Žilina Gallery :: Fotogaléria mesta Žiliny

64 – Slovak Post Office, Žilina Branch 2, P. O. Hviezdoslava Street 3

Turistická informačná tabuľka č. 64 s QR kódom na budove Pošty 2 na Ul. P. O. Hviezdoslava
(Foto: 31. 3. 2019)

The first post and telegraph office was located in close proximity to the old railway station in a building that had been constructed by 1918. The old post office premises no longer suited their purpose and it was therefore necessary to build a new building. The current Post Office building on Hviezdoslava Street was built next to the railway station by architect Ján Vrana in 1940. The new building and ancillary buildings form a harmonious complex even today. Construction began in 1940 and wasn’t completed until two years’ later because of difficulties procuring building materials during the war. Building costs were not insubstantial either, climbing to three million Slovak crowns. Records that have been kept provide us with information on the equipment in some of the rooms and explain that the postal administration commissioned K. Kvasnica’s company from Žilina to lay “Forstner” oak panel flooring in the parcel room at a cost of 73,461 Slovak crowns. Once construction of the building was finished, the post office was opened on Thursday on 5 November 1942. The old facilities of the original post office were emptied and gradually torn down as the new station was being built. The customs department of the post office, which was also to move to the new building, remained in the old court building on the corner of Národná and Milcová streets. The Slovak national emblem was clearly visible on the front facade, which although removed during the 1970s has now returned to the front facade. However, much time elapsed before the current building of Post Office 2 was built.

The post office was first housed in a building on what is now Španyiolová Street below Trade Union House. It was then moved to no. 25 Mariánske Square, where the Bittšanský family (Bitčanský) not only lived, but also ran a post office from 1835 onwards. The third location of the post office in Žilina was in the building on the corner of Hurbanova and Hodžova streets, known as Bacher's villa. The post office was there until 1908. Then it received its first purpose-built post office building on present-day Sládkovičova Street, which was already the fourth post office building in the town. The fifth post office building was located next to the railway station, which was built in 1918. There was a small park in front of it with ancient trees and the whole area was called Wilson’s Square from 1919 to 1939. The current building of Post Office 2 is thus the sixth building used as the post office in Žilina. The seventh building is house no. 19 on present-day Národná Street, where the Post Office moved when the current building of Post Office 1 and the railway station were being built. The eighth building is Post Office 1 built between 1938 and 1941. Thus they were able to build two buildings for the needs of the post office more than 70 years ago and thanks to the architecture they are now dominant features of the town.

The town of Žilina was gradually growing and after new housing estates were constructed on the outskirts of the initial conurbation, new post offices also sprang up on the various housing estates and in the villages incorporated into the town. There are now 13 of them within Žilina. Žilina has become an important railway, road, and communications hub that connects up not only the different parts of the Slovak Republic, but also links the country with neighbouring states and the rest of the world. Hence, since the first post office building was constructed for the needs of the 18th century, the number of buildings has not only multiplied but, and most importantly, they have resulted in an important connection with the outside world.

Source: Mgr. Jozef Moravčík. Text prevzatý z webovej stránky TIK Žilina (kliknite): www.tikzilina.eu.