Archive of articles - April 1997, page 5

ZSR still coming up with costs of Czech strike

Taking from the public, selling to the rich

Wherever he now lies, Juraj Jánošík must be turning in his grave. A museum dedicated to the Slovak folk hero famed for stealing from the rich and giving to the common people is up for sale - and it is likely to command a pretty price from some innovative entrepreneur.Up for sale is the 400-year-old manor house in the central Slovak town of Liptovský Mikuláš where, legend has it, in March 1713, 25-year-old Jánošík was imprisoned for his last few days between being sentenced for thievery and being hung by his ribcage.A museum featuring Jánošík's dungeon was there from 1981 until this year, but its fate became less certain once the building was returned through restitution to three private owners in 1991. One of those owners is Jozef Lacko, whose grandparents won the building in a game of cards early this century. The state took control of the building around 1950, reconstructed it in the 1970s, and opened the museum, which has been administered by the town.

IRB embarks on broad loan restructuring plan

Investičná a Rozvojová Banka, a.s., (IRB) - Slovakia's third largest bank - posted an unprecented preliminary loss of 1.2 - 1.3 billionSk ($40 million) for fiscal year 1996, sending tremors through the banking system, but its officials claim that it is only a part of the bank's restructuring plan."We decided to bite the bullet and carry out loan portfolio restructuring by ourselves," said IRB press secretary Jarmila Galandáková. "The other [formerly state-owned] banks are going to do the same thing. We are just the first." The restructuring plan agreed upon by the bank's shareholders, its management and the Bank Council of the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) assumes that after creating a huge 1.9 billion Sk ($63 million) bad loan reserves in 1996, the bank will put away 1.1 billion Sk ($36.6 million) for the same purpose in 1997 and finish the operation in 1998 with an amount that has yet to be determined.

Figaro shows first profit since '92

Deutsch Bank AG comments on Slovakia

The Spotlight

Best for kids and the kid in all of us

One of the best exhibits in town, at the International Childrens Center for Art, is not just for kids.Upon entering the building, some of the most pleasant gallery guides you will ever see point to the the first of two current exhibits, titled "Stories of the Old and New Testaments", an exhibition of paintings by Czech artist Štěpán Zavřel. The pictures of Biblical and Egyptian scenes, castle attacks, and donkey treks through the desert are done in a kid-like cartoon style that borders quite frankly on boring. Some of the pieces are cut into puzzle-pieces for the children to assemble.After hurrying through, look for the giant wooden spool and follow the shiprope-like "thread" up to the second floor where you'll find the latest show put on by local schoolchildren called "Tisic a jedna niť", which means "1001 Threads." In the first room, the "Students Laboratory", more than 250 students were all given a piece of cloth approximately 10 square centimeters and told to use their imagination.