Petržalka
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Petržalka | |
|---|---|
| Coat-of-arms N/A | |
| Region (kraj) | Bratislava Region |
| District (okres) | Bratislava V |
| Location | |
| Altitude | 126 m |
| Population | 126,565 |
| Area | 28.7 km² |
| Time Zone • Summer DST |
CET: UTC+1 CEST: UTC+2 |
| Telephone prefix | +421-02 |
| Postal code | 85XXX |
| Car registration plate | BA |
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Petržalka (Hungarian: Ligetfalu, German: Engerau) is the largest city part of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Situated on the right riverbank of the river Danube, it houses approximately 130,000 inhabitants.
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[edit] Characteristics
Currently, Petržalka is connected with Bratislava by five bridges, and is the most densely populated place in Slovakia and also in Central Europe. It is primarily a residential area with most people living in blocks of flats, the so-called paneláks. Most of the apartment blocks in Petržalka were built during the Socialist period of Czechoslovakia and are seemingly identical. For this reason, many residents refer to the neighbourhood as the "concrete jungle."
Important institutions include University of Economics, the Incheba congress and exposition centre and the Petržalka train station operating traffic to and from Vienna. Sad Janka Kráľa is the oldest public park in Central Europe.
The neighborhood is also now known for its football club, Artmedia Bratislava, a surprising participant in the 2005-06 UEFA Champions League.
[edit] History
Historical records about Petržalka exist from 1225. The settlement was originally inhabited by Pecheneg mercenaries on guard duty. Later, it became a recreation area famous for its gardens. In 1866, Petržalka had only 594 inhabitants and 103 houses.
Petržalka became permanently connected with the town of Bratislava in 1891, when the first railway bridge was built. Before this date only wooden bridges existed, but they were often damaged by frost and floods.
In 1938, Petžalka was annexed by Nazi Germany on the basis of the Munich agreement, but after World War II was returned to Czechoslovakia.
In 1946, Petržalka officially became a part of Bratislava.
[edit] Recent Events
In 2003, Pope John Paul II visited Petržalka and celebrated a Sunday Liturgy among the infamous paneláks.
On November 8 2003 there was a Dave Gahan concert in the Incheba Center. This concert was a part of his Paper Tour after his first solo album Paper Monsters.
On 14 June 2006 there was a concert of Massive Attack in Incheba, as a part of their Collected tour.
On 4 October 2006 there was a concert of Deep Purple in Incheba center to promote their album Rapture of the Deep.
On 15 October 2006 there was a concert of Duran Duran in Incheba as a continuing of Astronaut tour.
