New Market Hall (Nová Tržnica) in Bratislava's Nové Mesto. (source: FB Nová Tržnica)
Those who visited the Nová Tržnica – New Market Hall in English – in Bratislava on the last Thursday in May found, in addition to the traditional offerings of fruit, vegetables, and flowers, a selection of craft products showcased on yellow tables.
Nová tržnica
Šancová 112
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 6:00 – 18:00, Saturday 6:00 – 14:00, Sunday closed
Next Yellow Thursday will be held on June 26, 11:00-18:00
Both visitors and vendors at the event, which should become regular in future, came to help establish Yellow Thursday as a regular tradition at the market and help revive this once vibrant market.
“We’re here to support the new event and the renewal of this market place,” Andrea Lovecká from the Slobodné Vinárstvo family winery told The Slovak Spectator.
She added the family have been attending the Dobrý Trh (Good Market), now a legendary community event, since its outset and hope that Yellow Thursday will become a similarly successful tradition.
Another step towards revitalisation of Nová Tržnica
Nová Tržnica, nicknamed the Red Steamer, the Greenhouse, or the Slovak Pompidou Centre, has been operating for more than 40 years.
Very popular in its heyday decades ago, in recent years it has often struggled to attract shoppers and visitors.
But its administrator, the Nové Mesto borough, is trying to rekindle the former glories of the building, which is a national protected monument.
Borough authorities’ plan to do so has three main points: One is to hold cultural and social events like concerts, TEDxBratislava, the Urban Market, the Night of Literature festival and others at the venue. The second is to broaden the food offerings at the market hall – currently a fish salad producer sells goods there and there is a restaurant focusing on home-cooked food. The third is through associated services, which includes a temporary craft market.
“We want to work on these three pillars in parallel, because we are convinced that they can bring this marketplace to life again,” Matúš Čupka, mayor of Bratislava’s borough Nové Mesto, told The Slovak Spectator.
