User:Nicre

Location
The building of the Regional Police Headquarters is located on the Špitálska Street,Bratislava nearby the Medical Garden, its walking distance from the city center is approximately 10 minutes.

Construction history
During the first years of the First Czechoslovak Republic a new and spacious building needed to be built for one of the two main Slovak police headquarters. The Police Headquarters of Bratislava were established in 1920 by a decree, but the city could not find a suitable building for this institution at first. The building itself was build during 1922-1925 and the Police Headquarters moved in in 1926. In the 1920's it was one of the most modern buildings used by police in Europe. Reportedly, the Police Headquarters in Lyon, France was built according to the same plan created by Frantisek Krupka. The two lions representing both the carriers and guards of the coat of arms of the First Czechoslovak Republic were added later. The Atlas statues and the statues of the lions created by the sculptor Augustin Paukert were brought later from Prague. On the roof of the building there was the transmitter of the Rádio Bratislava whose broadcasting began in the same year as the new building of the Police Headquarters started to operate. The first broadcasting was said to be connected with a theft of a large sum of money. Besides this transmitter, there were other transmitters for the internal use of the police.

Reconstruction
The general reconstruction of the building took place between 1990 and 1996. The goal of the rennovation was to repair the exterior and partly also the interior so that it would resemble the original appearance of the building from the 1920's. The front staircase and the stained glass decorations above the entrance remained in the original form. Part of the interior furnishing is identical with the original furnishing from 1926.

Use
In the past, the building served as a polyfunctional facility for the police. There was the police school, a boarding house, gym, library, riding hall, printing house but also the prison cells.

The “Two Lions” are said to have rather dark history. The political prisoners during the communist regime were inquired and possibly also tortured in this building.

Current use
Currently the building serves for the administrative activities and the direct police service.