Visiting campus

On Monday, for the first time, I visited my department offices and classroom building on Moskovska Ulica (Moscow Street) with my department head, Erich Mistrik. I first mistakenly went to the wrong building on Racianska, where the dean’s offices are located. But every building here harbors such fascinating history, I’m glad I saw it. This was used by the Slovak Communists before their demise, and some of the rooms still have a red light outside the door warning that a secret meeting is underway: Do not enter! What tales those walls could tell!

The Racianska building is surrounded by very dreary residential high-rises that scream neglect – but right across the street, a huge site has been cleared for new housing, the juxtaposition of decay and renewal that one sees everywhere in this city. I used Slovak coins to buy a small cup of very dark coffee for a mere 8 Korunas – about $0.32. Even the machine coffee is good here!


The pinkish building on the left houses faculty and department offices for my department and several others. It had once been a decaying apartment building, but was completely renovated inside and out for the University. The elegant marble stairs, heavy black metal railings, and other architectural details have been preserved, retaining a sense of history. Lifts were allowed only for buildings four or more stories, so stairs are the only option. (I wonder who thought up that rule and whether it’s still enforced.) The building farther down with flower boxes was built by a prominent doctor in 1929. The building was confiscated by the Communists in 1950, and finally returned to the doctor’s descendants in 1993. They refurbished the building and turned it into Hotel Arcus.

This huge building is used for classes for my department and several others. It also houses reading rooms/libraries for both faculty and students, as well as a computer lab for students. Over 100 years old, it was a Slovak orphanage until the 1950s, when it was renovated for the University. Again, the wide marble staircases, heavy metal railings, and other architectural details have been preserved. No lift again, but I’m teaching on the first floor.



As in other European cities, the University does not have the sort of consolidated park-like campus more familiar in America, but rather buildings for different Faculties all over the city. The name in Slovak for Comenius University is Univerzity Komenskeho, and its UK abbreviation can be found on maps in most areas of Bratislava. Thanks to the trams, it’s easy to get around from place to place and my own commute looks to be no more than 10-15 minutes, with a tram stop right at the end of the block.

A previous Fulbrighter warned us about the blight of graffiti we would see outside the restored historic Old Town. But it’s no worse than what I see in so many American cities, including many areas of Los Angeles. If it were not such troublesome vandalism, especially on buildings recently refurbished, some of it is downright artistic. If only that energy could be rechanneled somewhere else. . . Here's an ethical dilemma: if I post an example of the graffiti, am I just encouraging more of it?