SuS 2024 brochure public (1) - Flipbook - Page 7
ABOUT THE VENUE
The lectures and workshops will take place at Faustova sieň in Stará radnica (Old Town Hall),
right in the heart of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The current space of Faustova sieň,
along with its expansive entry areas, was refurbished in the 1930s according to the designs
of architect Emil Belluš.
Faustova sieň is named after Dr. Ovidius Faust (1896–1972), a prominent figure in the
Museum of the City of Bratislava from 1919 to 1945. He served as an archivist, museum
curator, and from 1923, the head of Bratislava's Scientific Institutes, which included the city
archive, museum, and scientific library. Dr. Faust authored and edited numerous scholarly
publications on the city's history. In 1970, he donated his estate, including personal
documents, photographic records of Bratislava’s monuments, an extensive library, and
various art-historical items, to the Museum of the City of Bratislava.
ABOUT BRATISLAVA
Bratislava is beautifully situated between the Danube River and the Little Carpathians
mountain range. Although relatively young as a capital city, it hosts the highest Slovak
institutions, including the President's office, Parliament, and Government.
The history of Bratislava spans over two thousand years, beginning with ancient Celtic
settlers who built protective camps and minted Biatec coins. Remnants of the Roman
frontier, Limes Romanus, and the Gerulata military camp are also found in the area.
Bratislava was the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary (1536-1783) and the coronation city of
Hungarian rulers from the Habsburg family (1563-1830).
Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, Bratislava became the capital of the
independent Slovak Republic in 1993. It is now part of the family of 27 European capital
cities and, together with its neighbors, forms a metropolitan Euroregion with excellent
prospects for becoming one of the most dynamic areas of European cooperation and
development.
Bratislava has a rich history as a multicultural and multilingual city. However, since the
creation of the first Czechoslovak Republic, it has transformed into a predominantly
unilingual city. This shift from a multilingual space, where German, Hungarian, Yiddish, and
Slovak were widely spoken, to a predominantly Slovak-speaking environment is one of the
reasons why Bratislava is the perfect venue for a summer school focusing on the linguistic
aspects of minority rights.
7
