Military bunkers

One of the larger bunkers in Petržalka, B-S 13 stands by Chorvátske rameno on Betliarska Street. Although it stands within a housing estate and is easy to reach, it was neglected for years and is now in very poor condition; it has also been set on fire several times. Preparatory work is now under way for its planned rescue and restoration. Bunker B-S 13 Stoh is one of the seven surviving heavy structures (infantry blockhouses) in Petržalka. Its concrete shell was completed in early March 1937. On the right-hand side, it had a pair of heavy machine guns, an anti-tank gun, and an observation cupola with no fewer than five embrasures, from which the fire of the main weapons was directed. These were placed in the usual way in the firing room, in the arrangement known as “under concrete” (pod betónom). On the left-hand side, because of the wooded and slightly broken terrain, the main weapon was instead placed “under armour” (pod pancierom), that is, in a cupola. Unusually, this was sunk below the level of the roof slab and did not protrude, which increased its protection and camouflage. During the socialist period, Bunker B-S 13 was one of the first infantry blockhouses to be abandoned by the army, after the construction of a bridge over Chorvátske rameno obstructed its field of fire. Its remaining equipment was officially transferred to the fortification museum in Darkovičky in the Czech Republic.