bear bones and took them for dragon’s bones.
Further mentions of the Demänovská Ice Cave are connected with G. Buchholtz jr., who surveyed its spaces in 1719. He sent the description together with a sketch of the cave to M. Bel, who published them in 1723.
Emperor’s commission, which were surveying Tatras and adjacent mountains overlooked the cave in 1751. Plenty inscriptions on cave walls and preserved rich literature show a great interest of then scientific circles and general public in the cave. There are also signatures of important persons of the Slovak history on its walls (M. M. Hodža, S. Chalupka, G. Fejérpataky-Belopotocký and others).
The primary opening the cave for public took place around the half of the 19th century, though an adaptation of its spaces to make descend easier mainly in the steep and iced entrance part was done earlier thanks to the Demänová Association of Owners (composesorate). Further adjustments in the cave were carried out by the Liptov’s Section of the Ugrian Carpathian Club, which built the first hostel under the cave in 1885 and began to take care of the development of tourism in the Demänovská Valley. A. Žuffa jr. discovered the Dome of Ruins in the lower part of the cave in 1909. The interest in the Demänovská Ice Cave was gradually falling down after opening the Demänovská Cave of Liberty for the public in 1924. A. Král together with V. Benický, discovered the upper dripstone parts of the cave in 1926.
The cave was reopened in 1950 – 1952, including installation of electric lighting. S. Šrol, P. Revaj and P. Droppa discovered the Demänovská Cave of Peace from the Lake Passage in January 1952. This had disturbed the temperature regime in the cave, so in 1953 – 1954 measures were taken to restore the ice fill (closing the dug opening in the Dome of Ruins, building a wall to divide parts with and without ice etc.). The show path was reconstructed through the years 1974 – 1976 and Gravel Dome was opened for the public. The cavers of the Demänovská Valley local group – a unit of the Slovak Speleological Society discovered the spaces above the Kmeť’s Dome in 1983. The cave has 650 m open for public with elevation difference of -48 m.