The dilapidated building of the amphitheatre under Devín Castle was covered last year with a tarpaulin minicking the original look of the amphitheatre. (source: Courtesy of BTB)
The future of the dilapidated amphitheatre on the Slovanské Nábrežie embankment below Devín Castle, in Bratislava's Devín borough, remains unclear. The Supreme Court, which has been dealing with a long-running legal case affecting the property, has yet to set a date for the next proceeding, the TASR newswire reported.
The case dates 30 years back, during which time the site has been reduced to a state of advanced dilapidation.
The rear of the amphitheatre, facing the Morava and Danube rivers in Devín. (source: Courtesy of BTB)
A place with special feeling
The facility, combining an amphitheatre with a restaurant, was built in a prime position at the confluence of the Morava and Danube rivers after Devín was annexed by Nazi Germany following the Munich Agreement of 1938. Construction started in 1938 and although it was fully completed only in 1948, in 1945 events were already being held here.
The building was originally called the summer theatre. The roof of the functionalist building served as the stage of the amphitheatre. The auditorium, which can host more than 100,000 visitors, was located on the slope below the castle. The amphitheatre also offered facilities such as dressing rooms for performers and a restaurant that served the general public. Operas such as Krútňava and Svätopluk, composed by Eugen Suchoň, were performed here.
During the communist regime, the facility was managed by the Reštaurácie a Jedálne (Restaurants and Canteens) company. After 1989, it was taken over by the Bratislava City Museum, which decided to lease the building free of charge for 99 years to the Stockholm-based company Seafly. Based on the contract, the company was obliged to renovate it.
The Devín amphitheatre in 2009. (source: Oliver Filan)
The amphiteatre is overgrown with bushes and trees. (source: Oliver Filan)
Bratislava City Council declared the contract illegal in March 1991. Four years later an attempt to transfer the building was rejected. The council argued that the 1990 contract was void from the outset due to the lack of prior consent from the borough. Seafly had previously stated that the capital was obliged to provide the building permits necessary for the facility's reconstruction. A suit initiated by the Swedish company over the validity of the lease agreement has been pending in the courts since 2008.
In 2017, the city's then leadership, under Ivo Nesrovnal, declared that it wanted to bring life and culture back to the building and renovate it at the same time. However, no headway was made.
Still an attractive tourist spot
This place remains one of the most attractive tourist spots in Bratislava.
Apart from people who come to Bratislava by boat, many tourists pass by it every day, walking, cycling and roller-blading along Slovanské Nábrežie.
The condition of the building is continuously monitored by the city council. As its condition cannot be comprehensively addressed due to the lawsuit, the amphitheatre building was at least given a partial new look last year, by being covered with a tarpaulin bearing a design that mimicked its original look. The lower part was coated in anti-graffiti paint.
