In 2014, a commemorative plaque was installed on the side façade of the Slovak National Museum (SNM) in honour of Russian Tsar Peter I (1672–1725) and his alleged visit to Bratislava "with the aim of learning about the mastery of local shipbuilders". That, at least, is the claim in the trilingual inscription (Slovak, Russian, German) at the bottom of the plaque, which is complemented by a sculpted Russian emblem with a double-headed eagle.
The plaque is conventionally conceived as a relief in which the three-quarter figure of the tsar is depicted centrally holding a sword and a scroll with the silhouette of a ship. To the left, the background shows a wide stretch of the Danube with Bratislava Castle towering above the river and the row of houses below. To the right, the artist placed two masts with rolled-up sails and waving flags.
There are several reasons that this work does not belong on the façade of the National Museum, or indeed in Bratislava. As several historians have noted, there is no reliable evidence of the tsar having visited Bratislava in 1698. Furthermore, at the site the memorial plaque was installed (despite opposition from the city and experts), there existed no port at that time where the emperor could "learn about the mastery of shipbuilders". According to historical records, the tsar could see the city on his way to Vienna, but from the opposite bank, i.e. from today's Petržalka, which is also depicted on the commemorative plaque. At that time, for reasons related to the flow of the Danube, the port was located further upstream in the historic areas of Vydrica and Zuckermandl.
Although adjacent to today's Passenger Port, the site of the memorial plaque on the SNM building did not have a port in 1698, nor for a long time after that, but instead featured an unregulated shore. This can be verified on historical maps and in relevant archival documents. The museum building on Vajanský Embankment was constructed between 1920 and 1929 to a design by the renowned architect Milan Michal Harminc (1869–1964). It is a National Cultural Monument listed in the Central List of Monuments of the Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic. The installation of a historically and artistically questionable plaque on the façade of the Slovak National Museum was a mistake, and, on the part of the initiator, the Russian Federation and its allies, was fraudulent and an act of political duress. Even before installation of the plaque, the then Capital City Commission for Memorials and Interventions in the Public Space unanimously recommended "... not to install the plaque, because there is no connection between this building and Peter the Great, nor is there anything linking this space to the Russian tsar's visit to Bratislava" (quoted from the minutes of 26 March 2014). The city, however, is neither the owner nor the administrator of the plaque. It can only refer to the expert commission’s recommendation; it cannot handle the plaque or remove it from the façade. The museum was established by the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic, and according to conservationists the plaque was supposed to be placed on the building only temporarily. 26 March 2024 marked ten years since the commission’s recommendation, so the situation can no longer be considered temporary, and the original reasons for removing the plaque from the museum's façade still apply.
ZD
Research status as of 29. 3. 2024.
