In 1977, Bratislava hosted solidarity days with its twin city Kyiv. To mark the occasion, three stone memorial columns were erected at popular meeting places across Bratislava – on Kamenné Square in the Old Town, in the castle park in Rusovce, and in Družba Park in Dúbravka.
The Solidarity Memorial in the Old Town stands on a small grass island that forms part of the entrance area to the former Prior department store.
The designers, A. Balážik and R. Miklánek, applied the same concept to each of the three memorial columns, although the column in Rusovce is somewhat smaller. Two slightly recessed lower niches on opposite sides feature the coats of arms of Bratislava and Kyiv, while shallow upper niches bear two inscriptions – Kyiv Days in Bratislava, 12–13 September 1977 and a verse by Pavol Koyš: Kyiv, with brotherly hand extended, the pride and glory of bloodstained paths we chart. Bratislava, your sister as called, will forever hold you warmly in her heart.
Above the inscriptions are socialist symbols – a five-pointed star in relief, and a hammer and sickle.
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Research status as of 30. 06. 2023.