Architecture Papers of the Faculty of Architecture and Design STU (Oct 2020)
Railway and industry in the urban planning of Bratislava (Pressburg) in the 20th century
Abstract
The paper deals with the construction of railways in Bratislava (before 1918 Pressburg, Pozsony, Prešporok), determining the concentration of industrial areas along it, especially on the periphery, but also near railway stations on the edge of the city centre. The construction of railway stations and the construction of lines are accompanying processes of urbanization of cities, which have also manifested themselves in Bratislava since the middle of the 19th century. The railway line, determining the construction of factories, was an important element not only for traffic flows of commodities, but also as urban formation factor. After 1900, the railway, as one of the main attributes of modernization, gradually became a barrier to the development of other types of transport and the establishing of new, mainly residential structures. It has been repeatedly shown that the city will develop mainly to the northeast. The presence of railways initially helped this development - it combined the interest of the predominant cargo transport with passenger transport. Later, these two types of transport segregated, while passenger rail transport, unlike cargo, was still tolerated in the city. Town planning visions, which were trying to solve the relocation of the main station and the displacement of railway lines from the city, were only partially realized. They were never realized as a holistic task.
