Sports clothing designed for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. (source: SOŠV)
Every week The Slovak Spectator brings you a selection of three short stories from across Slovakia from which pessimism and negativity are absent.
Olympic outfits that aim to combine Slovak and French elements
A unique clothing collection has been created for the Slovak athletes who will represent the country at this year's summer Olympics in Paris.
Designed and created by the 4F company, the clothing collection combines Slovak folk art with elements of French elegance. It is made of modern, high-quality, ultra-light materials. Several items feature folk art motifs from Čataj.
“The clothes refer to iconic Parisian charm and Slovak national identity,” said Anton Siekel, head of the Slovak Olympic and Sports Committee (SOŠV), as quoted by the TASR newswire. “We are convinced that they will also appeal to the younger generation.”
At the same time, the SOŠV wanted to connect the latest collection with the clothes worn by Slovak athletes in Paris in 1924, when they competed at the Olympics for the very first time, under the Czechoslovak flag.
Yet, they found none in museums and depositories. They thus joined forces with the Slovak National Theatre – namely renowned costume and stage designer Peter Čanecký – and sewed brand new clothes, using images from the period press. The resulting outfit was modelled by Slovak canoeist and silver medallist from Tokyo, Jakub Grigar.
The replica will be on display at an exhibition held in the Slovak Olympic and Sports Museum in Bratislava, titled “I remember Paris, Tokyo and Los Angeles”, TASR reported.
A special technology to reuse cigarette butts
Turning used tobacco fillings and cigarette butts into a granulate that can be utilised to produce asphalt is now possible thanks to a new recycling technology used by the Reneso company, situated in Žiar nad Hronom, in central Slovakia.
Owned by Hugo Repáň, the company hopes the new technology will increase the volume of recycling. The firm is cooperating with the producers of tobacco products, and has already acquired about 20 tonnes of cigarette butts and tobacco fillings.
“With old machines, we would need a month to 45 days to recycle what our company currently receives,” Repáň said, as quoted by the TASR newswire, adding that the new production line, financed by one of the tobacco producers, will increase the capacity. At the same time, the new technology will be able to process new types of filters.
The granulate made from the cigarette butts and used tobacco fillings meets the technical parameters to produce asphalt, and can fully replace cellulose, Pavol Müller of the Strabag branch in Zvolen said. The material can be used for roads that experience high loads, such as highways and dual-carriageways, he added.
Reneso would like to motivate municipalities across Slovakia as well as ordinary people to not throw cigarette butts onto the ground, but to instead use special containers that have already been situated in various places across Slovakia.
One of Slovakia's most attractive bugs is spotted in central Bratislava
The occurrence of Rosalia longicorn has been confirmed in Bratislava. (source: Facebook/Staré Mesto - srdce Bratislavy)
One of the most attractive protected bugs in Slovakia, the Rosalia longicorn (or Alpine longhorn beetle), has been spotted in Jakubovo Námestie square in central Bratislava.
Typical of indigenous beech forests at altitudes of 600-1,000 metres above sea level, the insect occurs in central and southern Europe, southern Sweden, Asia Minor and the Caucasus. In Slovakia, it usually inhabits the Small Carpathians, Lower Fatra and Vihorlat mountains.
The beetle is an important part of the forest ecosystem, as it occurs in ill trees and helps with their decay. The larvae can then serve as food for woodpeckers and ants, and the adults for various birds, lizards and insectivores, the TASR newswire reported.
“Rosalia longicorn likes to lay larvae in old and diseased trees,” the representatives of the Old Town borough wrote on Facebook in their explanation of what can be done to preserve the beetle. “Therefore, it is recommended that specific diseased trees that pose a safety risk should not to be removed completely, but cut in such as way as to leave the torso of the trunk.”
Keeping the torso enables the beetle to use the tree for reproduction and the development of larvae until its disintegration, but it will not pose a threat to human health, life or property.
Five feel-good stories published by The Slovak Spectator to read:
Hidden below Bratislava Castle, the inconspicuous restaurant Rokkiu greets guests with warm wood, intimate atmosphere, and plant decoration on the ceiling. Japanese chef Kenji Ueda has been in Slovakia for three years.
Jana Lazarová the former president of Slovakia’s pétanque federation and a certified pétanque coach, talks about the sport, which she believes is unique in that anyone can play it.
Salaš Zbojská is nested in the Muránska Planina hills. Behind its doors can be found the underground Zbojnícke Kúpele (Outlaw's Baths).
The reconstruction of Rusovce manor house, a neo-Gothic edifice located in the Bratislava borough of the same name, should be completed by the end of 2029, at a cost estimated at almost €110 million.
A new line for production of drones for civilian applications, belonging to the Tropozond company, has opened in the industrial park in the village of Haniska, in eastern Slovakia. By the end of next year, it expects to have as many as 200 employees.
Political meme of the week
(source: Facebook/Zomri)
Caption: Slovakia, when it learned there had been no pandemic.
This meme, published by the satirical site Zomri, reacts to recent statements by Slovak National Party (SNS) MP and well-known anti-vaxxer Peter Kotlár, who regularly appears in the disinformation media. Specifically, he said that “there is clear evidence that the pandemic in Slovakia did not meet the criteria of what a pandemic means in terms of incidence and other measurable parameters”. His statement came during a meeting of the parliamentary health committee on June 19. Subsequently, Kotlár – who has been tasked by the government with leading the official investigation into the management and handling of the Covid pandemic in Slovakia – said that the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 21,000 lives in Slovakia, was “an act of bioterrorism”.
You can send me your tips on good news stories about Slovakia or funny memes at: radka.minarechova@spectator.sk. Thank you!
