The crematorium stands at the foot of the Lesser Carpathians in a sparse forest that forms a vertical contrast to the building’s horizontal lines. From the entrance, a long arching pathway rises upwards to the crematorium. The entire complex is composed with great sensitivity towards the landscape and the position of architecture in it. As for the building itself, it is an assemblage of lengthwise walls defining the basic interior spaces; the transverse walls are entirely of glass. From the main funeral hall, there is a captivating view of the forest with its mature trees; the technical cremation facilities are concentrated below ground. Adding to the complex are the totem-sculpture by Kompánek on the main meadow, the travertine sculpture by Uher, Tóth’s figure of ‘Sorrow’ in the urn grove, and Milučký’s burial ground for important personalities. Conceived in the spirit of Scandinavian modernism, the crematorium is regarded as one of the best works of postwar architecture in Slovakia; since 2003 it has been a registered national landmark.

Literature:
PALUŠ, Karol: Projekt krematória v Bratislave. Projekt 5, 1963, 11 – 12, p. 252 – 255.
DOHNAL, Vlastimil: Prvé krematórium na Slovensku. Projekt 10, 1968, 8, p. 188 – 193.
TATARKA, Dominik: Milučkého krematórium a pár slov o výtvarnej kultúre. Kultúrny život 23, 1968, 28, p. 1 a 6.
BELLUŠ, Emil: Krematórium v Bratislave. (Kritická úvaha.) Výtvarný život 14, 1969, 7, p. 8 – 13.
Architekt Ferdinand Milučký. Katalóg výstavy. Ed. Matúš Dulla. Bratislava, SAS 1991. 100 p.
DULLA, Matúš: Architektúra šesťdesiatych rokov. In: Šesťdesiate roky v slovenskom výtvarnom umení. (Katalóg výstavy.) Bratislava, SNG 1995, p. 304 – 319.
FRAMPTON, Kenneth – QUINAN, Zhang: World Architecture 1900 – 2000: A Critical Mosaic. Wien, New York, Springer Verlag 1999.
DULLA, Matúš – MORAVČÍKOVÁ, Henrieta: Architektúra Slovenska v 20. storočí. Bratislava, Slovart 2002. 512 p.
Architektúra na Slovensku. Stručné dejiny. Ed. Henrieta Moravčíková. Bratislava, Slovart 2005. 182 p.
ANDRÁŠIOVÁ, Katarína: Ferdinand Milučký. In: Šedesátá léta v architektuře očima pamětníků. Zborník rozhovorov. Petr Urlich, Petr Vorlík, Beryl Filsaková, Katarína Andrášiová, Lenka Popelová. Praha, Česká technika – nakladatelství ČVUT 2006, p. 250 – 259.
Krematórium a urnový háj. DOCOMOMO národný register: Slovensko. Architektúra & urbanizmus 40, 2006, 3 – 4, p. XVIII.

Photo:
Ján Sláma
Source of picture: 
Department of Architecture Archive, ÚSTARCH SAV