President of the Bratislava self-governing region, Juraj Droba on Saturday, April 18, he reported on the opening of the Manor Park in Stupava, which has undergone renovation. The joy did not last long, as several parts of the area were damaged by citizens only a few hours after it was made available.
The mayor of the Bratislava region did not hide his great disappointment, as he already has to deal with the damage caused by unscrupulous visitors. “On Saturday, we opened the Stupavský park. On Sunday, it was vandalized. I’ll start from scratch, but the situation is serious,” he stated on Instagram.
He pointed out that many citizens did not respect the basic ruleswhich are supposed to protect not only historical monuments, but also the safety of the people themselves. The problem was mainly inappropriate behavior of children who were unsupervised walking on historic lion statues, a waterfall or dangerous curbs of a lake.
The tense situation was also exacerbated by reckless cyclists who threatened pedestrians by driving directly through the area. “There are footpaths and bridges throughout the park. We have clearly marked the new planting with boards with a request not to step on it. It is completely trampled.” he noted. “The vandals also sprayed and broke the wooden educational trail with a wetland, which is truly unique. I have no words,” he added sadly. PHOTOS of the destroyed park can be found in the gallery.
Juraj Rizman, partner of former president Zuzana Čaputová, reacted to the images from the devastated park. “We can talk about what a cultural and advanced nation we are, but until we start appreciating history and monuments, until we appreciate the rescue and restoration work, until we approach the repaired with care and respect and until we have at least basic respect for the rules, it will only be an illusion and a delusion,” he emphasized on Wednesday on the social network.
The director of communication and public relations of the organization Post Bellum Slovakia and at the same time a member of the executive committee of the Platform for Democracy sees this incident as a deeper social problem. According to him, this is not just a one-time damage to property, but a business card of our disrespect for common values. “We still have a lot of work ahead of us and a long way to go,” he thinks based on the current state of public morality. You can find his statement in the gallery.
