Freedom Square

Important ideas for the urban design concept of today’s Freedom probably departed from design proposals resulting from competition for planning of new governmental district held in 1943 by Slovak State. Particularly from proposal designed by Italian architects which was based on monumental abstract composition consisting of buildings in elementary shapes with perforated surfaces. During the 1940s, the ministry of foreign affairs was installed in reconstructed baroque palace. After the war, idea for governmental/political complex was replaced by idea of university complex and public buildings. Instead of planned palace of HSĽS (ruling party of Slovak State), the Central Post Office was built on north-east side of the square, on the opposite the Pavilion of Theoretical Institutes and Faculty of Mechanical Engineering took place and form of Italian block of ministries along the south-east side. The idea of governmental functions in this space was revived by placing of Office of Slovak Government in reconstructed baroque palace and new addition from 1980s. The vast public space of square itself was redesigned in 1979/1980 as a public park in form of radial composition with monumental steel fountain in it’s focal point and empty plateau in the upper part of square where monumental memorial of K. Gottwald used to stand.