New Faces of Budapest, Bratislava and Belgrade

Text: Éva Lovra

Budapest, Bratislava and Belgrade are ambitious capitals that are on the way or ambition to become metropolises the dynamics of development of which tends to halt at a certain stage and then gets a new momentum in a way slightly alien from their landscape, natural scenery and artificial environment. They are also cities defined by the River Danube. The historic chore of Belgrade which is located at the junction of the Rivers Sava and Danube, is separated from New Belgrade (Novi Beograd) built after World War II in a similar way as the Danube cuts off Petržalka and the Old Town in Bratislava with a bridgeable dam. The article below compares Belgrade’s City on water (Belgrade Danube Waterfront) and the Luka Beograd, as well as the new developments schemes of Bratislava’s Sky Park district with the designs of the Budapest South Gate project made by the Norway-based Snøhetta Architects.