Reconstruction of the Peace Square in Trenčín

The Peace Square is the "heart" of the city. It reflects all historical traces in the memory of the place and is the space that the inhabitants most identify with. It carries joyful memories but also sorrows, dramas, and farewells. The Trenčín Square has a multitude of fascinating moments. The genius loci of Trenčín Square is strong and unmistakable. Primarily, it is its elongated "Italian" shape, over which the stormy memento of the Gothic castle hovers. It is the beautiful town hall tower with a gate closing its southern side and the nostalgic Austro-Hungarian hotel on the northern side, hiding a plaque commemorating the visit of a Roman legion. It is the powerful Piarist college with the Baroque facade of a temple, built after the model of Roman Il Gesú, dominating the southwestern corner. They are lines of rare trees - Celtis occidentalis, creating an unrepeatable southern atmosphere.

The goal of our project was to highlight, strengthen, purify, and place these advantages into a new, contemporary context. It was primarily about a newly arranged surface made from the original cobblestones, bordered by new sidewalks of split mosaic along the commercial ground floors. We created a new, representative "heart" of the square in the form of a central elliptical area of cut stones in a light shade and grassy carpets. This place carries another layer of memories - besides the Baroque plague column, it also evokes a time long past but having pan-European significance - the Roman past of the city of Laugaricio. This past is commemorated by the "Golden Fountain of Marcus Aurelius," which bears the above-mentioned quote on its surface. Another attractive element that enhances the significance of the square is a bronze three-dimensional model of the city in the form of a sculptural work, placed in the area to the right of the entrance to the temple.