Danubiana - Museum of Modern Art

On the 9th September 2000, less than 15 kilometres south of the centre of Bratislava, on the edge of a
peninsula where the mighty Danube flows, the opening of one of the youngest museums of modern art in
Europe – Danubiana – took place. The River Danube has lent the museum its name and the rest is the result
of the enthusiasm and initiative of the Slovak gallery owner Dr. Vincent Polakovič and the financial resources of
the Dutch collector and art patron Gerard H. Meulensteen.
The framework of its impressive architecture is formed by its unusual location on the borders of three
neighbouring countries, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary, but above all by the superb contrast of the wide
expanse of water, open air and the endless banks of a dam. This architecture evokes the shape of a Roman
galley bound in the shallows of a river and its diversity provides the opportunity to put on a wide variety of
exhibitions.
Shows by leading international artists are alternated in the great hall on the first floor. On the ground floor
there is a gallery of contemporary art where the exhibits are on sale, a place for smaller scale exhibitions, an
audio-visual centre and a lecture hall. The complex is completed by an art shop with a wide selection of
catalogues, art publications, postcards, souvenirs, and the cosy Art Café, which extends beyond the gallery and
allows visitors to sit right on the bank of the Danube. A newly set up park covering an area of 8000 m2
provides the possibility for presenting sculpture work. This reaches new dimensions against the backdrop of
verdure, the expanse of water and the panorama of the distant city. On the threshold of the third millennium,
this peninsula of art is awaiting your visit, offering a unique symbiosis of works of art, modern architecture and
nature.