As of tomorrow, 15 July, you should be careful if having a drink in the summer sun in Bratislava as it will now be illegal to consume alcohol in various public spaces, thanks to an amendment to the respective bylaw.
The change passed by city councillors specifies a total of 107 locations where alcohol consumption is prohibited and includes popular spots like the park Sada Janka Krala or Kuchajda lake, or in front of railway and bus stations, shopping centres, supermarkets, at bus stops, petrol stations and so on. Breach of the ban can result in a fine.
It was already prohibited to date to drink alcohol near schools, cemeteries, medical facilities, churches, children’s playgrounds and other sensitive areas. Naturally, the prohibition does not apply to establishments with terraces or events organised by the city, with councillor Jozef Uhler drawing attention to how the change is discriminatory in favour of the city.
Shockingly sensible decision, long needed and greatly welcomed.
Glad to see that slowly Slovakia is outgrowing it’s past traditions of celebrating = getting drunk and social life = getting drunk. Drinking belongs to the pubs and i would be first to support it if they’d declare the inner old town as an commercial entertainment zone not a residential one. It’s stupid to have people living on Venturska or Panska and expect total silence by 10pm and constantly call the police on every bar and every terrace.
In the meantime drunk teenagers and hooligans can scream all night and throw bottles to the wall in the comfort of their home.