New renovation contract signed for Bratislava Castle

The Parliament Office, which is responsible for Bratislava Castle, signed a new contract on the revamp of the premises of the castle worth €1.8 million with construction company Váhostav last week, despite the fact that new Parliamentary Chairman Peter Pellegrini has pledged to revisit the entire reconstruction project. The Hospodárske Noviny daily reported this on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the project was initiated by Pellegrini's predecessor Pavol Paška, who signed a contract with Váhostav worth €26.1 million. The firm was commissioned with revamping the winter riding-school building, the underground garage and the castle exterior. Shortly after he took up office on Tuesday, November 25, Pellegrini promised to revisit the whole project. "He wants to meet the contractor of the construction along with representatives of the regional architectural sites preservation office, and he's planning to carry out a tour of the construction site with the media in attendance in the near future", said Parliament Office spokesperson Soňa Pötheová. The latest contract signed with Váhostav on November 27 is associated with the protection of archaeological discoveries at the site. "The increase in the price was due to unpredictable events related to archaeological findings and tectonic problems in the subsoil", said Váhostav spokesperson Tomáš Halán. The project has met with fierce opposition from experts however, after Váhostav made alterations to the original plans. Now, part of the archaeological finds would be transferred somewhere else and the site will be covered with earth to allow for the underground carpark.