Bratislava’s walking terraces to be bolstered by municipal funding

According to local authorities, they are an integral part of the city’s public spaces and deserve adequate support

The quality of public space contributes significantly to the quality of life in cities. Therefore, it is important for everyone to create a quality public space through urban projects and to motivate private owners, who have a share in its co-creation, to take part in the same approach. 

One of the elements of public space in Bratislava are also publicly accessible walking terraces, part of which are privately owned. Unfortunately, many of these terraces have been in poor technical condition for a long time. 

Regardless of the property, the terraces also serve as a public space. The city of Bratislava therefore wants to compensate the owners for the fact that they bear the burden of public space on their real estate and to motivate them to keep them functional and beautiful.

Providing funding for something neglected

At its December meeting, the Bratislava city council approved a pilot project of subsidies, which the city will provide to the owners of the terraces for the purpose of their revitalization. For this purpose, the city has set aside an amount of 200,000 euros this year, for which the owners of the terraces or parts of them can apply.

"With the subsidy scheme, we want to support property owners, motivate them to reconstruct and at the same time compensate them for the fact that their property also includes public space. At the same time, we are also working on cataloguing walking terraces, so that we can subsequently prepare projects for the renovation of terraces, which are owned by the capital or city districts, as well as in cooperation with city districts,”  said the Mayor of Bratislava Matúš Vallo. 

Officials hope that should the initiative prove successful this year, it will be continued in 2022 as well, which will allow for many of these walking terraces to be returned to their former glory and to once again become essential and beautiful parts of Bratislava.