24.12.2025 09:11
At the opening of the Visnove Tunnel, which took 27 years to build and holds the title of the longest tunnel in the country, Prime Minister Robert Fico showcased an unusual performance by skating through the entire tunnel. Skating the 7.4 kilometers, Fico said, "I didn't want to miss this opportunity, so I skated through the entire tunnel."
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico performed an unusual act during the opening of a tunnel that took 27 years to complete in the northern Zilina region of the country.
HE SKATED THROUGH THE ENTIRE TUNNEL
The Slovak leader skated through the entire 7.4-kilometer Visnove Tunnel hours before its official opening on Monday.
"I DIDN'T WANT TO MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY"
Sharing images from inside the tunnel on social media, Fico said, "I didn't want to miss this opportunity, so I skated through the entire tunnel."
In his speech at the opening ceremony, Fico indicated that the tunnel would improve the lives of Slovak citizens, stating, "This is also the fundamental mission of politics."
THE LONGEST TUNNEL IN THE COUNTRY
The Visnove Tunnel, the longest tunnel in Slovakia's road network, was opened to traffic on Monday as part of the 13.5-kilometer section of the D1 highway between Lietavsk Lka and Dubn Skala.
The D1 highway, which passes through a mountainous area at the foot of the Mala Fatra mountain range in the Western Carpathians, has long posed engineering challenges and disrupted the country's east-west transportation route.
Work on the tunnel began on May 22, 1998, was halted in 2002, and only resumed 12 years later.