Jozef
Tihányi
Červený Kameň as part of the museum’s
collection
The large collections of the Slovak National Museum –
Červený Kameň Museum contain several images of the museum itself, the Červený
Kameň Castle. The artefacts differ in age, function, quality of work, as well as
their substantiality – there are paintings, graphic works, glass, porcelain,
ceramics and a historic library.
The oldest castle image in the museum’s
collections is the copperplate by Caspar Merian. It was made between 1663 and
1672 for the ninth volume of Matthäus Merian’s Theatrum Europaeum from 1672. It
pictures an uncompleted fortification of the Červený Kameň Castle from 1663 –
the castle palace with two pre-forts in a massive bastion-like fortification.
Next in chronological order is the illustration in Matthias Bel’s Notitia
Hungariae from 1736, which can be found in the historic library of the Slovak
National Museum. It is a copperplate made by Abraham Kaltschmied based on the
work of Samuel Mikovíni, a significant scientist and cartographer. Made to the
finest detail, this image of the castle with its pre-forts and larger
surroundings, including a precise illustration of Kukla hill in the background
and a figural composition in the foreground is perhaps the best ever to be
made.
The pair of painted cups, which were made in Vienna in 1838 and which
belonged to the Pálffy family, are very important for any iconographic research.
At that time the castle was also captured in a veduta that accompanied the
article of Alojz Mednyánszky concerning Červený Kameň published in the
Tudományos Gyűjtemény magazine in 1822, as well as on a clear glass with an
etched image of the country with the castle, vineyard and forests, village,
church and figural composition.
The oil painting View of the Červený Kameň
Castle by Viennese painter Ludwig Seitler comes from 1871. The museum bought it
in 1987; a customs stamp of the Marchegg station from the first half of the 20th
century is on the back of the canvas.
There is a striking relationship
between this painting and the graphic works of Gustáv Morelli. Based on the
drawings by Szilárd Werdenstetter (later Várdai; 1858 – 1936), they were created
for Pavol Jedlicska’s monograph Kiskarpáti emlékek, which was issued in 1882.
The etching that captures the View of Píla Village and Červený Kameň Castle from
the Deer Jump vantage point, situated north-west of the castle, was created in
the last third of the 19th century. Apart from other less significant images,
the museum archives also contain a number of photographs of the castle mainly
from the first half of the 20th century. These period images are important
evidence and in future should demonstrate the construction development of
Červený Kameň Castle in a permanent exposition.
František Gahér
Epigraphic monuments in Svätý Jur and Pezinok
Epigraphy,
an auxiliary historical science, which studies inscriptions on nepalaeographic
material, had been long overlooked in Slovakia. Lately, though, it has been
making promising signs of development thanks to the project of Corpus
inscriptionum Slovaciae, which registers epigraphic inscriptions in Slovakia.
Many preliminary researches, which focus on towns or larger entities, accompany
the composition of the corpus.
The epigraphic research in Svätý Jur and
Pezinok, near Bratislava, was one of them. The two town units were largely
suitable for comparison purposes as they lie next to each other and their
history is literally shared. Similarities in the development of writing and
mutual connections between the inscriptions and historical events were to be
revealed by comparing the inscriptions of both towns. Altogether, 82 epigraphic
monuments were researched in these localities, 38 in Svätý Jur and 44 in
Pezinok. It is necessary to point out, though, that it was impossible to
approach all inscriptions in the Small-Carpathian Museum and parish church in
Pezinok due to reconstruction. Therefore, the number is not definite and will be
doubtlessly supplemented in the future by newly discovered inscriptions as a
result of archaeological and monument researches in both towns.
The highest
number of epigraphic monuments is in the historical cores of both towns. The
advantage of Svätý Jur, in terms of the inscriptions’ preservation, was its very
well preserved historical core, which thanks to its integrity became a town
monument reservation in 1990 whereas the town core of Pezinok was partially
damaged by reconstructions in the 20th century. The inscriptions can be found in
various places in churches, burgher’s and vineyard’s houses, gravestone boards,
bells… Sepulcher (gravestone) and construction (on portals) inscriptions
dominate. Specific feature of this region are the inscriptions on vineyard
presses and inscriptions with chronogram, which makes possible the dating of the
monuments.
Elena Sabadošová
The Burgher’s house at
Radničné námestie No. 9 in Pezinok
The Town Office of Pezinok
started a complex renovation of the original burgher’s house at 9 Radničné
námestie in 2006. The town of Pezinok provided the monument research, which
focussed on architectural-historical, artistic-historical, restoration and
archival aspects. The aim of the proposed renovation was the return of the
building to its unified architectural look, with respect to the valuable
renaissance and younger period-style movements.
The corner house is
situated in the southwestern part of the main square, within the historical
core. It is one of the burgher’s houses of the passage type with four-wing
disposition and inner courtyard. The ground plan is of a rectangular shape with
a little vacant lot between the southern and eastern wings. The courtyard is
accessible through the northern wing, with the main façade facing Radničné
námestie.
Examinations of the building identified ten basic construction
phases. The oldest phase, dated to the first quarter of the 15th century, is
supported by an archival research entry from 1425 that talks of a corner house
called Perghauz. This, in the context of today’s construction, was integrated in
the northern wing. The finding of a secondarily used stone article, which
justifies the existence of a pretentious portal from the beginning of the 15th
century thanks to its rich segmentation, also points to the late-gothic origin
of the building. A vertical wing oriented southward was added to the
south-eastern corner of the house in the second building phase from the middle
of the 15th century. The eastern wall of the addition smoothly joined the
eastern wall of the original building, which thus received a double-wing
disposition with ground plan in the shape of the letter “L”. Both wings had two
floors above ground level. The following renaissance construction phase enlarged
the northern wing of the house westward. This phase also brought about the first
elevation of the ground by circa 50-70 cm. What remains open is the question of
the passage localization. There are two possibilities. One would suggest that
the passage led between the gothic and renaissance part of the house. This,
however, is unconvincing because of a staircase ending in its middle. More
likely than not the passage could have been found in its present day position.
Agáta Petrakovičová
Heřman Landsfeld – ceramist and
collector
The town of Modra, near Bratislava, has been
traditionally considered to be the cradle of Slovak pottery. For many of us,
though, the old potters remain anonymous, hidden behind the initials of their
ceramic signs. But Heřman Landsfeld (1899 – 1984), native of Moravian
Malenovice, knew them well. Modra had perhaps never had a greater lover of its
pottery than the ceramist, explorer and promoter of the pottery craft Heřman
Landsfeld.
Heřman used to draw and sculpt as a boy and so his parents sent
him to study in Modra (1913 – 1914). The academic painter Marie
Vořechová-Vejvodová taught him perfect brush-strokes, composition and ornament
styling. The First World War was to interrupt the career of the future painter
but at the beginning of 1919 he was to return to Modra to finish his
apprenticeship. In the post-war years, the workshop failed to meet its orders
and new templates were needed as soon as possible. This job was delegated to
Heřman Landsfeld. Whilst painting the pottery by day, he also created new
templates by elaborating and adding the traditional patterns of old
western-Slovak pottery-making centres. Altogether, they were responsible for the
creation of almost a thousand new patterns. This work appealed to Heřman
Landsfeld so much that he began to further explore the patterns of the
individual centres. Through these patterns he gradually approached the original
pottery tools and technology of production of the entire region of
Western-Slovakia. He carefully made his plans and wrote everything down. He did
not forget about his own work either, soon reaching his peak and in 1919 became
the head of the painting shop.
Michaela Haviarová – Jozef
Tihányi
The story of the Hajdušek house in Modra
The
archaeological-historical research of the last house in a side street, within
Modra’s town fortification, took place in 2008. It was an inconspicuous and for
a long time abandoned building of a burgher. Its atypically long street façade,
which differed from burgher’s houses commonly appearing in the former free royal
towns of Svätý Jur, Pezinok and Modra as well as other viticulture settlements
beneath the Small Carpathians, suggested that the object of research was a
special house.
Originally a viticulture residence, the so-called Hajdušek
house in Modra sits in the side street of Kukučínova, west of the town’s centre.
Its ground-plan connects the preserved town fortifications in the north and
west, and the western fortification forms an acute angle with the street line. A
bastion, today’s Gallery of Ignác Bizmayer, stands in the northwestern corner of
the fortifications. The cylinder bastion with tapered roof protrudes over the
fortifications. If it was not for a secondarily created entrance from behind the
fortifications, it would only be accessible from the courtyard of the Hajdušek
house.
The house at 15, 17 Kukučínova street was probably built before the
middle of the 17th century. Throughout the course of its existence, it had
undergone several construction phases whilst in the main significantly changing
its disposition. In the oldest construction phase, it was a typical town house
of the Small Carpathian vineyard region with longitudinal disposition and axis
directed across the street. It combined the residential function with a
manufacturing room (pressroom) and storage place (cellar) for wine. After the
middle 17th century, a street wing was added to the building from the west.
Approximately at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, the current passage
with barrel vault and side entrance in the street façade near the passage’s gate
were built. At the end of the 18th century, probably due to a courtyard
enlargement, the oldest part of the house was demolished and the original cellar
entry was bricked in. The house had several reconstructions, but only one is
dated to 1860 and bearing the initials of the then owner K. M. on the street
façade. Nevertheless, the original cellar, the vaults of the room and the black
kitchen have been preserved up until today.
Ladislav
Mlynka
The water wheel mill in Cajla
The little
municipality of Cajla lies beneath the Small Carpathians in the northern part of
Pezinok. The massive several-storeyed stone building of the Schaubmar Mill dates
from 1767. The noteworthily noble family of Pálffy built the pretentious mill at
their Pezinok domain. The building has features of the original baroque
construction style. Originally, the mill estate was located in the rural area of
the municipality, in the so-called mill island, which created an artificial
water channel that ferried the water for the mill’s wheels from the Cajla
stream-bed. Along with the charming building of the former manorial mill, there
were other traditional farm buildings that formed the estate – stable, barn,
threshing floor, garner and pig-cote, as well as an orchard below the mill. The
mill represents that regional form of Small-Carpathian water mills with an upper
race-way wheel and grinding room occupying the whole of the floor to its height.
The famous mill family of Schaubmars from Bavaria had owned the mill for the
last hundred years (since 1857). It has a spacious habitable part (large rooms
on the ground as well as upper floors, kitchen and workshop).
Originally, it
was a manorial water mill from the 18th century with two large water wheels. In
1913, the family of Schaubmar significantly changed it and modernized mainly the
mill’s machinery. The grinding room was divided into four floors, including the
ground floor and housetop of the mill. It was renovated for an exposition of the
Slovak National Gallery – Gallery of Naïve Art, and now the mill is presented in
its authentic environment with high preservation level of the architectural and
technical parts, including the reconstructed water wheel with a diameter of 4.8
metres. The water raceway to the mill was not preserved in its original
condition, but the mill’s estate is complete and unbroken, with no unsuitable
rebuilding in the lovely landscape. It shows the development of the miller’s
trade in the Small-Carpathian region from the 18th century to the middle of the
20th century.
Katarína Čierna
The Gallery of Naïve
Art
The collection of unprofessional artistic expression is specific
to the Slovak National Gallery and consists of paintings, sculptures, drawings
and graphic works. The collection has been around since 1965, when the
International Cabinet of Naïve Art took its origin in the grounds of the Slovak
National Gallery. Štefan Tkáč, the noteworthy theorist of naïve art was its
founder and went on to also create the international Triennial of Naïve Art and
to have a great influence on the assembling of the collection. The collection’s
acquisitions have demanded academic-observational analysis from the beginning
and have led to a reflection upon the relationship between the professional and
untaught art.
The collection of naïve art, which focuses on the art of the
20th century, now comprises over 800 works by more than 70 Slovak and foreign
artists. Art brut and outsider art are also the targets of the acquisition
programme, as is another phenomenon – Slovak folk art mainly from the 19th
century, with the emphasis on traditional folk painting and sculpture. The
collection of folk art contains over 600 works.
Since 1997, the collection
of naïve art has been permanently exhibited in the SNG’s Gallery of Naïve Art.
The gallery resides in the Schaubmar Mill, Pezinok-Cajla, which is a cultural
and technical monument. The gallery is the first and only one of its kind in
Slovakia. The exposition of naïve art combines with the exposition of the mill’s
facility and modus operandi into a harmonious entity. Apart from the permanent,
continuously innovative exposition, the Gallery of Naïve Art usually holds three
to four exhibitions a year. There are monographic and thematic exhibitions, but
mainly there are interpretative presentations, such as Axis mundi (2000), Ex
voto (2001), Ľudovít Fulla and the World of Folk Art (2002), The Myth of Juraj
Jánošík or Jánošík Mania in Slovak Art (2005 – 2006), I Heard the Angel Singing
(2008), and others.
The Gallery of Naïve Art also provides
cultural-educational and educational activities – regular lector activities,
specific curator lectures and art workshops. These are mainly targeted at
children, who get to know art materials and techniques. The programme also helps
to develop fantasy and imagination through creative stage plays, where theatre
joins art and music education.
The Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava
received the annual prize of the Monuments and Museums magazine in 1997 for the
renovation of the Schaubmar Mill with regards to the monument’s appropriate use
as the Gallery of Naïve Art.
Pamiatky a múzeá
Magazine´s annual
awards
For 2008
Juraj Bartík
The collection of Jiří
Janošík. Above-regional contacts in the Late Bronze Age
An
exceptional assortment of fourteen decorations, vessels and weapons made in the
Late Bronze Age was to significantly enlarge the collections of the
SNM-Archaeological Museum in Bratislava at the end of 2008. Collector Jiří
Janošík, specialising in uncommon items coming from Slovak territory, gradually
purchased them.
Bronze needles, one of the most common findings of the
Bronze Age, were unearthed from the graves of men and women whose chests they
adorned, since they originally buckled their clothing. The needles were not only
the predecessors of buttons but they also served as decorative brooches, which
we can ascertain from their ornamental heads. Their length rarely exceeded 30
cm. The three donated needles differ so much from the others with their
measurements (55,5 – 98,5 cm) and elaborate decoration that we do not suppose
they were in daily use; they probably formed a part of ceremonial clothing or
votive donations.
A kettle with two handles allegedly comes from Obišovce.
Hanging vessels of similar shapes were used at the beginning of the late Bronze
Age. Two more kettles were found in Slovakia in Lúčky and Krásna nad
Hornádom.
Two buckets rivet fastened from bronze tinplates and of conical
shape, one of which is exceptionally large (height of 494 mm), probably come
from Obišovce and Kysuce. Similarly embossed vessels made in the Late Bronze Age
appear throughout Central Europe.
A cup with a very unique rich embossment
of stylised human figures also allegedly comes from Obišovce. Another cup with
lanced plate above the handle was allegedly found in Kysuce. A bowl decorated
with embossed crevices comes allegedly from Blatnica. Bowls of the same shape
from the beginning of the Late Bronze Age mainly come from the Carpathian basin,
where they were definitely made as well. The donation also includes protective
armament – a helmet of cupola shape covering the upper part of the head and two
side parts protecting the cheeks. The function of another unique item is
unknown. A bronze hollow ball with holder resembles those items coming from
France, Switzerland and northern Italy. Another item, allegedly from Obišovce,
reminds us of modern rattlebags in shape.
This gift of Jiří Janošík to the
Slovak National Museum could be audaciously acknowledged as the acquisition of
the decade.
Alexandra Kusá
The exhibition Slovak Picture as
Anti-Picture, Prague
The exhibition Slovak Picture as Anti-Picture,
with its subtitle the 20th Century in Slovak Visual Art, which was held in the
Riding-School of Prague Castle from October 28, 2008 to March 1, 2009, has to
date been the last example of “large displays” of Slovak art in Prague. The 90th
anniversary of the no-longer existing joint (Czechoslovak) republic was the
impulse behind its organisation. Being undoubtedly a prestigious event, the
exhibition meant a great challenge for its curators (Katarína Bajcurová, Aurel
Hrabušický, Katarína Müllerová). They were to introduce the public to something
of which they might have had a culturally-politically determined or distorted
idea. They did not want to simply show the “close foreign” public a panorama of
Slovak art but wanted them to discover it for themselves with the exhibition. At
the same time they wanted to “satisfy” the home public. One has to appraise the
clear conception designed by Katarína Bajcurová – she refrained from devising a
pompous show of “the best of”, but in the context of the name borrowed from
Július Koller opened “new rooms for thinking” about Slovak art forms. Following
this structural idea, the curators decided to offer a reference to the ambiguous
and provocative thinking about our art. Through the exhibition they attempted to
answer these questions: What was Slovak art? Was it specific and in what? How
did it see the surrounding world and how did it react to it? The second part of
the exhibition’s title, anti-picture, referred to the need for re-defining the
nature of modern art in Slovakia.
Markéta Plichtová
How did
we live? Slovakia in the 20th century
More than 75,000 visitors
came to see the mega exhibition of the Slovak National Museum between February
15 and December 31 in 2008, in its place of residence on Vajanského nábrežie in
Bratislava. Many accompanying events would regularly revive the project – Slovak
film projections with the creators present, Sunday projections of the old
television bedtime stories for children, cabaret shows, chat meetings and many
other smaller exhibitions documenting the events of the political, societal and
artistic life of the previous century. The Science and Technology exhibition
supplemented the project with a show of scientific and technologic discoveries.
The photographs of Igor Grossmann introduced the personalities of cultural and
societal life; Peter Procházka captured the life of the legendary student V-club
in Bratislava. Also captivating were the Sport and Personalities exhibitions –
precisely what you would not find in any sport encyclopaedia, as well as a
retrospective of Slovak cartoonists. The display of the noteworthy Slovak artist
Milan Laluha from the collections of the Slovak National Gallery offered a
unique artistic experience. The Recollection of August ’68 reminded us of the
important events in Czechoslovak history. The small panel exhibition Masaryk and
Bystrička presented the relationship of the first Czechoslovak president to
Slovakia. Also interesting was the project Slovak Bigbeat, which offered a view
of our music scene in the late 1950s and 1960s.
The exhibitory project was
to also cover special materials for schools – the magazine How Do You Live? was
actually the first museum’s magazine-guide by way of exhibition in Slovakia. The
worksheet At the Photographer’s was similarly designed for anybody interested (a
set of worksheets was available for teachers). Youngsters could meet historians
at the regular event Stories from History.
The exhibition was reviewed in
our magazine’s issue 2/2008 (pg. 64 – 67).
Katarína
Bajcurová
Martin Benka – the first designer of the Slovak national
myth
The monograph Martin Benka, written by Ľubomír Longauer and
Anna Oláhová and issued by the Slovart publishing house in 2008, presents the
least explored creative area of the Slovak painter, graphic artist, illustrator
and violinmaker Martin Benka (1888 – 1971) – the utility artwork. Large in
volume and size, this monumental publication (431 pages, 900 reproductions) was
graphically arranged by the author. It is the result of a productive
relationship between an active graphic designer, university pedagogue and expert
on Slovak utility graphic art history (Longauer) and an administrator of Martin
Benka’s works in his house, the museum run by the Slovak National Museum in
Martin, (Oláhová). The first author brought to the fore his fascination with
Benka in the book (he has been popularising him as a special graphic designer
and creator of new writing types for a long time); the second one opened the
door for him to get in touch with his works in the collections and depositories
of the museum. The publication is conceived as a guide through Benka’s “other”
interests. Individual chapters talk about themes (politics, sacral motifs),
artistic motifs and genres (writings, figures, landscape, ornament, etc.) and
brands (signs, posters, book-plates, banknotes, stamps, etc.). The
introductions are accompanied by rich visual material. Maybe the most revealing
is the chapter on Benka’s creation of writing types, but what is doubtlessly
amazing is his general ability to fulfil even the most tiny of artistic tasks.
Even though Benka was not exactly a modernist, this publication convincingly
testifies to a unified visual style of his work. Ironically, he – as well as
other avant-garde artists – did not divide art between utility and free, high or
low. All expressions were equally important. In this sense, the visual
supplement as well as the generous typographical layout of the publication is a
remarkable addition.
National cultural monuments in Slovakia –
Ružomberok district
The publication National Cultural Monuments in
Slovakia – Ružomberok District is the first volume of the prepared edition of
Slovakia’s Monuments Board and Slovart publishing house. It picks up on the
revision and updating of the Central List of the Monument’s Fund of the Slovak
Republic. The publishers aspire for content and subject updating of the three
parts of the Register of Monuments in Slovakia, issued in 1967 – 1969, which at
that time mapped in detail Slovakia’s movable cultural heritage based around the
notions of municipalities and towns grouped alphabetically.
The first part
of the new edition, dedicated to the Ružomberok district, presents the results
of field and comparative research of movable and immovable monuments and
monument areas provided by Slovakia’s Monuments Board and Regional Monuments
Board in Žilina. It also offers up-to-date information that is part of the
recording of the Central List of Monument’s Fund. The introductory chapters
outline the wider historical, societal, political and cultural connections that
influenced the formation of the researched area, and the development of its
visual art, art crafts and architecture.
After the introduction of the
district’s main residence and its cadastral parts, the catalogue component lists
the individual municipalities alphabetically. With each municipality, there are
its historical names, the shape and description of the valid coat-of-arms,
geographical location, brief historical development and urban characteristics.
Then follow the entries on national cultural monuments present in the
municipality. Historical photographs, maps of second military mapping from 1823,
cadastral maps from the third quarter of the 19th century and archive documents
talk about the changes and values of today’s monuments fund.
The interview
with the edition’s sponsor was published in the issue 2/2009 (pg. 67 –
69).
Eva Švajdová
Enamelled dishes from
Hronec
This publication presents a collection of enamelled items
from the Horehronie Museum’s fund in Brezno, which come from a successful
factory that used to manufacture enamelled dishes in Hronec. The enamelled
vessels of the Hronec provenience were made in a large scale of shapes. There
were several production series for individual types of vessels of various
volumes and colours. Many were kept in the factory’s programme for the whole
period of its existence. But what mainly brought about its fame were the table
sets for tea and coffee, as well as representation, reminiscent and anniversary
items. The Horehronie Museum currently administers a collection of enamelled
vessels and other enamel decorated items, which records 798 articles of the
Hronec provenience. It includes dishes for meal preparation and food transfer,
items needed for dining, hygiene and food storage. It represents several groups
of decorative items, which originally served as gifts or memoirs. The tea and
coffee sets are extraordinary and imitate porcelain products with their décor
and shape. The museum annually enlarges the collection with targeted search in
the field.
Zdenka Turzíková
Renovation of the Apponyi Palace
in Bratislava
The building complex of the Old Town Hall and Apponyi
Palace in Bratislava is the most representative in the historical core. It is
located in the monument-protected area of monument reservation. From the
conservation viewpoint these buildings are exceptionally interesting with many
preserved exterior and interior elements from the period of the Middle Ages
until the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The preparation for the
Apponyi Palace’s renovation started in 2004 with a study suggesting new use. The
design works and the archaeological research of the Apponyi Palace’s courtyard
started in 2005. The reconstruction design was finished in April 2006 and the
interior design was submitted in September.
The construction works fully
started in the third quarter of 2006, followed by restoration works. The
construction works continued in 2007 and archaeological research continued
during the ground works. Restoration works were performed on the discovered
paintings at the second floor. Inner installations also took place and a new
basement was built under the courtyard. Renovation works on carpenters’
products, floors, coatings and the roof continued at the same time. The
reconstruction of Apponyi Palace continued in 2008 with the implementation of
air-technology and cooling as well as signalisation systems, interior
furnishing, etc. The works finished in April of 2008 and after the house
inspection the building was ready for use in May 2008.
The Apponyi Palace
was described in more detail in a set of articles dedicated to the
archaeological research, architectural-historical research and new exposition in
the issue 1/2009 (pg. 43 – 57).
Mária Kotorová
The Day of Old
Slavs – going back in time
The Homeland Museum in Hanušovce nad
Topľou has in recent years been presenting regional history through actual
experience. Visitors are not merely viewers, but they can, if they so wish,
directly join in a return journey to the past. This is achieved by way of
various events accompanying the museum’s visit that introduce a choice of crafts
(weaving and other textile techniques, pottery, working with metal, etc.) and
sometimes with large cultural events, the so-called archeofestivals, which offer
a cultural programme with not only the forgotten activities but also the
forgotten atmosphere of the past.
The event entitled The Day of Old Slavs –
Common Ancestors, was one of such returns in time. It was organised within the
project of international cooperation with its Ukrainian partner, the Institute
of Carpathian Studies at the Užhorod National University. The town of Hanušovce
nad Topľou was the local partner and the Slovak Archaeological Society at the
Slovak Academy of Sciences joined the organisers during the preparations for the
event. Technical and archaeological documents were prepared during the project
for the building of an archeopark – a centre for the so-called living
archaeology. The archeofestival took place on May 18, 2008, when museums
celebrate their international day. Roughly 800 to 1,000 visitors came to see the
successful event. If the Hanušovce museum could succeed in building the
archeopark, similar returns to the past could surely take place on a more
frequent basis and be built up in quality.
Modern architecture
in Slovakia
Slovak television showed the premiere of an almost
hour-long documentary Modern Architecture in Slovakia at the beginning of June
2008. The documentary film of director and script-writer Ladislav Kaboš captures
the changes of modern Slovak architecture throughout the 20th century – from the
origin of the first Czechoslovak Republic (1918) until today and at the same
time reflects the significant historic moments of the origin of modern Slovakia.
Henrieta Moravčíková, scientific worker at the Institute of Construction and
Architecture of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, provided the expertise for the
documentary and guided us over the unique architectural delights.
The film
Modern Architecture in Slovakia shows 16 most significant works – from the
Burial-mound of Gen. Milan Rastislav Štefánik on Bradlo (1928) to the National
Bank of Slovakia in Bratislava (2002). The documentary also introduces the
following works: Slovak Art Association in Bratislava (1926), Machnáč sanatorium
in Trenčianske Teplice (1932), Colonnade Bridge in Piešťany (1933), Green Frog
swimming pool in Trenčianske Teplice (1937), the Cooperative Houses (1939), City
savings bank (1931), Manderla House (1939) and Nová doba (New Period, 1942) in
Bratislava, Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra (1966), Crematory in
Bratislava (1968), The Monument of Slovak National Uprising in Banská Bystrica
(1969), and the New Bridge (1973), Prior department store – Kyjev Hotel (1973)
and Slovak Radio (1985) in Bratislava.
The documentary also contains rare
period film sequences from the construction of individual buildings and archive
film materials, which closely relate to architectural modern style in Slovakia.
It is the first documentary film in Slovakia, which has been completed by way of
HDTV technology.