Approximately 50 citizens gathered on Bratislava’s Hviezdoslav Square on 28 February 2004 to protest against plans to construct a three-metre-high iron fence around the US Embassy. (source: TASR - Štefan Puškáš)
Bratislava’s city council has approved a controversial extension of the land lease for the United States Embassy in the Slovak capital, prolonging the arrangement by another decade but allowing for a symbolic rent of €1 per year if plans for a new embassy building proceed.
The lease extension, approved as a case of “special public interest”, prolongs the embassy’s hold on nearly 1,300 square metres of land in the city’s historic centre until July 2035. The land, which houses a heavily fortified security perimeter around the current embassy on Hviezdoslavov Square – one of the most beautiful squares in the city – will remain under US control for an annual rent of €481,070, with 75 percent going to the city and the rest to the Old Town district. The agreement includes annual inflation adjustments beginning in 2030.
US Embassy in Bratislava
But the deal sparked discontent among some Bratislava councillors on Thursday, 19 June.
“The fence is an eyesore that distorts the centre of our city,” said councillor Martin Winkler during a brief but pointed debate in the council chamber. He criticised the 10-year extension and objected to the clause that drops the rent to €1 annually if US authorities obtain a permit to build a new chancery. “We keep hearing the embassy is moving next to the shopping mall Eurovea, but it doesn’t seem like that will happen any time soon,” he said, referencing the modern riverside area where the US has been planning to relocate for some time.
Eurovea
Bratislava Mayor Matúš Vallo acknowledged the frustrations. “We all know we don’t want the fence on the square,” he said. “But we also know the reality when it comes to the US Embassy.” Vallo explained that without a signed lease, the city has little legal leverage. Under the Vienna Convention, the embassy is not obliged to pay rent, nor can the city take it to court. According to Vallo, US officials have presented visual proposals for a new compound near Eurovea, with a softer fence design and green space added at the city’s request.
Some councillors pushed back. Dana Čahojová pointed out that the fence, first erected in 2002 following the September 11 attacks, has never been fully legalised. The security zone around the US Embassy in Bratislava began with low concrete barriers. Over time, American diplomats replaced them first with a standard fence, and later with a tall, fortified enclosure.
Vote on lease amendment for US Embassy land deal (19 June 2025):
For: 36
Against: 0
Abstained: 2
Did not vote: 1
Absent: 6
“The fencing is only a temporary measure; the embassy is actively seeking an alternative location. Once the new embassy is complete, we will remove the security zone and restore the area to its original condition,” the US Embassy said in a statement in 2004.
“City councils change, the fence stays,” Čahojová noted dryly on Thursday.
Jozef Uhler defended the arrangement as a pragmatic choice. “The US is a strategic partner and a strong economy,” he said. “We want to accommodate them, even though the fence is hideous.” But he, too, expressed frustration at the slow pace of relocation.
In response to Winkler’s criticism, another councillor reminded him that the embassy could move to Vienna altogether. But the idea is not one the city favours – not for political reasons, but financial ones: the rent, even with its conditions, brings valuable income to the city.
The amended lease will only take effect if the embassy signs the agreement within 120 days. If not, the city’s resolution becomes void – and the future of the fence, once again, uncertain.
