On Sunday, the Bratislava municipal district of Petržalka celebrated the 50th anniversary of its foundation. It is the largest housing estate in Slovakia and Central Europe. Today, more than 110 thousand people live there. More than 80 teams of architects from all over the world entered the urban competition for the construction of the new housing estate. In the end, the proposals were not accepted and the construction of Petržalka started with the intention to build as many flats as possible in the shortest possible time. Its construction was divided into stages. The construction of the housing estate on the right bank of the Danube River began with the approval of the zoning decision in March 1973, followed by the laying of the foundation stone of the new Petržalka in April on today's Námestie hraničiarov. The first residential house was completed on Romanova Street on 3 August 1977. The first inhabitants of Petržalka lived for many years on a building site without shops and schools. Over time, the place became a housing estate with full civic amenities. On the occasion of this historical milestone, the municipal district is preparing several commemorative events. On Sunday, an exhibition including period photographs from the construction of Petržalka was opened. There was also the installation of the work A String of Pearls from the Treefruit project or the symbolic planting of the Petržalka apple tree. The first historical references to an organised settlement in Petržalka date back to 1225 and this year it will celebrate 104 years of its existence as a Slovak municipality, more precisely as a self-government. Petržalka, then Engerau, officially became a municipality within the Czechoslovak Republic on 14 August 1919, following the agreement of the Great Powers after World War I and the liberation from the domination of Hungary. The era of the settlement, which replaced the apricot and peach orchards, began in the early 1970s during communism.
Source: TASR
