More than 200 masterpieces are now accessible in high resolution thanks to Slovak National Gallery. Rather amazing experience to explore sections “Landscape on its way to modernization”, “Landscape in a duty for idea of the nation” and others. And for geofreaks, all artworks are located on the map! Explore Slovak landscapes in artworks here.
Bratislava as an employment hub for the rest of Slovakia. Simple-minded people living in Záhorie region as a source of sarcastic jokes. Hardworking catholics in the harsh-climate northern Orava region. Hungarians in the south conspiring about regional autonomy while enjoying spicy goulash. These are just a few of stereotypes in Slovakia.
Old grannies speaking weird language and the most beautiful girls in the world (of course) in Eastern Slovakia. Slovakia is so diverse. Creating a regional stereotype makes our lives much easier! Do you feel Slovaks are the most hospitable and friendly nation worldwide? No? We do! You lazy French, snobbish Swiss, capitalist American, drunken Russian! Be aware that we, Slovaks, like to keep prejucides – at national as well as at regional level.
For a Slovak, to travel around Slovak regions means to confront his stereotypes with reality. For foreigner with the lack of information, the stereotype has to be created. Talk and listen to Slovaks – and stereotypes will pop up, no worries. It is pleasure to meet a guy from Ukrainian borderland and considering him to be a smuggler on the spot. More inspiration to be found in the regional mental map provided. Now available on our T-shirts!
Let’s be honest for a while. Let’s take a short walk through the streets of Slovak capital and keep your eyes and ears open. What can you see? What can you hear? How your perceptions stand in confrontation with what you expected? What is Bratislava? How is its identity today?
„Bratislava is a contrast of ages“, according to Lonely Planet. Nothing but true. Bratislava castle, shining white since only several years ago, proudly stands in between 1980’s building of Slovak Parliament (story itself) and 4-lane road leading to SNP bridge, only a few metres from medieval St. Martin’s cathedral. Btw, former Vydrica historical neighbourhood is now a semi-official parking place covered by billboards – good opportunity to use Photoshop when taking the most spectacular picture of Bratislava skyline.
Enjoy walking through (after 2 years, finally renovated) historical Štúrova street and you end up gazing upon 1960’s modernist triangle of shopping mall and abandoned hotel. Not a bad thing itself, of course. Interesting architecture is now hiding under advertisement pollution, flashing lights of game rooms, broken flower pots, wanna-be street-art and random shanty-town fast-food stands.
We could continue with the most modern riverside housing developments bordering some last pieces of industrial heritage and bushes (behing the billboards) that replaced other former more than a 100-years old factories.
This probably does not fit with your expectation based on official advertising of Bratislava destination. You have seen Vienna, Budapest, Prague. Promotion trying to sell Bratislava as Little Vienna fails, because it is not connected to reality.
Story of Bratislava is peculiar. But not because of our history connected to Austria-Hungarian empire and Habsburgs. Bratislava can amaze visitor by its growth and changes it experienced during 20th century and recent transformations. Five different political systems, changes of its border, unique location, brutal transition of its identity, all this create an intiguing blend that make this city extraordinary. It would be a pity to censor it.
Written by: Braňo Chrenka, Authentic Slovakia
Young American backpackers are walking through a decayed communist-era housing estate neighbourhood, horrified by a barking dog with a human hand in its mouth and a lady pouring dirty water out of the fourth floor.
The reality is, thank God, far from this picture. Nevertheless, prefabs are a significant characteristic of Slovak urbanism. Some of them, especially neighbourhoods in Bratislava and Košice, are even becoming a part of the destinations tourists are offered.
Almost one third of the population in Slovakia and around two thirds of population in Bratislava live in prefabs built after the 1950’s. Socialist planners applied prefabrication, a concept brought to life in Western Europe as soon the end of the First World War, as a solution for mass housing during rapid urbanization that came hand in hand with massive industrialization. Improved living standards for people of all social classes justified massive impacts upon former urban structures, architecture, local genius loci and traditions. A New identity of Slovak towns became a reality. After post-communist transformations, prefabricated housing estates represent an interesting insight back to the past through socialist urbanism, architecture and art.
Petržalka, one of the largest prefabricated housing estate areas in Central Europe, became a legend. Built between 1973 and 1989, transforming itself from the unwanted child of Bratislava and so-called “Bronx of Bratislava“ in the 1990’s, Petržalka is now green and a relatively pleasant place to live, with good options for free time activities and accessibility to the city centre. This neighbourhood, surrounded by the lowland forests of the Danube river and former Iron Curtain border with Austria dotted by pre-WWII military bunkers, with a canal in its central zone now has its own tourist map brought to life by a local photographer Martin Kleibl. Several tour operators organize guided tours through Petržalka as well, some of them even offer a lunch with local families in their apartments.
Contrasting to Bratislava, the urban structure of Košice is typical by its extensive historical city centre located in the valley and surrounded by prefabs upon the hills. One of the block in Furča was used as a platform to locate the Memorial of folk architecture by artist Tomáš Džadoň. An Authentic traditional rural wooden cottage stood proudly with a sharp contrast to a prefab, until inhabitants rejected this project. Socialist housing estates in Košice can also be explored in an authentic 1980’s Škoda car with local guides. This alternative tourism is becoming a way to commodify with past communism. If provided honestly, avoiding marketing shortcuts and without censorship, it can also be a way to confront ourselves and share the experience of communism with foreign visitors.
Written by: Braňo Chrenka
Images by: Peter Chrenka
Have you ever heard of Manchester in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire? – Probably not, because Manchester is and always has been in England. However, this nickname was sometimes used to describe Bratislava by the late 19th and early 20th century because of its rapidly booming industry. However, transformation of Bratislava since then has been significant.
Once a medieval fishing town and later capital and coronation city of the Hungarian Kingdom, it suddenly changed its silhouette and the number of chimneys soon exceeded the number of church towers.
The year 1848 is known as the revolutionary year in many parts of Europe. A series of revolts that also struck Slovakia as part of the old fashioned Hungarian kingdom were unmistakably a sign of a transition from feudalism to capitalism – the new era in which capital becomes dominant. Businessmen and factory owners formed a new cast which was able to accumulate wealth without belonging to the nobility or church. These wealthy people in exchange provide opportunities for the workers and contributed to the industrialisation and growth of cities.
1848 can also be viewed as the milestone marking the industrial revolution in Bratislava. In this year the railway between Bratislava and Vienna was established and the train service, operated by modern steam locomotive between these two cities, began and remains on the same route until this day. This railroad includes original bridges and viaducts from 1848, as well as the first railway tunnel excavated in the former Hungarian monarchy of the same year. It was clear at the time that the traditional animal power of horses was already becoming outdated. Just few years after steam locomotives replaced horses in 1840 on the railway line between The line from Bratislava to Trnava held the record as the very first railway in the monarchy. Horse-train station with its Big Ben like tower is still standing as a unique memorial of this era at the corner of Legionarska Street.
Good and modern connections with other parts of the monarchy and rest of Europe were necessary for the upcoming industrialisation. Therefore, the first big factories were founded and began to grow near transport hubs such as Danube harbour and railways.
Chemical production has always been among the most important industries in Bratislava. The big and modern Apollo oil refinery started processing the black gold as soon as 1895. It took up the area between Panorama City and Apollo Bridge named after the refinery as a tribute to as many as 200 employees who perished in the bombing of 1944. The refinery and other factories were chosen by the allies as strategic targets which had supported the Nazi war machine.
Another very important chemical plant was the dynamite factory founded personally by the inventor of dynamite Alfred Nobel. Entire housing colonies for workers together with the factory were built. During communist times the factory was renamed for ideological reasons to the Georgi Dimitrov Chemical Plant. He was the leader of the communist revolution in Bulgaria. At its peak then Dimitrov factory employed more than 7000 people and became by far the biggest employer in Bratislava. After the Velvet Revolution the factory was again renamed to the more neutral name of Istrochem. Today, it has only a handful of employees and most parts of it are slowly turning into ruins and has become an attraction for urban explorers. Since the plants decline, the air quality in Bratislava has become much improved, but the area of 120 hectares, which it covers, remains highly polluted and is one of the biggest environmental issues of the city at present.
Currently however, in contrast to the demise of Istrochem, numerous factories in Bratislava make products for daily use, an example being the textile industry. Textile production has belonged amongst the most prominent industries in Bratislava, since the very early 20th century. One of these factories, very well preserved but with an uncertain future, is called by locals the ‘Pink Castle’ and it`s located near Trnavske Myto. It is a wonderfully decorated and very functionally built factory building with a shape similar to Bratislava Castle and has a pink painted facade, hence the nickname.
Today, Bratislava is also a popular destination for those who come to enjoy the cheap but good beer in many pubs in the old town. However, not many of them have any clue about the once very famous brewery – Stein, which actually became the 3rd largest brewery in Czechoslovakia after Pilsner and Budweiser in 1970`s. In 2007 after almost 140 years production was stopped and the brewery had to make room for a new housing project with unimaginative name „Stein2”. Thus, not only a loss for beer lovers, but one of the symbols of Bratislava was permanently gone, lost to posterity. As a compromise between reckless development and preserving valuable industrial heritage, the most notable part of the Stein brewery building, the dome-like roof, will be incorporated in the new project.
Nowadays, there are still some traces of the industrial identity of this city visible but unfortunately some of the most remarkable pieces of architecture are forever gone. But how is this possible? Isn`t a renovation of an old factory and its transformation into a fancy loft housing or extraordinary hotel something that we would normally expect in the 21st century?
Apparently not, in Bratislava we have been witness to a recent large scale destruction of the industrial footprint and once again, as we saw in history, it has forced a new identity onto the city. Valuable architecture that somehow survived the 1944 bombing and 40 years of Communism is now being turned into dust and memories because we need more cheap office buildings for big corporations and blocks of apartments with often questionable quality and aesthetics. They are not so different from the infamous prefabs built by the communists. I hope that this rather pessimistic conclusion will serve as a wake-up call into action to protect that little which has remained from the old industrial city that definitely has a very unique spirit. ‘In factories we trust!’
Written by: Juro Sikora
Images by: Juro Sikora and Peter Chrenka
Welcome to the capital of Slovakia – Bratislava. The city of contrasts where each generation of its inhabitants left a very distinct mark defining this city today. Lets take a look at some of the most amazing landmarks connected to the communist era, 1948 – 1989.
For those arriving from the west through our neighbouring city Vienna for centuries the most obvious sign of Bratislava has been the Bratislava Castle. Fortress in the shape of a reversed table with its four legs pointing to the sky. The early history of Bratislava castle dates back to the time of the celts during the late Iron age in the 2nd century BC. A couple of years later during WW2 we have almost lost this ancient historical landmark however not due to bombing but as a result of a very ambitious planning. During the existence of the First Slovak Republic allied with Nazi Germany the idea was to knock down the castle and build a student campus instead of it. Such planning reflected the spirit of writing of the new pure Slovak history. With a bit of luck and WW2 ending the Castle was saved when a full reconstruction was finished in 1968.
The second half of the 20th century in other words the era of communism resulted in dramatic changes in the panorama of Bratislava yielding the modern landmarks of the city.
Chronologically we can start with the Slavín Memorial. The name is derived from the Slovak word „sláva“, meaning glory and the purpose of this Soviet memorial is the glorification of the Red Army and the liberation of Bratislava from the Nazi occupation on the 4th of April 1945. It is a 40 meters tall memorial with a 7 meters high statue of Soviet soldier proudly crushing a swastika. Great symbol of victory as it may also be a symbol of Soviet dominance over the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The memorial was unveiled in 1960 after 3 years of construction. These days like many Soviet memorials in Eastern Europe it is a popular skate park because of its high quality surface from polished granite. In the evening it also becomes a popular dating place of young couples but many of them might not know that they are surrounded by almost 7000 graves of Soviet soldiers.
Slavín was build as a purely secular site without any religious symbols. A tower of a nearby church had to be demolished quickly before the opening day. Since 1997 there is also a small and very modest memorial to Alexander Dubček on Slavín. It is called the Meadow of peace representing the principles of humanity that were fundamental for Dubček’s political program of 1968 – Socialism with human face crushed on the 21st of August 1968 by the Soviet invasion into Czechoslovakia. Later referred to as the act of friendly help.
Looking the direction south from the terraces of Slavín one will spot a very peculiar landmark. Since 1972 a flying saucer has been hovering above the city perhaps controlling the minds of people. Of course we are speaking about the SNP Bridge with a UFO-like restaurant at the top crowned by a viewing platform. Absolutely the best thing about this restaurant is the unforgettable view from the toilets overlooking the biggest socialist mass housing project in Central Europe – Petržalka. Undoubtedly the UFO bridge became known as the symbol of modern Bratislava immediately after its construction. However, there are still many among us who have the vivid memories of big portion of the Old town that had to be demolished prior to the construction in order to make room for the largest civil engineering project of the fast growing modern city.
The urban planning of Petržalka was finished but there was no sufficient connection with the rest of the city. Decisions were taken quickly without respect to the history and public opinion. About one fifth of the Old town and the entire Jewish quartier including a beautiful oriental synagogue were demolished. From the technical point of view it is a very unique solution using the technology of a cable-stayed bridge with a very long span without a single pillar in the river. The span was even longer but due to an error in calculations a special metal support had to be built additionally on the left bank.
In Bratislava we like to put things upside down so we even did it with our only pyramid. Not an ancient pyramid, however for us one of the most important landmarks of this city, the Slovak Radio Building. For us the building of the century, for the Telegraph one of the 30 ugliest buildings in the world. When the first sketches of the project appeared they were immediately recognized as very ambitious, breaking all previous conventions and even the laws of physics – how can you possibly invert a pyramid and build it on its tip? Later this innovative idea of the main architect Štefan Svetko proved to be very functional. The heart of the radio which is the recording and broadcasting equipment is hidden in the inner pyramid insulated from the outer world by the office space.
Due to many technical difficulties the construction of the radio took 16 years to finish. The second part of the building includes a unique concert hall with top notch acoustics. It fact it is a clever design of building hanging on steel ropes inside of another building in order to achieve absolute sound insulation. This concert hall is home of Symphonic Orchestra of the Slovak Radio, has one of the biggest organs in Slovakia and is a popular place for soundtrack recordings. The building definitely deserves the attention of visitors or join the guided tour organized by the Faculty of Architecture called Why Pyramid?
Speaking about landmarks we can not forget height. So what is the tallest building in Bratislava? This depends on the definition of a building. If we include TV Towers with restaurants than it is Kamzik TV Tower with its 196 meters and the shape like wine bottle. At least this is what the architect intended in order to remind us of the wine production on the nearby slopes. However more people incline to the theory that it reminds us of a rocket ready to be launched in the space. Since 1975 the TV Tower sets a landmark not only to Bratislava but also to the beginning of an important European geological formation, the Carpathian Mountains.
If one wants to understand the geography of Bratislava this is the best place. The restaurant offers a gorgeous view in all directions. It is easy to recognize Vienna and during the days with very clear air also the first hills of Austrian Alps covered with snow – in times of socialism for most ordinary people just a distant dream. Our TV Tower was designed in the time when construction of new highest landmarks was a trend and well known world metropoles like Berlin, Vienna or Moscow did the same thing and we wanted to approach them.
All of the above mentioned landmarks are nowadays partially forming the identity of Bratislava and are worth preserving. Each of them with its historical background is a witness of social and political changes and a mirror of our changing society in the second half of the 20th century and each of them dramatically changed the appearance of this city for many years in the future.
Most of the landmarks are covered during our Post-Communist Bratislava Tour
Written by: Jiří Sikora
Images by: Bratislava Tourist Board, Peter Chrenka, Braňo Chrenka
Exploring the communist history in Slovakia, you should not miss legendary Projects of the Youth. Young people between 1947 and 1957 were involved in communal brigades, where they were supposed to prove their enthusiasm in creation of a new equal society. This was also a significant instrument to influence the youth, so important for the communist officials. What are the Buildings of the Youth and where to find them?
The most famous project is the Railway of the Youth (Trať mládeže), 20-kilometres long railroad connecting the historical mining town Banská Štiavnica with Hron valley. Decision to replace a former narrow-gauge railway by a modern one took place in 1943, but due to the war construction stopped.
Between April 1948 and October 1949, more than 47,000 young people helped. Apart from Czechoslovaks, there were volunteers from Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Norway and Poland. Volunteers lived in simple barracks for 10-15 people and were provided food, a shirt, a cap and a badge. Apart from physical work, there was enough time for discussions about the socialism. Propaganda was a big part of the project.
To fully enjoy the railway, take a train from Hronska Dubrava to Banská Štiavnica, beautiful medieval UNESCO town. Half-an-hour, 1-euro journey takes you through the tunnels and bridges to the train station that serves as a cultural centre today.
Among the agricultural fields near Kolárovo in southern Slovakia, you can visit a unique settlement called the Village of the Youth (Dedina mládeže). The youngest village in Slovakia is the first one with rectangular streets in the country. In April 1949, first 19 young people settled down, experimented with rice production and soon the largest stall for 440 cows was built.
Population grew up to 800 in 1958, the village served also as a training centre for tractor drivers. Access to the local cooperative farm is limited these days, but just to see it from outside is a special experience. Do not miss also the welcoming red star at the entrance, local pub with the best sarma meal by the road and the square with buildings of the municipal office and cultural house designed in socialist realism.
One of the largest projects is the Dam of the Youth (Priehrada mládeže), located near Považská Bystrica on Váh River. After-war industrialisation in Slovakia meant a growing demand for electric energy. Between 1950 and 1957, 55,000 people worked on this monumental construction of a hydroelectric power plant.
Apart from young volunteers, there were also political prisoners and persecuted members of the Catholic Church after so-called Action-K. Clergymen from monasteries were sent here for “rehabilitation”.
Regime was tough for all, even for young „volunteers“: wake-up call 5.30am, breakfast 6am, singing the hymn and flagging 7am, work from 7.30am until 4pm with 30-minutes lunch break (bread with cheese or salami). After the work, programme consisted of a warm meal and some organized cultural events on amphitheatres, supporting the overall spirit of enthusiasm for brighter tomorrows.
After-WWII reconstruction of the country together with the communist ideology created conditions for the unique constructions in Slovakia that should not be forgotten. They are great places for contemplation about the concept of equal society, especially in today’s individualistic reality. Happy journey!
Thanks to its geography and topography, Slovakia is a country with an abundance of healing mineral and thermal waters. The use of these rich resources has, to a large extent, depended on the country’s political regime. Behind the scenes of aquaparks and waterworlds, there are spas that successfully managed the privatization process during the 1990’s. Some spas, however, did not have this luck. Korytnica is one of the bleakest examples. Today, a visit toKorytnica spa is a very moving experience.
Driving through the busiest mountain pass in Slovakia, Donovaly, you can easily miss the turn-off to Korytnica, a bizarre place of abandoned buildings surrounded by Carpathian forests. This elegant spa location, healing generations since the 16th century, has been in decay since 2003. Ghost buildings eerily welcome you – all objects are accessible at your own risk – although entrance is officially forbidden. Forgotten teddy bears, 1970’s Polish juke-boxes, 1990’s party playlists, massage beds, ettichettas from Korytnica mineral waters glass bottles and medical documents – the abandoned premises of the spa buildings are full nostalgia. So, what has happened here?
Mineral waters from Korytnica were well-known in Budapest and Vienna as early as the first half of the 19th century. This water was consumed by monarchs and enjoyed for baths by Franz Joseph I of Austria and Ľudovít Štúr. Its quality was approved at the international competition in Vienna in 1873, where Korynica won two gold and one silver medal. It was exported to USA as well – Korytnica got a medal in St. Louis in 1904 as the only mineral water from Europe. The Korytnica spa was nationalised by the state in 1939, and at the end of the WWII, there was an army hospital healing partisans.
During socialism, it was run by the Revolutionary Union Movement of Czechoslovakia (ROH) and welcomed workers from all over the Czechoslovak socialist republic. Wild privatization during 1990’s Vladimír Mečiar’s government meant the end of Korytnica. New ownership was followed by its bankruptcy in 2002. Today, another owner from Croatia has started bringing life to the spa again – mineral springs are renovated and a small hotel with restaurant was built here. Hopefully, Korytnica spa will recover its beauty back again.
If you still feel like bathing in some of the healing waters of Slovakia, there are plenty of places to visit – Piešťany, Nimnica, Bardejov, Bojnice, Dudince, Rajecké Teplice, Trenčianske Teplice, Turčianske Teplice and others. But to contemplate the results of political decisions and economic transformations, Korytnica is the place to go. And the mineral water there still heals, too.
Text by Brano Chrenka, Authentic Slovakia
Images by Vaclav Sulek, Planet Slovakia
Uprising. Does that ring a bell? Most young Slovaks will probably think about the popular reggae festival which takes place at the lakeside of the recreation area Zlate Piesky on the outskirts of Bratislava. It is not a coincidence that the festival starts near the date of the anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising, one of the most important events in the Slovak history.
Slovak National Uprising or the SNP (Slovenské národné povstanie) was an armed resistance organized by Slovaks during WW2. It started on the 29th of August 1944 and it aimed to end the Nazi occupation of the country and took down the pro Nazi puppet government of Jozef Tiso. Like many topics in Slovakia also SNP is a polarizing one, which leads to endless public arguments.
In 2015 during the anniversary of the SNP the leader of the far right political party LSNS displayed a black flag at the headquarters of Banská Bystrica county. This was a clear message that for the ultra nationalist and present day political far right. The SNP is a black day in our history according to them those who joined and supported the uprising betrayed this nation and the first “independent” Slovakia under Jozef Tiso. In their interpretation the SNP was no more than a bolshevik coup.
Bratislava is easy to reach by car, bicycle, boat, bus, train or plane. Bratislava has a very favourable location in Central Europe. The city has direct borders with Austra and Hungary. Bratislava and Vienna are some of the closest capitals worldwide.
Bratislava has good highway connection with Vienna (80 km, 1 hour), Budapest (200 km, 2 hours) and Prague (330 km, 3 hours). If you plan to use highways in Slovakia, you should buy electronic vignette online (10€ for 10 days or 14€ for 30 days). Google Maps and Waze work well for navigation on Slovak roads. There is a zero 0,00% tolerance for alcohol while driving in Slovakia. Speed limit in Slovakia is normally 50 km/h in cities and villages, 90 km/h on roads out of town and 130 km/h on motorways.
Bratislava is easy to reach by bicycle thanks to developed designated cycle routes along the Danube and Morava rivers. If you are cycling from Vienna (65 km), Gyor (75 km), or Budapest (260 km), follow Eurovelo 6 cycle route. If you travel by bicycle from the Czech republic, follow the Eurovelo 13 Iron Curtain route along the Morava river. Most of the trains in Slovakia take bicycle for additional fee 1,50€ (not depending on the distance).
