The car park below DevĂn Castle in Slovakia. (source: The Slovak Spectator)
Carlos Figueiredo and his wife, along with their friends, spent an enjoyable weekend in Bratislava in early August, savouring the local pubs and the charm of the historical centre. Their trip to the majestic ruins of Devín Castle, perched above the Danube River on the border with Austria, was meant to be the perfect finale before they returned to Poland.
“I’m a history buff, so I loved visiting the ruins,” said Figueiredo, a Portuguese national who has lived in Poland for eight years, in an interview with The Slovak Spectator.
But the group’s joy turned to shock when they discovered upon finding that their parked car had been covered in dirt and cigarette butts. Worse was to come, with Figueiredo suffering a physical assault.
Their car had been parked near the edge of the sprawling municipal parking area beneath the castle, outside a restaurant and adjacent to a small stand selling local currant wine. The stand is operated by Thebener, a well-known local winery.
According to Figueiredo, the vendor – a well-groomed petite young woman with long, dark hair – appeared unbothered when he parked opposite the stand, offering no objection as they left for their sightseeing trip.
However, when Figueiredo returned to find the car covered in debris, he approached the woman at the wine stand to ask who had vandalised it. She refused to answer, instead repeating in English, “You cannot park here”.
Other cars, all untouched, were parked alongside it. By then, two men – a younger man with a shaved head and an older bald man – had arrived in a white van with a trailer, and were unloading bottles of wine for the stand. Figueiredo said they grew increasingly agitated at his questions.
