Demolishing of the pedestal. (source: Sme)
In 2022, like so many other cities, the Slovak capital finally said goodbye to many of the Covid-19 restrictions it had lived with on and off for the previous two years. But just as it did, another crisis loomed into view – the war in Ukraine.
While the latter did not have quite the same dramatic influence on life in the city as the pandemic had, helping Ukrainian refugees was just one of the many challenges Bratislava authorities had to face during a year in which, local officials say, much was done in the capital.
“In January, we launched the city-wide parking policy and gradually more and more zones have been included. We have also introduced the collection of food and kitchen waste in all parts of the city,” Dagmar Schmucková, Bratislava spokesperson, said, listing 2022’s most important developments in the city.
She said improvements to the capital’s public spaces were among the year’s positives, highlighting the opening of a new multifunctional park in Karlova Ves, restoration of public space on the Petržalka embankment of the Danube, as well as ongoing reconstruction of Michael’s Tower.
Meanwhile, the Koch Garden in the Old Town was opened to the public after many years, and Hodžovo Square and the area in front of the main station underwent renovation.
Ukrainian refugees also got help, with the setting up of an assistance centre at Bottova Street. The city also opened a metropolitan police branch office directly in the Pentagon in Vrakuňa borough and, in
cooperation with the municipal waste management company OLO, launched the first municipal re-use centre, Kolo.
But not everything went smoothly, as Schmucková admits, pointing to shortcomings in the new parking policy, and delays to the construction of the second stretch of a tram line in Petržalka and cycle paths.
Here, we present our seven most important developments in the city in 2022.
