| Petržalka | |
| Borough | |
| Country | Slovakia |
|---|---|
| Region | Bratislava |
| District | Bratislava V |
| Elevation | 126 m (413 ft) |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 28.7 km2 (11.1 sq mi) |
| Population | 114,862 |
| Density | 4,002 / km2 (10,365 / sq mi) |
| Postal code | 85XXX |
| Area code | +421-02 |
| Car plate | BA, BL |
|
Location of Petržalka in Slovakia
|
|
| Wikimedia Commons: Petržalka | |
Petržalka (Hungarian: Pozsonyligetfalu) German: Engerau / Audorf) is the largest borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Situated on the right bank of the river Danube, it is home to approximately 150,000 people.
Contents |
Historical records of Petržalka exist from 1225. The settlement was originally inhabited by Pecheneg mercenaries on guard duty.
The name Petržalka first appeared in the 1920s and refers to vegetables and herbs that were grown there (peteršílj means "parsley"). The older German name is Engerau or Ungerau. The Hungarian name is Pozsonyligetfalu, short form Ligetfalu.
Petržalka is divided into three official parts, Dvory, Lúky and Háje, and further into unofficial parts, Ovsište, Janíkov dvor, Kopčany, Zrkadlový háj, Starý háj, and Kapitulský dvor.
As of 2008, Petržalka is connected to Bratislava by five bridges. It is the most densely populated residential district in Central Europe.[8]
Petržalka is primarily a residential area, with most people living in blocks of flats called paneláks, a neologism for buildings built from concrete panels joined together to form the structure, which were widely deployed throughout the Eastern Bloc during the communist era. As the borough was built primarily as a residential area, it has no clearly defined centre.
Petržalka was sometimes referred to as the Bronx of Bratislava[9] because of a high crime rate and drug dealing, but as of 2008 the crime rate had become similar to that of the other boroughs.
Important institutions include the congress and exposition centre Incheba and Petržalka railway station. Sad Janka Kráľa is one of the oldest municipal parks in Europe.[10] There is also the Arena Theatre, established in 1828, one of the oldest theatres in Bratislava.
The University of Economics is based in Petržalka, with campuses situated in different locations around Bratislava.
There are 11 elementary schools and 19 kindergartens administered by the borough.[11][12] Gymnasium high schools include the state-administered Albert Einstein[13] and Pankúchova 6 gymnasiums[14] and the private Mercury Gymnasium.[15]
The borough is also known for its football club, Artmedia Bratislava, a participant in the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League.
Petržalka is connected to the rest of Bratislava by five bridges, of which three are used for local traffic (Nový Most, Starý most and Most Apollo) and two for international traffic (Lafranconi Bridge and Prístavný most). Starý most, from the first of January 2009, was closed to all traffic except for public transport, bicycles and pedestrians. Currently (as of August 2010), the bridge is completely closed off to all traffic due to an ongoing reconstruction.
Petržalka is located near a major international motorway junction, where the D1 and D2 motorways meet.
There is a road border crossing into Austria along Viedenska cesta near the intersection of the D1 and D2. The Austrian crossing is called Berg after the nearby town of the same name. There are no more border checks from December 21, 2007 with Slovakia joining the Schengen Area.
Bratislava-Petržalka railway station is located in the western part of the borough and is used primarily for international traffic and for trains to and from Vienna.
Public transportation uses buses, which connect Petržalka with the other boroughs. In 1989, construction of a subway began, but it was stopped shortly after the Velvet Revolution broke out. Instead, a high-speed tram (light rail) line is planned, and its construction is to begin in 2008.[16]
|
|||||||||||||||||||||