Chatam Sofer Memorial

Architects: Martin Kvasnica / Studio FOR
Investor: International Committee for the Preservation of the Gravesites of Geonai Pressburg, New York
Project: 2001
Realized: 2002
Built area: 310m2
Cost: USD 1,000,000

The old Jewish cemetery on the embankment of the Danube is the place of rest of a prominent Jewish scholar, Chatam Sofer, who was a Bratislava-based rabbi in the 19th century. The cemetery was reduced to a tiny area of twenty-three of the most important graves due to the river regulation and nearby tunnel construction in 1942. The terrain was raised, and thus the cemetery was covered with concrete slabs and hidden from public view for half a century. The 1989 political changes paved the way for the cemetery’s new memorial status. The architect designed the memorial as a journey to the forefathers’ graves. The access bridge, slightly elevated, leads the visitor to a black, steel concrete block with no ceiling. It offers an intermediate space, metaphorically separating the worlds of the living and the dead. The block is one of the concept’s most impressive moments. The underground part embraces two core spaces: the visitors’ room and a relict of the original cemetery and its graves. There the pilgrims reach the aim of their journey.

Excursion upon application, contact person: usardag@savba.sk