T. G. Masaryk Square in Bratislava (source: TASR)
The square in front of the Slovak National Museum will bear a new name. It will be named for the first Czechoslovak president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk from June 15.
The ceremonial opening, which was the last official act of Andrej Kiska as Slovakia’s president, took place on June 13. It was organised by Bratislava’s Old Town borough in cooperation with the Czech Embassy in Slovakia, the TASR newswire reported.
Although we already have democracy, we still need real Democrats, Kiska said during the ceremony. He called the idea to name the square after Masaryk an act of honour and the result of years of effort, as reported by TASR.
Old Town Mayor Zuzana Auftichtová stressed that a personality like Masaryk deserved more square metres, but the space in front of the SNM is the most Czechoslovak one that can be found in Bratislava. The reason is that groups of people honouring Masaryk have been meeting there for the last 30 years, TASR wrote.
Plan approved this February
The ceremony was attended by several personalities, including former Czech foreign affairs minister Karel Schwarzenberg, Bratislava Mayor Matúš Vallo, Bratislava Region Governor Juraj Droba, and MP Peter Osuský who initiated the idea to create Masaryk square.
The idea was approved by the Old Town councillors in 2018 to honour the Czechoslovak president on the occasion of the centenary of the establishment of the first Czechoslovak Republic. The Bratislava city councillors greenlighted the initiative this February, TASR wrote.
The new T. G. Masaryk Square is the first public space in Bratislava named after this important personality.
