Bratislava art bridge

December 2022 marked the reopening of the Slovak National Gallery after major reconstruction. A large part of exhibition premises were closed for more than twenty years due to their derelict condition, and construction works took almost seven years.

Bratislava has now regained one of its most iconic buildings for art and culture, as well as a meeting place for residents and tourists. The bold socialist modernist structure designed by Vladimir Dedeček in 1977 stands out clearly on the banks of the Danube. It is commonly referred to as the “Overbridge”, an elevated three-storey bridge optically closing the baroque Water Barracks from the street side and forming an inner courtyard.

Our guide to the newly opened building of the main Slovak museum is Alexandra Kusá PhD, its general director and a specialist in 20th century art. Through the perspective of this spectacular architecture we look closer at the contemporary capital of Slovakia, asking what still needs to be done in Bratislava and Slovakia in broadly understood heritage?

Hosted by John Beauchamp, radio producer and audio artist, together with Katarzyna Jagodzińska, head of the Europa Nostra Heritage Hub in Kraków.