School History
The development of tourism during the period of the First Czechoslovak Republic created a need for professionally trained specialists in the hotel industry. This trend led to the establishment of the first hotel schools in Czechoslovakia, which were founded only after the Second World War. Their locations were spa towns – Piešťany in Slovakia and Mariánské Lázně in the Czech lands – and this was no coincidence.
Why Piešťany?
Several regions in Slovakia had a well-developed tourism sector and a high concentration of hotels, spas and recreational facilities. The main candidates for the establishment of a hotel school were Piešťany, Trenčianske Teplice and the High Tatras.
The idea of establishing a hotel school had already emerged in the first half of the 1940s during the existence of the Slovak Republic. After the end of the Second World War, the issue once again became relevant and Piešťany naturally became the preferred location.
A major contribution to the establishment of the school was made by Bratislava hotelier and chairman of the Slovak Hotel Association, Karol Bláha, who was a member of the school’s board of trustees, provided financial support and also taught at the school as an external lecturer.
Another important initiator was Ľudovít Winter, then General Director of the Piešťany Spa. He understood that building hotels and spa facilities alone was not enough; it was also essential to train qualified staff capable of professionally operating and managing them.
At his initiative, he asked MUDr. Imrich Sečanský, a prominent Slovak specialist in dietetics and diabetology, to obtain the curriculum of the hotel school in Lausanne, Switzerland, during one of his visits there. MUDr. Sečanský later became an external lecturer at the newly established school.
Establishment of the School
During 1946, preparations for the establishment of the school began, and it was decided that the school would commence its activities in the 1946/47 school year. The school and its boarding facilities were initially located in the Kurhotel building, which belonged to the State Spa enterprise and today houses the headquarters of the Slovak Health Spa in Winterova Street.
Applicants had to be at least 16 years old, have completed four years of municipal or lower secondary school, and hold a certificate of apprenticeship in waiting, cooking or confectionery. Preference was given to applicants with foreign-language skills. The aim of the school was to prepare independent entrepreneurs and managerial staff for the hospitality sector.
The programme lasted two years and ended with theoretical and practical final examinations before an examination board. Graduates were given preferential consideration for employment in tourism enterprises such as hotels, restaurants, cafés and dining establishments, where they worked as waiters, head waiters or cooks.
The best graduates could, after completing supplementary school-leaving examinations at the Business Academy, continue their studies at the State Hotel Academy in Piešťany. Graduates of the Academy went on to work as hotel secretaries, accountants, hotel managers or employees of travel agencies.
The Early Years and Development
The school was officially opened on 1 October 1946 and consisted of two full-time departments – the two-year State Hotel School (known as the higher waiter and cook school) and the one-year, later two-year, State Hotel Academy (known as the hotel secretarial academy). Regular teaching began on 2 October 1946.
On 5 May 1947, Emília Ursínyová became the school’s first headmistress. She made a significant contribution to the development of tourism and spa services in Czechoslovakia and helped promote the good reputation of Piešťany both at home and abroad.
In September 1947, the first 22 students graduated from the Hotel Academy, while the first nine graduates of the two-year Hotel School completed their studies in 1948. Ľudovít Winter was among the guests attending the final examinations. From the 1948/49 school year onwards, the Hotel Academy programme was extended to two years.
Later Development of the School
In the 1950/51 school year, the school was known as the Higher Hotel School. The programme was subsequently extended first to three years and then to four years, ending with a school-leaving examination.
Between 1954 and 1960, the school operated under the name School of Institutional Catering in Piešťany, offering secondary school programmes focused on the economics and planning of institutional catering.
From the 1960/61 school year, the school was renamed the Secondary Hotel School in Piešťany, a name under which it was known for the following 30 years.
During the 1960s and 1970s, three main fields of study were offered – Economics and Operation of Institutional Catering, Economics and Hotel Operations and Tourism. Students could complete their studies through full-time, distance, evening or external forms of education.
In 1964, construction began on a new school campus in Stromová Street. The complex was completed by 1967, and teaching began there on 1 September 1967. At that time, the school already had 19 full-time classes and 20 distance and evening classes.
At the end of the 1970s, the study programmes were reorganised. A new programme in Hotel and Institutional Catering Operations was introduced, while Tourism continued to be offered as a full-time programme.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the school underwent several reforms and experimental changes.
In the 1991/92 school year, the final students of the four-year full-time programme graduated and the school was transformed into a five-year Hotel Academy.
From the 1995/96 school year, a new programme was introduced – 6323 6 Hotel Academy.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its establishment, the school was granted the honorary name Ľudovít Winter Hotel Academy in June 1998, in honour of its distinguished founder and pioneer of tourism in Piešťany.
Today, Ľudovít Winter Hotel Academy is a highly specialised school offering one principal programme of study, 6323 K Hotel Academy, together with the post-secondary programme 6318 Q Hotel and Travel Agency Management.
Ľudovít Winter – the Man Who Gave Piešťany an International Reputation
Ľudovít Winter (1870–1968) is one of the most important figures in the history of Piešťany and its spa industry. He was a successful entrepreneur, but also an idealist and humanitarian who acted with integrity and vision.
Half a century of development in Piešťany – its transformation from a small settlement into an internationally renowned spa town – is inseparably connected with the Winter family, particularly with Alexander Winter and his sons Ľudovít and Imrich.
Ľudovít Winter was born on 1 November 1870 in Ipeľské Šahy. After studying at the Vienna University of Technology, he returned to Piešťany, where he helped his father manage the spa. Following his father’s death in 1909, he took over the management of the enterprise. He was a visionary who surrounded himself with experts and worked with distinguished architects, physicians and local representatives.
Under his leadership, many of the town’s most important landmarks were created, including the Kursalón, the Franz Joseph Baths, Hotel Thermia Palace, the Irma Spa, Jalta, the Red Tower and the Eva Thermal Swimming Pool. He also developed the concept of the Floreát spa district and contributed significantly to the development of Piešťany’s infrastructure.
In 1899, he commissioned the creation of what is today the iconic symbol of the spa – the Crutch Breaker, which subsequently became both the spa logo and part of the town’s coat of arms.
Winter also contributed greatly to the development of cultural life. He organised concerts, balls, theatre performances and congresses. As Chairman of the Association of Slovak Spas from 1919 to 1935, he also supported legislative and organisational developments in the spa sector.
Despite persecution during the Second World War and again after 1948, he remained devoted to Piešťany and its development. He left behind not only a substantial body of work but also a lasting legacy, captured in one of his thoughts:
“Science alone is not enough to make a doctor a good doctor. To succeed, patients must also like him. The same applies to those who manage spas – without affection for their guests and for their profession, lasting success cannot be achieved.”
Ľudovít Winter died in Piešťany on 15 September 1968 at the age of 98. He is buried in the cemetery on Bratislavská cesta.
In his honour, a commemorative plaque was unveiled and the main street of Piešťany has borne his name since 1991. The town also awarded him honorary citizenship in memoriam in recognition of his lifelong contribution to the development of Piešťany and its spa industry.