Garden of the Bratislava Castle (source: Sme)
The baroque garden which is being re-built at the castle will be an exact replica of the original one which existed from 1778 to 1780, the Parliamentary Office – which administers the site – wrote, as quoted by the Sme daily on April 13. The photos taken recently show a lot of concrete surfaces fenced off by a massive wall.
„The visualisation of the garden underwent a strict process of approval by historians and architects,” spokeswoman of the Parliamentary Office, Zuzana Čižmáriková, informed the daily. “Every tree, every wall and every statue has a historical meaning.” This also explains the concrete wall enclosing the area. She cites two plans and a preserved map of the town made by Franz Koffler as the source proving the highlights of the garden’s history. The visualisations show trees planted as divided according to architectural-historical research; lawns will be combined with gravelled areas.
The works are currently being finalised; the opening of the garden is planned for this summer; but it may happen even sooner – this spring. However, a request to get to see and photograph the garden was turned down on April 13, as the reconstruction is allegedly being completed.
The re-building of the garden is part of the vast re-construction of Bratislava Castle launched by the previous government which is due to finish in August 2017.
In 2016, the Winter Riding Hall called the Orangerie, the underground car park and the exterior spaces should be finished – at least to the extent deemed necessary for Slovakia’s presidency of the EU Council which starts in July. The total cost is €21.75 million and the public order for the work went to the Váhostav company – with businessman Juraj Široký, considered to be one of the Smer party’s sponsors, in the background.
Current Parliamentary Speaker Andrej Danko, of the Slovak National Party (SNS) is content. „The garden will surely be a magnet to enliven the complex and to make it more attractive,” he said, as quoted by Sme.
Last year, activists protested against interventions in the archaeological findings caused by the construction of a parking lot under the gardens.
