Communist architecture in Slovakia 2 (Spectacular Slovakia)

The Communist-era structure of Petržalka is not so unhealthy. It’s, no less than, extra engaging than the American strip mall.

That is an article from our archive of travel guides Spectacular Slovakia. We determined to make this gem accessible to our readers, making solely essential changes. Among the author’s observations from the yr 2004 have modified however a lot nonetheless holds true. For up-to-date info and have tales, check out the newest version of our Bratislava City Guide.

Lost in Bratislava? Impossible with this City Guide! (Source: Spectacular Slovakia)

Seven years in the past, I stepped out of a small Škoda on my first night time in Europe anticipating to seek out cobblestone streets, castles and smoky cafés.

What I bought as a substitute was Petržalka, a piece of Bratislava, south of the Danube, the place a whole bunch of high-rise house complexes appear to stretch into infinity.
Huge partitions of concrete surrounded me. I craned my neck, attempting to determine the place it ended. Instantly I started questioning if I had made a mistake in shifting to Slovakia.

I lived in that gloomy tangle of concrete for six months. I hated it. It was grey and miserable. I might anticipated Europe to be a romantic film, not Petržalka.

Over time, I got here to comprehend that the Communist-era structure of Petržalka is not so unhealthy. It’s, no less than, extra engaging than the American strip mall, a soulless instance of ‘Capitalist structure’ all the fashion within the U.S.

To higher perceive Petržalka, it is very important word that the primary folks to maneuver there have been poor villagers in search of work within the capital. Their properties in villages had been rudimentary and sparse. So to all of a sudden discover themselves in fashionable flats was a determined improve. For the primary time, that they had facilities like heating, plumbing, operating water and electrical energy.

Moreover, whereas it’s not stunning within the conventional sense, Petržalka is undeniably fascinating. Take a bus into the center of Petržalka and go searching. In some locations, you face 360 levels of stable concrete. On an overcast day, the road between sky and constructing turns into blurred. An icy fog wafting off the Danube – a standard scene within the wintertime – provides to the distinctive attract. Petržalka could be mysterious and unusually poetic. Andy Warhol would have cherished it.

Tom Philpott wrote: “If the criterion is whether or not it succeeds in creating an area that folks wish to name dwelling or not, then Petržalka would not work.” I’ve heard that earlier than – it’s an remark widespread amongst Western transients, i.e. individuals who do not reside there.

Those that do reside there are usually extra pragmatic. Certainly, “it really works” is a standard theme amongst natives. Petržalka homes tens of hundreds of individuals in comfy flats. And they’re conveniently positioned proper throughout the river from the middle of Bratislava. In my 4 years in Slovakia, I by no means met anybody from Petržalka who hated being there.

Different examples of Communist-era structure, nonetheless, can’t be defended. Three constructions specifically come to thoughts.

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First is the unfathomable edifice in entrance of the Nationwide Gallery in Bratislava. To face in entrance of it’s to have your breath taken away by its utter stupidity. A megalomaniac addition, it clashes horribly with the distinguished unique gallery, blocking out the magnificence of the multi-leveled arches within the courtyard behind. Constructing this factor was a criminal offense. The architect ought to have been thrown into the Cage of Disgrace in Levoča.

A room in that cage also needs to be reserved for the designer of the Lodge Panorama in Štrbské Pleso. It’s merely unattainable to elucidate a design so awkward and angular, backward in nature and upside-down in pondering. It was as if the Communist brass strove to say, “We all know it is horrible, we all know it is mindless in any respect, and we all know it is alienating and offensive … however we’re in cost, and we name the pictures.”

After which there’s the notorious prepare station in Poprad. Philpott defended the construction, writing: “You already know the place you might be while you arrive.” Then again, Philpott wrote, the Prešov prepare station is a “research in dysfunctionalism” with “a dim, labyrinth arcade … ‘The place am I?’ you ask your self as you muddle by way of the crowds and the outlets.”

I disagree. The Poprad station is an ominous construction hovering beside and above the tracks. Any advantages in performance are trumped by its disagreeable design.
Moreover, Slovakia is a small nation. Its prepare stations are straightforward to navigate. If getting out of any Slovak prepare station is a problem for a customer, then perhaps that customer is just not fitted to this nation. In spite of everything, Slovakia is off the standard vacationer path. That is why we adore it. It requires effort. And that effort is rewarded with one thing totally different and exquisite – relying on the way you have a look at it.