The Open Parks and Gardens Weekend returns with the theme The Eyes of the Garden, opening more than 140 sites across Slovakia and 30 locations in Bratislava.
One of the stories of this year’s Open Parks and Gardens Weekend began near the former Park of Culture and Leisure, known as PKO, in Bratislava’s city centre. A developer had the monumental plane tree, more than a century old, cut down in 2005 to make way for what is now River Park on the Danube Embankment. Its root system, together with the stump and small shoots proving that the tree was still alive even more almost 15 months later, was taken by a group of enthusiasts to the Plantago garden centre in Veľký Biel, 25 km from Bratislava. Today, the cluster of trees that grew from those shoots is about 20 metres tall and thriving. During the Open Parks and Gardens Weekend, visitors will be able to hear the story right beside it.
The plane tree’s story is a good example of why gardens and trees are not merely a pleasant backdrop. They carry the memory of places, people and decisions made in the city. This idea is also reflected in this year’s theme of the Open Parks and Gardens Weekend, The Eyes of the Garden. The 18th edition of the event will take place from June 5 to 7 across Slovakia, as part of a wider European celebration of parks and gardens, and invites visitors to look more closely.
