Námestie Slobody'' (''Freedom Square'')'', locally referred to as Gotko, is a major city square in the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, the capital of

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. It is situated in the wider city center, close to Kollárovo square and in front of the

Summer Archbishop's Palace The Episcopal Summer Palace (, ) is the former residence of the Archbishop of Esztergom. The palace was originally in the 17th century a Renaissance summer seat for the archbishops of Esztergom (since Esztergom had been occupied by the Ottoman Em ...

History

The location of the current square was covered with vineyards during medieval times. It probably originated in the 17th century, with the

which was built there. It currently houses the Slovak government. Later it was rebuilt as a grass area, which was divided by an alley of trees. It was called Kniežacie or ''Fürstenallee'' and ''Hercegfasor''. The Slovak expression Firšnál originated from Fürstenallee. The square was called ''Gottwaldovo'' during socialism in honor of the first Czechoslovak communist president

Klement Gottwald Klement Gottwald (; 23 November 1896 – 14 March 1953) was a Czech communist politician, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until his death in 1953 – titled as general secretary until 1945 and as chairman f ...

, whose statue was included. The Post Office palace (the biggest post office in the world) and buildings of

Slovak Technical University Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (STU) () is the biggest and oldest university of technology in Slovakia. In the 2012 Academic Ranking of World Universities it was ranked in the first 150 in Computer Science, the only university in ...

were built there during the 1940s and 1950s, closing the square in from all sides. The biggest

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

in Bratislava stands there, which was built in 1980. It was one of the first squares in Bratislava that was renamed after the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

in 1989.

Fountain of Union

The square's centerpiece is the Fountain of Union (), built from 1979 to 1980 by sculptors Juraj Hovorka, Tibor Bártfay, Karol Lacko and architects Virgil Droppa and Juraj Hlavica. It is the biggest fountain in Bratislava and in the whole Slovak Republic. The fountain consists of a basin and a 9 meters tall sculpture of a linden flower weighing 12 tons. The fountain features a tunnel and a relatively large machine room, located underneath the fountain. Due to water continually entering the underground control spaces because of lack of maintenance after the

fall of Communism The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...

in 1989, the technological and electrical parts of the fountain are severely damaged. The hydroisolation of the basin is damaged as well. In 2007 water stopped flowing from the fountain and its restoration would cost an estimated 1 million

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

s. Since 2010, when plans to reconstruct the whole square emerged, the Fountain of Union is not included in any of these plans. The only institution to publicly declare its support to include the fountain in the future is ''Paming'' a municipal company that is in the process of ceasing operation. In June 2023 water began flowing again after the fountain was fully restored with a new fountain system. People are now allowed to step inside the fountain. The square also received new lights and more greenery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Namestie Slobody Squares in Bratislava

History

Fountain of Union

See also

References