The toll house in the Bratislava's Old Town. (source: TASR)
The toll house on the Old Bridge on the Danube bank of the Bratislava’s Old Town will start serving people in a short period of time. Its restoration could be completed by the end of July, Bratislava’s spokesman Peter Bubla told the TASR newswire.
The toll house, one of two located at each end of the Old Bridge, has been unused for a long time. The completion of the construction work was originally planned for the end of April, but the deadline was extended by unforeseen alternative solutions in the building and consultations with conservationists.
Toll houses
Built at the same time as the Old Bridge around 1891.
They housed the bridge guards who collected the toll.
During the Second World War, when Bratislava was divided, they served as customs houses.
After the completion of the construction work, the city council should hand over the premises to their new tenant selected in a tender: Voxar. The company will operate a café with a seasonal offer of ice cream, coffee, cakes, wine, soft drinks and other locally produced delicacies. It signed the lease with the capital city in February.
In the case of the toll house on the Petržalka side of the bridge, the city withdrew from the 2011 lease contract with the current tenant operating the Mýtny Domček restaurant in an annex under the toll house. The reason was the tenant’s breach of its obligations to pay the rent. The withdrawal from the contract was approved by the city council at the end of June.
The toll house on the Petržalka Danube bank. (source: TASR)
The operator of Mýtny Domček claims that the toll house is too small for a restaurant. It claims that nothing will change in the functioning of the business in the annex by ending the lease of the toll house, the Sme daily wrote.
After the tenant returns the premises to the city, it will assess their technical condition and subsequently announce a public tender. The purpose of the lease has not yet been specified.
“As far as the purpose of use of this non-residential space is concerned, the capital city is still considering with what purpose the tender will be announced,” said Bubla.
