IN THIS postcard of Malacky in the 1920s, the high quality of the photo reveals numerous details. For example, the fact that the people hanging around in the street are predominantly male, while only two women can be seen in the photo, both of whom appear to be in a hurry, which is probably how things were arranged a hundred years ago in the Záhorie region.
However, in the men’s defence, it is thanks to them that this postcard is interesting. For example, it was certainly the men who made sure that two cars would be featured prominently in the foreground. The first cars in the western-Slovak town were owned by noblemen. The first owner of a “motor”, (i.e. engine) as they were called, was Mikuláš XIII Pálffy. Gradually, the noblemen were joined by the higher salaried intelligentsia.
Later, in 1935, Malacky was included in plans to build a highway. The turbulent events that rolled through the country a few years later left this effort on the back burner. It was not until 1969 that construction of the highway connecting Bratislava and Brno finally commenced. However, the question arose of how to connect the town to the highway. Unfortunately, the feeder road led directly through the most beautiful part of the town, near the Malina stream, and the stream itself was re-directed underground. Thus, Malacky paid dearly for its connection to the highway.
