The Great Underpass and its history

A large underpass under the railway line, connecting the lower Hrádok with the upper, is an important part of our city. During the summer months, its walls turned into a place to remind us of our history. Although Liptovský Hrádok is not large city in terms of population, it has many beautiful places, historic buildings or monuments that we go around every day, but we do not realize what historical role they play. “At the Department of Culture, the idea was born to revive the route of monuments with its various elements through this space, and thus remind people of what our city is about,” said Danica Žiaková from the Department of Culture.

To depict the past, the city council chose in fact an unconventional modern way of artistic expression – graffiti. The graduates of the School of Applied Art in Ružomberok took care of the decoration of the underpass. “It simply came to my notice then. Overall, it was a good idea, “said the author of the graffiti, Peter Benko. Young artists had to solve several problems that few had in mind from the beginning. “Few people remember the colours of the original buildings, we usually had only black and white photos available,” Peter explained. Moisture and mold that attacked the paint also caused problems. However, there should be a solution to that as well. Sprayers plan to create a protective coating. The pair of artists spent more than 150 colour sprays on the decoration of the large underpass. “The work was demanding, but my personal feeling is definitely good,” said Peter Benko.

The walls of the large underpass are currently decorated with almost 50 separate figures, dominated by the historic building of the Salt Office, today’s Ethnographic Museum and Liptovský Hrádok Castle, today’s Grand Castle. Even a hurried run to work or home became a short walk through history for Hrádok natives and visitors to our town. The fact that citizens like the new decoration of the subway is evidenced by stopping pedestrians, who look at the images with admiration and often even take photos. The town of Liptovský Hrádok would like to thank the graduates of the School of Applied Art in Ružomberok, Peter Benk, and Marek Černý for realizing the decoration of the underpass. (Source: Liptovský Hrádok Monthly, September 2013)