The Levius confectionery (source: Courtesy of OZ Bratislavské Rožky)
Family albums are time capsules that hide not only rare portraits of ancestors, but also the now non-existent appearance of Bratislava. In recent years, the Bratislavské Rožky civic association, dedicated to the history and promotion of Bratislava, has digitised and processed the heritage of several Bratislava - or Pressburg - families. They have collected thousands of photographs, including very rare pieces from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
“Thanks to the generous donations of these families, exceptional documents - period photographs and family stories - have enriched our collections and thus have become public assets,” Sándor Papp of the civic association told The Slovak Spectator.
They were first available on the association’s website. Subsequently, they were loaded onto the website Memory of Bratislava (PamMap), combining a database, an encyclopaedia and historical atlas with a sophisticated searching tool. PamMap now contains digitised historical photographs, postcards and various papers documenting life in and of the city.
Pressburg calendar
This year, the civic association has selected 12 unique images from the extensive collection for the Pressburg calendar, which it publishes every year. For years, the calendar has usually been illustrated with period depictions of the city. The calendar for 2020, for example, features graphics from the mid 19th century by the Austrian engineer architect, draftsman and graphic artist working in Vienna, Johann Vinzenz Reim.
